CC Conn’s mentoring program for SFA theatre students recently earned her a Bright Spot award presented by the SFA Faculty Senate, the Center for Teaching and Learning and SFA vice presidents.

“The program has contributed to strengthening the already high retention and graduation rates for the School of Theatre,” Conn said, “and it has resulted in significant reduction in our ineligibility list, which means students are avoiding academic pitfalls by having a mentor to help guide them.”

After testing the waters with a pilot program in spring 2013, a full mentoring strategy was rolled out for the FY13 academic year. Mentors go through an application process, and they must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.

“Each mentor typically has four to eight ‘understudies,’ which is our theatre word for ‘mentees,’” Conn explained. “I send monthly prompts to the mentors to discuss with their understudies. These include items such as auditions, production assignments postings, midterm check-in, study resources, etc. We do challenges that encourage participation in theatre or campus activities, and prizes are awarded.”

Conn hopes to see theatre’s pool of mentors increase, and the program continues to gain momentum. She hopes to seek financial support that could provide monetary scholarships to the strongest mentors, fund events and prizes, and fund the design of similar programs across campus.

SFA’s School of Social Work and the Mission Possible Conference Committee presented the Linda Morales Spirit Award to Susan Rushing, Burke chief executive officer, at the Mission Possible Conference.

The award is in honor of the late Dr. Linda Morales, who was the associate dean and director of the School of Social Work from 2002 to 2007.

Each year, the award is presented to someone who enhances the community in positive ways, and who embodies the spirit of social work. Rushing works closely with the School of Social Work and agencies in the community to bring accessible mental health services to East Texas.

SFA’s fourth annual Darwin Day program has been rescheduled for noon to 1 p.m. today in the Kennedy Auditorium with featured speaker Dr. Michael Zimmerman presenting “The Confluence of Religion and Science.”

An annual celebration of science, Darwin Day is held on or around evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin’s birthday to commemorate his contributions to the field of biology.

During the presentation, Zimmerman will address the significance of evolution and discuss The Clergy Letter Project, speaking about the value of scientists and science educators working with clergy members to promote high-quality science education.

The event is free and open to the public.

SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics is hosting a seminar at 3:30 p.m. April 2 in the Cole STEM Building, Room 401/402.

“Big Data Analytics in the 21st Century” will be presented by Kacey McCauley, a 2012 and 2014 SFA graduate.

McCauley is a solutions engineer manager for EOG Resources, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Houston, and one of the largest independent oil and natural gas companies in the U.S. He leads a team of software and database engineers building proprietary software to optimize production-based exploration, drilling and completion techniques throughout all of EOG's divisions.

SFA’s planetarium in the Cole STEM Building will premiere two new shows Saturday, March 30, offering exciting, educational experiences for viewers of all ages.

The planetarium has public shows every Saturday with group shows available throughout the week upon reservation.

“Earth, Moon & Sun,” geared toward children ages 7 to 13 but open to all ages, will be presented at 3 p.m. Tickets are $3.

“Supervolcanoes” will be presented at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and examines past cataclysmic eruptions on Earth in addition to the volcanic activity on other planets and moons throughout the solar system.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children, students, and faculty and staff with ID, and will be available for purchase at the box office 30 minutes before each show. The shows will be offered through May 11, closing April 18 through 20 for Easter.

For more information or to view the schedule or make a reservation, visit planetarium.sfasu.edu.

The Center for Teaching and Learning will host its first Open Classroom Initiative during the weeks beginning March 25 and April 1.

OCI is a coordinated event in which participating faculty members open their classrooms to colleagues for visitation and observation. The event is intended to raise faculty awareness of different teaching and learning methods, techniques and philosophies in different contexts. Its goal is to foster pedagogical conversations, build a community of practitioners and make teaching more transparent.

OCI is open to all faculty, staff, graduate and teaching assistants, and education students. Opportunities to observe online and face-to-face classes are available.

