Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education has launched a stand-alone, independently funded research center dedicated to the study of college students’ identities.

Called the Center for Research Advancing Identities and Student Experiences, or RAISE, its creation was led by assistant professor Dr. Pietro Sasso, who also will serve as the center’s director. Sasso’s hope is that the center, housed in the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership, becomes the hub of research and outreach centered on facilitating research to amplify voice, affirm identity, and advance belonging about college student development and their experiences to better understand their formative lived experiences and multiple identities.

As the center ramps up, research will focus on the latest generation of students to enter collegiate ranks, Generation Z, who were born between 1996 and 2014.

“They are on our campus and are completely native to computers and technology,” Sasso said. “They are different from former students, and we don’t know much about them.”

As Gen Z cycles out of college and is replaced by a subsequent generation of students, Generation Alpha, the center will adjust and evolve, Sasso said. But the goals of the center will remain.

“This center will aim to profile the spectrum of diversity comprising the contemporary college student through research and critical praxis,” Sasso writes in the proposal. “Programming will discuss and highlight student populations, trends and issues in regard to how they are supported by our institutions.”

In terms of output and production, Sasso wants the center to host a speaker series, produce a new research journal, author research papers, facilitate a network of scholars, and host a textbook series.

The new center will be housed in the Human Services Building in an office staffed with a graduate assistant. The center will begin by collaborating on research with the Pennsylvania State University’s Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform as well as produce a new forthcoming co-edited text on multiracial college students. These sponsored research projects will be used to support a graduate research assistant and to attend scholarly conferences. For the long term, Sasso said there are good opportunities to receive grant funding from private foundations, small federal grants, and perhaps a named donor.

While year one is dedicated to the basics — establishing the center and its advisory board, reaching out to potential partner universities, looking for funding and connecting with departments on the SFA campus — year two will be dedicated to building the center’s capacity. In year three, Sasso looks to begin publishing the center’s academic journal.

“The proposed research agenda and projects would position SFA as a unique and distinctive place to examine how the college experience is formative to student identity development,” Sasso said. “No current public or private higher education institution in Texas has such a center.”

For more information, visit gosfa.com/raise-center.

The School of Art at Stephen F. Austin State University is expanding its summer art camp to provide more opportunity for a larger demographic.

The SFA Art Academy is now offered for older students as well as elementary age students, according to Dr. Maggie Leysath, professor of art education in the School of Art.

“We are excited to be able to work with secondary-aged artists to provide in-depth artistic training in a studio setting for the first time,” Leysath said.

The elementary art academy is open to ages 5 through 10 who will be in first through sixth grades during the 2022-23 school year. Classes are arranged by approximate age and include drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics and more.

Classes for elementary students meet from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 6 through 10 and June 13 through 17, in the Art Building off Wilson Drive. An exhibition of student work will be at 4 p.m. Friday, June 17. All remaining work will be taken home at that time.

The secondary level art academy, which begins June 27 and ends July 1, is for ages 11 through 17 and is for students entering seventh through 12th grades in the 2022-23 school year. Student artists will work with art teachers for a real art studio experience from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“Secondary artists will enjoy a short art lesson each morning and then work on specific skills and artworks they have chosen before we break for lunch at the university cafeteria,” Leysath said. “Afternoon studio time allows students to work independently and with teachers to develop artworks.”

An exhibition of all secondary student artworks will be at 3 p.m. Friday, July 1.

Fees include all art supplies, daily snacks and exhibition expenses. Registration closes on June 3 or when all the spaces are filled. Fees received before June 1 are $200. After June 1, fees are $220. When registering, secondary art academy students should indicate which art mediums in which they are most interested on the form. Registration fees also include lunch costs for the secondary students.

Registration for each academy may be accessed at the School of Art website at art.sfasu.edu under Programs/Community. Space is limited. For more information, contact Leysath at leysathmn@sfasu.edu.