Today, the flags at SFA are flying at half-staff in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

More than 1,500 candidates will cross the stage during SFA’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 18, in Johnson Coliseum.

Steve Stagner, a 1991 SFA alumnus and former Mattress Firm CEO, will deliver the commencement address.

Just five years after his SFA graduation, Stagner became a Mattress Firm franchise owner. He eventually became the chief executive of the company, the nation’s largest mattress retailer, overseeing strategic planning as well as core functions such as sales, marketing, merchandising, finance and operations.

Candidates from SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education and the College of Fine Arts will participate in a 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Candidates from the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, the Rusche College of Business, the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, and the College of Sciences and Mathematics will participate in a 2 p.m. ceremony.

To view the ceremony online, visit SFA's Facebook.

Carolyn Hardy, who has worked for SFA's admissions office for 50 years, was honored for her years of service to the university.

Click here to view additional staff member award recipients.

William D. Clark, professor of mathematics and statistics, was honored for his 50 years of service to SFA. Clark is pictured with SFA Interim President Dr. Steve Westbrook.

Elizabeth Deanne Malpass, professor of history, also was posthumously honored for her five decades of service. Malpass passed away in March.

Click here to see additional faculty member service award recipients.

University Professional Women recently honored Dr. Rachel Jumper, assistant professor and program coordinator in human development and family studies, and human sciences graduate coordinator, with the Woman of the Year award. She was selected based on her service to SFA and the Nacogdoches community.

Jumper recently completed the Leadership SFA program and will serve as a member of the steering committee. This year, Jumper also was awarded a Teaching Excellence Award.

She is a board member and membership chair of the Texas Council on Family Relations, a National Council on Family Relations honor’s reviewer, a Willie Lee Glass Spirit award winner, and a Court Appointed Special Advocate board member.

UPW is an on-campus organization that enables women at SFA to become better acquainted with one another and to discuss matters of mutual interest. For more information, contact Heather Hawkins at hawkinshd@sfasu.edu.

The STEM Research and Learning Center will host Investigations in Math and Science, a weeklong summer program for incoming sixth through eighth grade students. This summer’s iMAS program is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon June 17 through 20, and 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 21.

The investigations include computer science, geology, engineering, chemistry, astronomy and physics. Friday’s session concludes with a pizza and pool party.

The cost is $250, and scholarship opportunities are available. For more information, click here.

The Kyle Keller Basketball Camp is offering a special discount for SFA faculty and staff.

Boys in second though 12th grades whose parents are faculty or staff are eligible for a 20% discount to any Kyle Keller Basketball Camp session.

To receive the discount, parents need to print and complete the paper application, located on the website.

For more information, call the SFA basketball office at (936) 468-3108, or visit kylekellerbasketballcamps.com.

SFA’s Children's Performing Arts Series will present performances of "The Jungle Book" at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. tomorrow in Turner Auditorium.

The story is set in the jungles of southern India, where a baby boy is discovered and raised by a pack of wolves. Mowgli, the boy, has a life full of adventure and conflict. Mowgli’s best friends are a bear named Baloo and a black panther named Bagheera. The notorious tiger, Shere Khan, is a force to be reckoned with in the jungle.

The show targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Study guides provide suggestions for pre- and post-performance activities and discussions for teachers to use in the classroom. A comprehensive study guide for "The Jungle Book" may be accessed at cpas.sfasu.edu.

Tickets are $7.50 for individuals and $6 per person for groups of 20 or more. To order tickets, call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Cats from the Selkirk Rex breed are known to be friendly, playful and cuddly, but you may not realize it by looking at Pompous Albert.

The ferocious-looking feline became an Instagram star, gaining more than 40,000 followers in the page’s first year.

To see more, click here, or visit Pompous Albert’s Instagram.