Participating faculty include Nick Long, Jane Long, Mychelle Smith, Amber Wagnon, Maggie Leysath, Lauren Burrow, Linda Black, Mark Montgomery, Sarah Drake, Kelsey Pelham, Angela Jones, Chrissy Cross, Joyce Johnston, Sarah Straub and Lauren Selden.

For a full schedule of open classes and to register, visit ctl.sfasu.edu/oci.

Baseball:

SFA - 8 vs. Prairie View A&M University - 5

SFA - 3 vs. University of Central Arkansas - 1

SFA - 0 vs. University of Central Arkansas - 7

SFA - 3 vs. University of Central Arkansas - 9

Men's golf:

The team placed 11th at the Lake Charles Toyota Invitational.

Track and field:

The team accumulated 28 top 8 finishes at the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunner Invitational. Click here to see individual results.

Women's basketball:

SFA - 56 vs. Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi - 58

SFA - 54 vs. University of Texas at Arlington - 60

Bowling:

The team lost to Vanderbilt University at the Southland Bowling League Championship.

Women's golf:

The team finished 14th at the Northern Arizona University Red Rocks Invitational.

Softball:

SFA - 0 vs. Texas A&M University - 2

SFA - 3 vs. Houston Baptist University - 1

SFA - 5 vs. Houston Baptist University - 3

SFA - 3 vs. Houston Baptist University - 0

Tennis:

SFA - 4 vs. Grambling State University - 0

SFA - 4 vs. Prairie View A&M University - 0

SFA - 0 vs. Louisiana Tech University - 4

The Snow Pond Saxophone Quartet will perform a guest chamber recital at 6 p.m. tomorrow in Cole Concert Hall.

Formed in 2016 by world-renowned saxophonist and pedagogue Dr. Fredrick L. Hemke, Snow Pond Saxophone Quartet is dedicated to continuing the legacy of Hemke’s life work of music making and saxophone performance. Quartet members are Yoko Kusaka, Maho Kuroda, Jack Thorpe and Kyle White, who have all studied with Hemke at the Fredrick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute at Snow Pond Music Festival in Sidney, Maine.

“All of the music on the program was written by American or Japanese composers or was inspired by American and Japanese culture," Thorpe writes.

Recital tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407, or visit finearts.sfasu.edu.

SFA’s School of Music will present a flute and piano recital when guest artists Meghan Bennett and Maria Lyapkova perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in Cole Concert Hall.

The SFA concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407, or visit finearts.sfasu.edu.

A funny and entertaining musical tale for the entire family is this year’s opera selection from SFA’s School of Music.

“The Pirates of Penzance” by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan is “good, old-fashioned fun,” says Dr. Debbie Dalton, associate professor of music at SFA and the show’s stage director.

Young Frederic has just finished his obligation as a pirate apprentice, Dalton said in describing the story. After 21 years at sea, he looks forward to new adventures on land. He meets and falls in love with Mabel, one of the many wards of Maj. Gen. Stanley, but, of course, there are many obstacles to overcome before they may marry.

“The Pirates of Penzance” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 4 through 6 in Turner Auditorium. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $7.50 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407, or visit finearts.sfasu.edu.

SFA’s dance program will showcase senior choreographic works during its production of “Danceworks: Labyrinth … the only way out is through” at 7 p.m. April 10 in the HPE Complex Dance Studio, Room 201.

Additional showings are scheduled for 7 p.m. April 11 and 12, and 3 p.m. April 13. A total of 12 works will be performed and will alternate with six works being showcased during the first performance and the remaining six the next, then repeating.

Modern and contemporary dance are the main styles that will be featured during this production, along with jazz/funk and hip-hop. One piece pays homage to the historical contributions of entertainer Josephine Baker.

Admission is free for SFA students. Tickets cost $5 for non-SFA students and children; $8 for faculty, staff and senior citizens; and $10 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Cats often use unconventional items for "seating," including paper bags, cardboard boxes or a computer keyboard.

However, if you are on a mission to capture a funny feline photo, catch it lounging on something made of glass.

To see more "purrfect" cat photos, click here.