Everything Nac

More students are graduating sooner, and more first-year students are persisting in their studies, according to Stephen F. Austin State University’s fall 2022 enrollment numbers and success reports.

Even with a decrease in overall enrollment, the university saw growth among several populations and achieved its highest six-year graduation rate in the university’s history.

At a rate of 53.5%, SFA’s fall 2022 six-year graduation rate has consistently risen over several years and in the past five years alone has increased by approximately 5%. Additionally, the university’s first-time undergraduate retention rate is nearly 3% higher compared to five years ago.

“It is very hard to move the needle on retention and graduation rates,” said Dr. Marc Guidry, SFA associate provost, “but we have been doing it with steady progress for several years now through intentional and proactive advising, a revamped early alert system that reaches out to students early in the semester if they are not attending classes or doing assignments, and high-impact programs that direct resources to at-promise students like Generation Jacks and Aspire.”

SFA’s enrollment for fall 2022 was 11,327, marking a 5% drop from last year’s total. The decrease correlates with a national downward trend in higher education enrollment as universities continue to struggle from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a spring 2022 study from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, postsecondary institutions have lost nearly 1.3 million students since spring 2020 — the brunt of that loss suffered by public institutions.

Despite these figures, administrators say positive progress is being made at SFA in many areas.

“We know the overall enrollment trend nationally is on the decline; however, SFA did have some positive movement forward,” said Rachele’ Garrett, SFA’s interim executive director for enrollment management and Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships director. “For the last two fall semesters, we have seen an increase in our first-year student population. We are also experiencing growth with our admissions and financial aid applications.”

SFA also experienced a spike in dual credit enrollment, which grew by 11% from fall 2020.

“SFA has partnerships with East Texas schools that provide access to core curriculum coursework. Not only are students earning credit toward their high school diploma, but they also are able to complete their bachelor’s degree with SFA much sooner,” Garrett added. “We are encouraged by the growing number of students taking advantage of this program.”

The Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts reported the most significant graduate student headcount increase, with graduate enrollment in the college growing by 18% from the last academic year. Its undergraduate enrollment also grew slightly.

“As of last year, the SFA School of Music offered the only all-online master’s degree in music composition in the country, headed by Dr. Stephen Lias,” said Dr. Gary Wurtz, dean of the college. “With data provided by him, we secured support from SFA Provost Dr. Lorenzo Smith to hire a new faculty composer, allowing us to accept a significant number of new graduate students in an area where we previously had to turn students away.”

Wurtz also attributed the college’s ability to stave off enrollment decline to the “substantial gift to the college by local businessman Bill Elliott last fall. We used earnings from that endowment to offer scholarships to prospective art, theatre, dance and music students, who ultimately chose SFA as their college home.”

In addition to enrollment growth, the Elliott College of Fine Arts also experienced a 14% increase in graduate semester credit hours.

“Ultimately, faculty and staff in the ECFA are dedicated to recruiting,” Wurtz said. “They dedicate numerous hours to visiting high schools, hosting workshops and summer programs, corresponding with prospective students, and more, to promote our programs. There is no shortage of students who want to study the fine arts at SFA, so investing proper resources into scholarships, programs and faculty for this college is a great investment in growth.”

Additionally, SFA’s Hispanic student headcount proportion increased by a percentage point, and international student enrollment rose by more than 12%.

For more information on SFA’s fall enrollment, visit the Office of Institutional Research’s website at sfasu.edu/ir.

By Christine Broussard, assistant director for strategic communications at Stephen F. Austin State University

The School of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University will present guest pianist Sung-Soo Cho in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Cho will present “Alexander Scriabin’s 150th: The Complete Études for Piano.”

“I first learned about the half (Op. 8) several years ago, and learned the rest of them in the following years,” Cho said. “I first presented them in their entirety at the beginning of the pandemic, and when I could first bring them back, it is the composer’s 150th year!”

According to Cho, the history of music reveals no personality, no phenomenon, quite like Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, describing him as “a visionary who deserted the world of normal experience for that of the occult.”

“It would be no coincidence that he was born on Russian Christmas and died on Easter,” Cho said. “His music is as hot as fire and as cold as ice. I hope the audience enjoys the journey: Transformation from Chopinesque to Mysticism!”

Cho describes a portion of his program: “Evocative of Chopin (perhaps in particular his Études in slow tempos), the Étude in C sharp minor, Op. 2 No. 1, written when Scriabin was 15, is a brooding and masterful piece that foreshadows his genius. The closing Etude in D sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 12, is another long effort and features a powerful sense of yearning as if expressing some dire frustration or failure. Op. 42 No. 5, in C sharp minor, has a sinister character to its roiling bass, but a sense of passion to its agitated main theme. The alternate theme is lovely and contrasts well with its more-tempered Romanticism.”

Scriabin was interested in Friedrich Nietzsche’s superhuman (Übermensch) theory, and later became interested in theosophy. Preoccupied with esoteric philosophy, he developed his own personal and abstract mysticism, which gave rise to the mystic chord and synesthesia. Scriabin developed a musical system based on color theory and started associating colors with various harmonic tones of his atonal scale.

