The SFA Alumni Association will honor four alumni during its annual awards banquet Friday, Sept. 6, at The Fredonia Hotel in Nacogdoches.

The SFA Alumni Awards honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and the community and who advance the goals and values of SFA.

This year’s award recipients are Steve Whitbeck '75, Lumberjack Pride Award; Cole Tomberlain '10, Outstanding Young Alumnus Award; and Michael Calbert ’84 and Dr. John D. Weete ’65 & '68, who each will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Read more about the recipients here.

SFA’s DeWitt School of Nursing will host a site review for initial accreditation of its Master of Science in Nursing family nurse practitioner program by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.

The community is invited to meet the visiting site team and share comments about the program at noon Sept. 25 in the DeWitt School of Nursing Complex, Room 101. Written comments may be submitted by Sept. 24 to Dr. Marsal Stoll, chief executive officer for ACEN, at 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, Georgia 30326.

“The faculty has worked diligently to ensure the curriculum reflects current advanced nursing practice standards and complies with all requirements of our governing agencies,” said Dr. Tamara Harris, associate professor and director of the school of nursing. “We anticipate a positive report for this new program, which will further complement the long-standing reputation of our Lumberjack nurses.”

SFA’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host the second annual Something to Chew On discussion series this month in partnership with the Lumberjack Cultural Association.

The theme of this fall’s series is SFA cultural climate.

“We chose this topic because some SFA students may feel uncomfortable around peers with different backgrounds and appearances,” said Elda Echeverry, LCA president. “We think it is important to lean into the discomfort and have open discussions to break stereotypes and typecasting based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and more.”

LCA is extending an open invitation to all members of the SFA community to stimulate dialogue by sharing their own experiences.

The fall 2019 Something to Chew On will begin at noon Sept. 25 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 3.102. Snacks and door prizes will be provided.

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

SFA’s School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of the documentary “The Great Alone” at 7 p.m. Sept. 13 in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

“The Great Alone” is an award-winning feature-length documentary film that captures the inspiring comeback story of champion sled dog racer Lance Mackey.

Billed as “The Last Great Race on Earth,” the Iditarod Trail is the toughest dog sled race in the world. The race is one of Alaska's proudest traditions, and Mackey is its greatest champion, according to the IMDb film description. He's a man with dog sled racing hard wired into his family, across generations.

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

SFA’s Friends of Music Concert Series opens its 2019-20 season with a faculty piano recital presented by Dr. Thomas Nixon, staff accompanist in the SFA School of Music, at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Cole Concert Hall.

“Since I spend most of my time as a collaborative pianist, I wanted to show a different side of me and give a solo piano recital,” Nixon said. “Although the program is fairly traditional, I wanted to showcase some of my favorite works and composers.”

Among his program selections is "Barcarolle, Op. 60" by Frederic Chopin, "Sonata No. 5, Op. 53" by Alexander Scriabin and “La valse” by Maurice Ravel.

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.

"Horton Hears a Who" and so can you!

A traveling exhibit, The Dr. Seuss Experience, will soon offer patrons the opportunity to immerse themselves in the colorful worlds of a beloved children’s book author. The interactive event allows attendees to step into the pages of classic books like “The Cat in the Hat," “The Lorax” and “If I Ran the Circus.”

The exhibit opens Oct. 26 in Toronto before touring U.S. cities, including Seattle, Houston and Boston.

To read more, click here.