The Center for Teaching and Learning recently presented its Award for Excellence in Online Course Design to Scott Hutchens for the design of PSY 133, General Psychology; Carrie Kennedy-Lightsey for the design of COM 305, Introduction to Communication Theory; and Kelsey Pelham for the design of SPA 303, Advanced Composition and Grammar.

Award recipients were selected based on excellence in course design and support of his or her department chair. A committee evaluated courses based on instructional clarity, look and feel, ease of navigation, interaction strategies, lesson design, accessibility, innovation, and adherence to copyright and intellectual property laws.

Dr. Paul R. Shockley, lecturer of philosophy, and Dr. Raul F. Prezas, associate professor in the Department of Human Services, recently published “Thinking with Excellence: Navigating the College Journey and Beyond.”

The pair collaborated on the book after attending a Generation Jacks session at the 2018 SFA Center for Teaching and Learning Camp. They created it with first-generation students in mind and the goal for it to serve as a launching pad for anyone seeking a transformative college educational experience.

The book’s forward is written by Dr. Jim Towns, professor in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication.

For more information, click here.

SFA’s School of Art is presenting a faculty exhibition today at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center.

Proposed by Dr. John Handley, director of SFA art galleries, “Place Making” is a group exhibition of work related to place and place-making.

As a diverse faculty, the community it shares in Nacogdoches and at SFA unites the artists to a common cause.

As specialists in various media, faculty artwork addresses issues of place in divergent ways. From paintings depicting the sprawling Texas highways to miniature metal replicas of remembered homes to representations of inhabitants of this corner of the world, together this body of work comprises a portrait of a region.

For more information, visit fwcac.com.

SFA Today will begin publishing a single weekly issue after the end of the academic semester.

The weekly issue will be published Wednesdays throughout the summer.

SFA's Department of Mathematics and Statistics faculty members invite the SFA community to celebrate Dr. Bill Clark's 50 years of service to SFA.

The reception is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, May 10, in the Bush Mathematical Sciences Building, Room 101.

This semester, SFA students involved in an honors project in the Rusche College of Business have enhanced their business communication skills in a unique way.

Based on a childhood barter game and the One Red Paperclip project by Kyle MacDonald, SFA students traded a purple paperclip for items of increasing value.

After six trades, each student secured an item to include in a silent auction, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, May 6, in the McGee Business Building, Room 133. Items up for auction include a Keurig coffee maker, Mother’s Day gift basket, Tory Burch bag and SFA wall decor. The auction is open to the public.

Event proceeds will benefit The Helping House, an organization that helps children with autism and developmental delays. Proceeds will help provide supplies and offset the cost of tuition for its students.

To learn more about the project, visit @SFAPurpleClip on Twitter and SFA Purple Paperclip on Facebook and Instagram.

SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Marc Pastorek, prairie activist and horticulturist from Covington, Louisiana, will present “The Prairie Inspired Garden: Fun with Seed!”

The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

In recognition of Better Hearing and Speech Month, SFA’s Stanley Center for Speech and Language Disorders is offering guidance on how to recognize communication disorders and ways to treat them.

“Development of strong communication skills is extremely important,” said Deena Petersen, center director. “Yet common misconceptions remain. One misconception is children generally outgrow speech or language difficulties. Unfortunately, this often delays treatment.”

With speech and language disorders ranking among the most common disabilities in children, parents and caregivers are encouraged to learn the signs and seek an evaluation if they have concerns about their child’s ability to communicate, Petersen explained.

SFA graduate students studying speech-language pathology work with and observe clients in the center to practice their skills and offer services to the community.

Nacogdoches residents who want to schedule an assessment with SFA’s Stanley Center for Speech and Language Disorders should call (936) 468-7109.

In honor of the late Dr. Sarah Canterberry, former Department of Biology faculty member, a free aikido training session is being offered from 9 to 11 a.m. tomorrow at the C.L. Simon Recreation Center, located at 1112 North St.

Canterberry, who passed away May 4, 2018, advised SFA’s Yoseikan Budo Club and earned a second-degree black belt at the Texas Aikido Dojo.

"She had a passion for our Aikido dojo, and we could not think of a better way to honor her memory than with a special training, including some of the techniques she loved," said Robert Cheshire, head instructor at the dojo.

The event is open to anyone who would like to attend.

The 2019 Stone Fort yearbooks are now available to purchase for $67 each.

