The second regularly scheduled meeting of the SFA Faculty Senate for the 2020-21 academic year will be at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, via Zoom. Visitors may attend at the beginning of the meeting. However, the business portion after the break is open only to faculty members.

Drs. Scott Gordon, SFA president, and Steve Bullard, provost and vice president of academic affairs, are expected to provide updates. Senators also will hear from Erma Brecht, executive director of enrollment management.

The senate will hear the intellectual property ad hoc report and suggested actions on that topic. Additionally, the Professional Welfare Committee will discuss a statement from the senate concerning faculty members with children and caregivers.

For more information, contact your senator or Dr. Andrew Lannen, senate chair, at lannenac@sfasu.edu.

SFA's Organization for Women's Leadership and Equity will host this month's meetings from 1 to 2 p.m. today and from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, via Zoom. Email owle@sfasu.edu for the meeting link.

For more information about OWLE, click here.

Send questions to Heather Olson Beal, faculty co-chair, at olsonbehk@sfasu.edu, or Ashley Johnson, staff co-chair, at johnsonar13@sfasu.edu.

SFA’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community during its annual National Coming Out Day event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.

“This event is designed to educate the community and promote the inclusion of all people in Nacogdoches County,” said La-Meria Seriale, OMA student ambassador.

OMA’s celebration this year involves activity stations attendees can visit to receive information on the LGBTQIA+ community. The event also includes educational segments covering health issues, sexual orientation and the history of the LGBTQIA+ community.

The free, public event will take place in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Theater. Due to COVID-19 guidelines, those who wish to attend must preregister at sfasu.edu/oma as well as wear masks and practice social distancing during the event.

What better time to write that novel you've always considered writing than National Novel Writing Month, which beings Nov. 1.

During the month, a community of novel writers encourage one another to write 50,000 words of their first draft. Sign up and proclaim your intention to write your story and track your progress at nanowrimo.org.

For more information or questions, email Nancy Breen, the "Texas elsewhere" region municipal liaison, at breennl@sfasu.edu.

A new tuition funding opportunity as well as modernized application requirements are just two of several reasons officials believe SFA's graduate enrollment increased by more than 10% this fall, despite bleak educational forecasts based on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A third major contributing factor was the transition of hundreds of courses to distance formats as the university sought to evolve its fall semester to meet physical-distancing challenges.

“Collaboration between the Office of Research and Graduate Studies staff members and program coordinators in all six colleges has led to truly innovative initiatives aimed at program enhancement and meeting students’ unique circumstances,” said Dr. Pauline M. Sampson, dean of SFA’s research and graduate studies. “Our office has worked very hard on recruitment strategies, and we see that students understand the many benefits of graduate-level educational pursuits at any time, but especially during an economic downturn.”

SFA’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts experienced the largest enrollment increase at 22.1%. The college’s Department of Mass Communication and School of Social Work comprised the two biggest portions of this growth.

The College of Fine Arts experienced the second largest graduate enrollment increase at 19.7%, with the School of Music comprising the largest portion of growth.

The Stanley Center for Speech and Language Disorders at SFA has received a 2020 Speak Out and Loud Crowd grant from the Parkinson Voice Project, the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the world dedicated to helping individuals with Parkinson’s disease improve their speech and swallowing.

The SFA clinic is one of only 248 hospitals, university speech therapy clinics, private practices and nonprofit organizations worldwide to receive this funding. The grant provides free Speak Out training for the clinical instructors and graduate students in SFA’s speech-language pathology program. It also funds materials used in the Speak Out and Loud Crowd programs.

East Texas has a large population of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to Deena Petersen, clinic director.

“We are fortunate to be trained in the Speak Out program to help these clients communicate better,” she said.

The clinic offers free therapy sessions to East Texans with Parkinson’s disease to help them learn how to speak with intent.

The Campus Recreation Department and SFA Alumni Association will host the Stuff It 2020 Virtual 5K from Nov. 21 through 29.

The event brings together students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members to raise money for SFA scholarships.

Participants are encouraged to register by Oct. 30 to guarantee a commemorative T-shirt and face mask. The registration rate is $25 to have your race packet mailed to the address of your choice. The rate is $20 if you select to pick up your race packet at the Student Recreation Center. Registration closes at noon Nov. 20.

For more information, to register or become a sponsor, visit the Stuff It 2020 Virtual 5K page.

SFA's Chamber Singers will present a virtual concert titled “Sojourn: An Evening of Sonnets, Spirituals and Love” when the ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.

“The choral works presented on this concert represent a diverse repertoire of both festive, soulful and intimate sounds that will free the mind from the world for an evening,” according to Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities in the SFA School of Music.

Obtain free access to the online, livestreamed concert by visiting music.sfasu.edu on the night of the performance. For more information about the School of Music, contact (936) 468-4602.

Levity and a cold front — the two things we possibly need now more than ever.

Luckily for us, Barcelona-based artist Joaquim Campa colorized an 1896 Lumière Brothers film of a citizen snowball fight on the streets of Lyon, France.

Sit back and enjoy this quick glimpse into the past while dreaming of cooler days to come.