Everything Nac

Launching at the SFA Gala tomorrow, the university’s centennial celebration features concerts and commemorations to remember those who have kept the Lumberjack spirit alive through challenges and successes over the last 100 years.

Events will culminate in a weekend of festivities leading up to Sept. 18, a century after SFA opened its doors on the 53rd birthday of its first president, Alton W. Birdwell.

“This year, Sept. 18 falls on a Monday, so the centennial committee is busy planning a full weekend of events and activities including concerts, a luncheon, dedications and a big birthday party,” said John Branch, chair of SFA’s centennial committee. “There will be more details as we get closer to the date.”

The university also has exciting changes in store this year as legislation enabling the university to become a member of The University of Texas System is considered. In addition, the search for SFA’s next president is underway.

“SFA has more than 115,000 alumni who contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of Texas and beyond,” Westbrook said. “That number will continue to grow as we offer students a strong return on their higher education investment.”

For more information on SFA’s history as well as centennial events and memorabilia, visit sfasu.edu/centennial.

Originally scheduled for Feb. 21, humane education advocate Zoe Weil’s presentation “The World Becomes What We Teach: A Solutionary Approach to Humane Education” will now take place March 2 on Zoom. Weil is co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education.

The presentation is made possible by SFA’s Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education. The professorship was awarded to Dr. Sarah Straub, associate professor in the Department of Education Studies, in October 2020. It was established by the late Charlotte Baker Montgomery in memory of her husband, Roger, to encourage and perpetuate the teaching of humane education in elementary and secondary schools, both public and private, through the support of teacher preparation in humane education.

“Zoe is an innovator in the field of humane education,” Straub said. “The Montgomery Professorship seeks to share current trends in the field, and Zoe definitely does that through her work with the solutionary approach. I got to know Zoe’s work more intimately as I began pursuing my own micro-credential in this area, and I am honored to be able to get to know her on a more personal level as we prepare for her invited speaker series.”

Weil’s institute supports graduate degree and certificate programs in humane education — a field of study and an approach to teaching that draws connections between human rights, animal protection and environmental sustainability — through class curriculum, workshops and presentations. Weil, the author of multiple books and a seasoned commentator through essays, radio, TV and podcasts, speaks regularly at universities, conferences and schools throughout the United States and Canada.

The presentation, which is free and open to everyone, will take place at 5:30 p.m. March 2 via Zoom. To register for the event, visit gosfa.com/weilregistration. For more information, contact Straub at straubsm@sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the SFA Department of English and Creative Writing will present the exhibition “Re-Visions,” showing Feb. 6 through 10 in the student galleries of the Lower Art Building on Wilson Drive.

Formerly a course at SFA called Pen & Pigment, Words of Art is a student organization-led collaborative event that presents contributors with a publication and exhibition opportunity. Students who participated in Pen & Pigment engaged with one another to produce cohesive paintings and poetry that effectively correlated their disciplines. Words of Art re-envisions the idea of interdisciplinarity by expanding the accepted disciplines and by being facilitated by student organizations Subplots and Art Alliance. The goal was to increase the flexibility and increase the disciplines involved in the event.

An opening reception for “Re-Visions” is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6. The public is invited to celebrate the contributors and the people who made this event possible. Attendees will have the chance to show their support by voting for the People’s Choice Award, highlighting the artist and writer who best accomplished this interdisciplinarity.

The gallery hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, contact Megan Bynum, Art Alliance president, at (325) 998-5425 or bynummc1@jacks.sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University has been recognized as an affordable institution by Colleges of Distinction, a new designation that helps cost-conscious students and families navigate complicated college financing information.

“How to pay for college is a near-universal question at the top of new students’ minds,” said Tyson Schritter, chief operating officer at Colleges of Distinction. “SFA has demonstrated to us that its students are graduating with manageable debt and careers that help them thrive.”

Fewer than 150 institutions received Colleges of Distinction’s affordable designation. Using institutional data published by the U.S. Department of Education, College of Distinction’s affordability list named institutions with low net prices that were directly proportional to student household income.

Rachele’ Garrett, SFA’s director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and interim executive director of enrollment management, said the university works hard to keep costs down and the quality of education high.

“With more than 80% of full-time undergraduate students receiving some type of financial assistance, SFA is providing quality academic programs that meet students’ needs,” Garrett said. “We also offer a host of scholarship and grant assistance programs for students.”

In addition to financial aid packages, the university provides a flat-rate tuition plan that allows students to pay a set rate for 12 or more credit hours.

“Students can take up to 21 credit hours for the cost of 12, and Student Business Services offers tuition programs that reduce the cost of pursuing an advanced degree,” Garrett said.

Beyond net price, Colleges of Distinction looked at the graduates’ median debt and mean earnings data. These were then controlled for each school’s location, size, public/private affiliation status and percentage of Pell grant recipients.

“Our affordable Colleges of Distinction are not just those with a low sticker price; they exemplify a solid return on a student’s investment.” Schritter said. “SFA has shown us that an engaging, real-world education doesn’t have to break the bank.”

For more information on SFA’s financial aid and scholarships, visit sfasu.edu/finaid.