To purchase a book for your department, email Rachel Clark, Student Publications coordinator, at clarkr1@sfasu.edu. Include a FOAP number for an interdepartmental transfer in the email. Yearbooks will be delivered promptly to your department.

For more information, call Student Publications at (936) 468-4703.

SFA's Campus Recreation Department will host weeklong Little Jack Rec Camp sessions throughout the summer beginning June 3. The camp is intended for children ages 5 to 12.

Registration is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Campus Rec administrative office.

For more information, visit sfasu.edu/campusrec.

SFA’s Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir will present a concert featuring a variety of performers, including high school choirs from Nacogdoches and Lufkin, at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Cole Concert Hall.

The Women’s Choir will perform Stephen Hatfield’s popular arrangement of the Brazilian folk song “O sapo” (The Toad) among other selections.

The Men’s Choir will perform Brian Tate’s arrangement of “Ehara,” which is a Maori folk song from the indigenous Polynesian culture of New Zealand.

The concert will conclude with SFA men’s and women’s choirs combining with the varsity mixed choirs from Lufkin and Nacogdoches high schools to perform Peter Wilhousky’s stirring arrangement of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

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 Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of the documentary “Alive and Kicking” at 7 p.m. tonight in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Directed by Susan Glatzer, “Alive and Kicking” is a feature-length documentary that takes an inside glance into the culture of swing dancing and the characters who make it special. It explores the culture surrounding swing dance from the emergence of the Lindy Hop to the modern-day international phenomenon. The film looks at the lives of the swing dancers to find their personal stories and why this dance fills them with joy.

For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

All four SFA concert bands will present the annual Concert in the Park Sunday, May 5, in the wooded area along Vista Drive and in front of the Wright Music Building. The concert begins at 2 p.m. and is free to the public.

A meeting of the Lumberjack Band Alumni Association will be held in the Band Hall following the concert.

Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, the honorary band service fraternity and sorority, will sell hamburger plates beginning at 1 p.m. Plates are $5 each and will include a burger, chips and beverage.

For more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS, or visit finearts.sfasu.edu.

SFA’s Wind Symphony will present a concert that recognizes dances from around the world when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Turner Auditorium.

“Solitary Dances” will feature works by Warren Benson, John Barnes Chance, Percy Grainger, Alfred Reed, Henry Fillmore and other composers, according to Dr. Tamey Anglley, associate director of bands at SFA and director of the Wind Symphony.

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 Orchestra of the Pines will present “Musical Landscapes” when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 pm. Tuesday, May 7, in Cole Concert Hall.

Among the highlights of the concert will be a performance of Fort Worth music composition student Travis Wattigney’s “The Awakening Valley.” The work was the winning entry in the 2018 Tennessee Valley Music Festival for Scores and was selected as winner in the most recent SFA School of Music’s Composition Competition, earning it a performance by the orchestra.

The concert also will feature a performance by Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, professor of violin, on Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending,” according to Dr. Pierre-Alain Chevalier, visiting director of orchestral activities at SFA and musical director of the orchestra.

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 the program “I Won’t Dance: An Evening of Great American Song” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, in the Music Recital Hall.

“I Won’t Dance: An Evening of Great American Song” is a program of all early 20th century popular music and will feature songs from George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and others.

The performers are sisters Kayla Roth, music theory and ear-training faculty in the School of Music, and Erin Roth Thomas, a mezzo-soprano who performs regularly in the Dallas area. Both are SFA graduates.

Among the selections, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Cole Porter was nominated for an Academy Award for best original song in 1936 and later became a signature tune for Frank Sinatra. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein and other selections also will be performed.

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 Steel Band will present its annual spring concert when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, in Cole Concert Hall.

The Steel Band, directed by Dr. Ben Tomlinson, percussion adjunct faculty, will perform traditional calypso selections from Trinidad and Tobago as well as additional tunes from around the world.

Among the selections will be “Morning Dance” by Spyro Gyra, “Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing” by Stevie Wonder and “Mambo Mindoro” by Cal Tjader.

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.

It may look like a painting, but the streaks of color in these aerial photos taken by French photographer Normann Szkop are actually fields of tulips.

Tulip farms comprise one of the Netherlands leading businesses. In fact, an approximate 80% of the world’s tulip production comes from this country.

The flower itself, however, has a long economic history. In the 17th century, tulips were so popular, they created the first economic bubble, known as "tulip mania."

To learn more, click here.