Cho’s musical perception has drawn critical acclaim. Awarded Best American Contemporary Performance at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition and Best Performance of the Commissioned Work at the Texas State International Piano Competition, he enjoys broadening his passion for contemporary music. He has appeared as a soloist throughout the world, including appearances with the Prime Philharmonic of Korea, the Festival Chamber Orchestra of Lublin Philharmonic, The Ashdod Symphony Orchestra, and The Round Rock Symphony. His performance highlights include solo recitals at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Yamaha Artist Services in Seoul, and the Kumho Art Hall. He is currently a full-time collaborative pianist at Midwestern State University Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

The Children’s Performing Arts Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will open its 2022-23 season on Thursday, Oct. 6, with three performances of Alley Theatre’s “Oskar’s Not So Simple Comeback.”

The Children’s Performing Arts Series, presented by the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, features curriculum-enhancing programs presented by Texas artists. “Oskar’s Not So Simple Comeback” targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade. When Oskar starts attending school in person again after an extended period of remote learning, he’s excited about joining his classmates for his favorite activity: Sportsball! But much to his dismay, his skills have deteriorated, and he’ll have to find a way to restore his talent and confidence, according to Diane Peterson, Fine Arts Box Office manager and director of the children’s series.

“After trying to tackle his problems on his own, Oskar is compelled to find connection and support from his peers, his teachers, his parents, and his community, finding the solution to all his woes comes in the unlikeliest of places,” she said.

Performances are at 9 and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Kennedy Auditorium on the SFA campus. Tickets are $7.50 for individuals and $6 per person for groups of 20 or more. This show is funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The Children’s Performing Arts Series features shows designed to entertain, educate and engage young audiences of all ages, according to Peterson. Other upcoming CPAS performances include “The New Little Red Riding Hood” Thursday, Nov. 10; “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical” Wednesday, March 1; and “Reading and Rhyming with Mother Goose” Wednesday, April 26.

To order tickets, call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. Visit the CPAS website at cpas.sfasu.edu for additional information.

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will present their fall “Swingin’ At The Brewery” fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Fredonia Brewery in downtown Nacogdoches.

Admission to the outdoor concert is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the SFA School of Music’s jazz program, according to Dr. J.D. Salas, professor of tuba and euphonium studies and director of the Swingin’ Axes.

Favorites by Gordon Goodwin, Sammy Nestico, Mike Tamaro and other jazz greats will be performed by both bands. Dr. Jake Walburn, associate professor of trumpet, directs the Swingin’ Aces.

Shali’s Indian Kitchen on Wheels will be on site, and the brewery’s Rebellion Pizza will be open. SFA Jazz T-shirts and other merchandise will be available for purchase.

The Fredonia Brewery is located at 138 N. Mound St. For additional information, call the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602 or the brewery at (936) 305-5125.

College-bound students and their families are invited to Stephen F. Austin State University’s Showcase Preview, a weekday open-house event to be held Oct. 10.

“We’ve designed our Showcase SFA events to give attendees an up-close and personal look at everything our campus has to offer,” said Emily Jefferson, SFA director of undergraduate recruitment. “The college search process can be intense, and SFA provides events like Showcase Preview for prospective students and their families to experience our campus in really unique ways.”

The preview was added to the Showcase SFA event series in 2021 with the intent of offering a shorter version of the university’s long-standing Showcase Saturday, which invites future college students to experience a taste of campus life through an action-packed, open-house event.

As a weekday event, Showcase Preview also gives attendees the opportunity to see the campus in action. They will experience the energy of campus as they move between buildings to participate in informational sessions and may even sit in on a mock classroom setting. Smaller than a Showcase Saturday but larger than a campus tour experience, Showcase Preview is the right fit for families looking to make a quick trip to the piney woods.

Showcase Preview will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 10 on the SFA campus and will feature info fairs and sessions. Jack Walkers, SFA’s team of current students who serve as tour guides, also will be present at the preview to offer tours.

“Showcase is an amazing opportunity to experience life as a Lumberjack! Students can meet faculty and staff from their intended major, get tons of SFA swag, walk through our beautiful campus in the piney woods, and meet so many amazing Lumberjacks,” said Ali St. Germaine, an English graduate student from Pflugerville. “I love being able to share the student perspective on what it means to be a Lumberjack. This is an experience every prospective student should have!”

A welcome session will begin at 9:30 a.m. followed by sessions covering a wide range of topics, including first-year and transfer admission, financial aid, and more. Attendees may then participate in campus and residence hall tours, academic and student services fairs, as well as a mock classroom experience.

“Showcase encapsulates every reason why SFA should be anyone’s new home. Throughout the day, students have the opportunity to experience firsthand what life as a Lumberjack will be like by going on campus tours, sitting in on mock lectures and so much more,” said Julia Hobson, a junior agriculture and pre-veterinarian student from Richmond.

To learn more and register to attend Showcase Preview, visit sfasu.edu/showcase.