Everything Nac

Cooking Matters, a six-week community nutrition program hosted by Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Human Sciences, kicks off its seventh year Monday, Sept. 19.

Cooking Matters will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. each Monday through Oct. 24 in the Human Sciences Building North. Through the Helping Other People Eat nonprofit food pantry, which provides supplemental food to those in need, program organizers have looked for participants from underserved areas in the Nacogdoches community.

The goal of Cooking Matters is for SFA students in the James I. Perkins College of Education to receive real-world experience by teaching people healthy eating habits and budgeting. Each class has a nutrition education component followed by a cooking segment. Last year, 11 people graduated from the program.

According to Justin Pelham, SFA food, nutrition and dietetics clinical instructor, roughly one in three people within the city of Nacogdoches live in poverty, making the program important for the community and students. Citing the U.S. Census Bureau, Pelham said the area around the pantry has the highest poverty rate in East Texas, exceeding 50%.

“This transformational experience for SFA students will really provide insight into an audience who will benefit from nutrition education and basic cooking skills due to limited resources,” Pelham said.

Each Cooking Matters class allows for up to 20 participants. At the conclusion of each lesson, they receive a free bag of groceries so they can replicate the meal at home with their family and friends.

Before this year’s launch, guest speaker Kinsey Thompson, the nutrition education program manager at the East Texas Food Bank, gave students a general overview of her organization and the cooking program.

For more information on SFA’s food and nutrition program and dietetics and nutritional sciences program, visit sfasu.edu/hms.

Those attending Noche de Gala, an annual National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration hosted by Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, will get to see traditional costarricense folklorico dancing, among other performances.

Scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Plaza, the event honors Latinx and Hispanic cultures through educational activities, performances, cultural cuisines and music.

Evelyn Gutierrez, a cell and molecular biology junior from Houston, has been dancing costarricense folklorico, or Costa Rican folk dance, since she was 3 years old. This is her fourth year performing at Noche de Gala.

“My dance is a family tradition that my mother taught me,” said Gutierrez, who also is president of SFA’s Organization of Latin Americans. “I think my dance is important because, though a lot of people in this area are exposed to the Mexican culture, they never get to experience other Latin countries’ cultures.”

Students, staff, faculty and the Nacogdoches community are invited to join in the free celebration, said Ammy Martinez, an OMA ambassador and a senior human services major from Donna.

“Noche de Gala is meant to give the Latinx/Hispanic community on campus a moment to celebrate our culture and heritage and have a night filled with good fun and family,” Martinez said.

For more information, contact the OMA at (936) 468-1073 or sfasu.edu/oma.

Stephen F. Austin State University and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have named Veronica Beavers, currently the university’s Office of Multicultural Affairs director, as the inaugural deputy chief diversity officer.

“It’s an honor to serve in this position,” Beavers said. “I will assist in consulting on matters pertaining to diversity, inclusion and equity across SFA. I will also be able to implement plans and projects to uphold the university’s commitment to making SFA inclusive and equitable.”

The position was created to add value to ODEI functions as well as allow for progressive growth within the office, according to Dr. Michara DeLaney-Fields, SFA’s chief diversity officer since summer 2020.

“Diversity and inclusion efforts are becoming invaluable pieces to the landscape and structure of higher education, so having this position helps with the growing demand in the field and ensures actionable expansion of these initiatives across campus,” DeLaney-Fields said.

In the new managerial role, Beavers will help ensure campuswide initiatives pertaining to diversity, equity and inclusion are coordinated and successful. Additionally, she will interact with local, national and international communities to foster cooperative relationships; work with stakeholders on and off campus to ensure services and systems are advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives; and consult with students, staff, faculty or administrative units experiencing hate or bias incidents.

“Veronica’s expertise in diversity and inclusion efforts has allowed her to provide many opportunities for questions to be asked, knowledge to be gained and learning to be made accessible,” DeLaney-Fields said. “Veronica served as an advocate for these efforts before the concept became mainstream, thus allowing those around her to feel comfortable and welcomed. She has the mindset to be innovative in her ideas, firm in her communication skills, and capable of building and sustaining relationships.”

Beavers will continue serving as OMA director, a position she has held since 2016. Under her leadership, office staff members created SFA’s Diversity and Inclusion Certification Program, grew OMA’s endorsed and affiliated organizations to approximately 20, and received numerous grants. The OMA offers more than 30 educational events per year.

“I have put in a lot of effort to make sure all students feel welcomed and included,” Beavers said. “I believe my background in program development, numerous talks about diversity and inclusion concerns with the campus community, and relationship-building efforts with the SFA and Nacogdoches communities have all contributed to my preparation for this role. I’m eager to develop initiatives that reach across campus and into the surrounding communities.”

Beavers is a two-time SFA graduate. She received a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology in 2009 and a Master of Education in 2011. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate studying higher education administration at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

She has worked in numerous student and professional roles while at SFA. Currently, she serves as an adjunct professor in the James I. Perkins College of Education and as an interim compliance specialist in SFA’s Title IX Office.

For more information about SFA’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, visit sfasu.edu/odei.

Pianist Tom Hicks will present a guest recital that features works by British composers when he performs at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, in the Music Recital Hall, Wright Music Building, on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

The program will “explore music by less familiar British composers,” said Hicks, who is visiting assistant professor of music and piano, director of the piano department, and director of collaborative piano at Whitman College, Washington state. The recital is a presentation of the SFA School of Music and includes music by Robert Schumann, John Ireland and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, among others.

“I was drawn to John Ireland because he spent time in Guernsey, which is the British island where I am from, and because he wrote a suite for piano inspired by his time there,” Hicks said, adding that the program also features works by “a composer of color, a female composer and an LGBTQ+ composer.”

Hicks will perform Schumann’s “Kinderszenen,” Opus 15, “Scenes from Childhood.” “These are pieces about children but are poetically and musically sophisticated and are not without their technical challenges, either,” according to Hicks.

Ireland’s Piano Sonata was “written in turbulent times, covers a huge range of emotion, and shows the composer’s command of writing for the piano,” David Wordsworth, chairman of the John Ireland Charitable Trust, said. Critic Ralph Hill considered Ireland’s Piano Sonata to be “one of the finest and most important since Liszt.”

In addition to Ireland’s major work for piano, Hicks will perform shorter works by Ireland’s mentor and his classmates: Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Rebecca Clarke.

Hicks describes Coleridge-Taylor’s “Andante from Three-Fours,” Opus 71, as “a gift for conjuring up a charming, completely unpretentious miniature,” and demonstrating his “Dvořák-like ability to write memorable melodies.”

Hicks has an expansive repertoire and has appeared as recitalist in venues such as The Wigmore Hall in London, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and in many other venues throughout Europe and the United States. Hicks is a gold medalist in the Wales International Piano Competition, the EPTA UK Piano Competition and the Croydon Piano Concerto Competition. As a teacher, Hicks has also taught piano at Yale University and Northwestern University.

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. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.