Stewart recently presented “Acknowledging Student Stress: Mindfulness and Physical Stress Reduction Activities for Health and Wellness Classes” at the 2020 Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness conference, which was virtual this year due to COVID-19.

His presentation focused on mindfulness — a nonjudgmental awareness of our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and surroundings in the present moment — as a method to manage stress in uncertain times. Stewart described two mindfulness techniques faculty members can use during their classes to help students release stress. One involves the attentive, present-moment experience of the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell), and the other helps identify and release tension in the body.

To learn some stress-reducing mindfulness exercises for your students, including the three-minute body scan, email john.stewart@sfasu.edu.

Farago recently co-authored the article “Ugandan adolescents’ gender stereotype knowledge about jobs,” published in Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies.

The study’s findings indicated that Ugandan adolescents ages 11 to 17 were fairly egalitarian about jobs and there were no differences in occupational stereotype knowledge between males and females. Findings present reasons for hope and for continued work toward gender equality in Uganda.

To read more, click here.

Dr. Joseph Graves McWilliams, a 1974 SFA graduate and retired professor of mathematics and statistics, passed away Oct. 11.

McWilliams was the husband of M.E. McWilliams, director of SFA’s Academic Assistance and Resource Center.

After serving in the U.S. Navy as petty officer 2nd class during the Vietnam War, McWilliams returned to the states and attended McNeese State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1972. He received a master’s degree in mathematics from SFA in 1974, then a second master’s degree from Southern Methodist University in statistics in 1981. Upon receiving his doctoral degree in mathematics from SMU in 1985, McWilliams began serving on the SFA faculty that same year. He was a Student Life Award finalist in 1994 and nominated for the university’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2002. McWilliams retired from SFA in 2011.

His book, “A First Course in Probability and Statistics,” published in 2008, was adopted and used by the university for many years in its introductory probability and statistics course. McWilliams donated all profits from the book to scholarships for SFA students.

A scholarship has been established to honor McWilliams’ lasting impact.

Donations to the Dr. Joseph G. McWilliams Scholarship can be made online here.

The Office of International Programs is seeking feedback from faculty members about a new virtual study abroad resource. An overview of the product and the four focus programs included can be found here.

The programs contain 12 hours of virtual, self-paced, globally infused instruction with embedded, interactive “hotspots” for in-depth content, quizzes and exercises. Learning materials are accessible with many forms of technology.

This resource offers international educational opportunities to all students by removing barriers associated with traditional study abroad. It is not a replacement for study abroad, but an enhancement.

OIP wants to know if faculty members will use the resource in the classroom and promote its use to students. After viewing the material, share your level of interest by taking this survey. The survey will close Monday, Oct. 19.

With schools moving education online across the world, SFA understands access to high-speed internet is more critical than ever and is inviting area K-12 students to use campus Wi-Fi and computer labs.

“The need for online learning due to COVID-19 has made high-speed internet a requirement for so many students,” said Tim Lewallen, assistant director for customer service in SFA’s Information Technology Services. “We recognize that many in the community do not have high-speed internet available where they live, so our intent is for this initiative to aid those students. We recognize the value of an education and want to assist local students in any way possible.”

In addition to Wi-Fi access, a select number of campus computers in the Library Information Network Center, or LINC lab, are available to students in need.

For more information on connecting to SFA’s Wi-Fi, visit help.sfasu.edu.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to inform students about an ongoing Student Success Virtual Workshop Series hosted by the Student Success Center.

The series will cover a wide variety of topics, including tips and tricks on learning strategies, course registration, communication skills, marketable skills and financial literacy. Students will need to preregister for the individual workshops.

For more information, including times and details for each workshop, visit the Student Success Center’s website.

The second regularly scheduled meeting of the SFA Faculty Senate for the 2020-21 academic year will be at 2:30 p.m. today 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 second meeting from 2 to 3 p.m. tomorrow 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 Employee Wellness program will offer three virtual wellness seminars in October and November, including "Is This Food For Real?," "Fueling Your Workout" and "Drive-Thru Nutrition."

"Is This Food For Real?" will take place from 12:15 to 1 p.m. today via Zoom. For event information, visit the Employee Wellness Upcoming Events page.

“Like” the Employee Wellness Facebook page or complete an Employee Wellness participant profile form to stay informed.

For more information, contact Jessica Waguespack, Employee Wellness assistant director, at (936) 468-6056 or waguespaja@sfasu.edu.

Women's golf:

SFA ranked 15th in the two-day Arkansas State University Lady Red Wolves Classic.

SFA’s A Cappella Choir will present a virtual concert entitled “Autumn Splendor and Solemn Ritual” when the ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18.

The choir will perform works by composers from Slovenia, Germany, Italy and Norway, along with new music written in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities in the SFA School of Music.

“The choral works represented on this concert are inspired from festive and solemn rituals composed from the 18th century to just a couple of weeks ago,” Murphy said.

The choir will dedicate “In Remembrance” by American composer Jeffery Ames “to all those who have lost their lives to COVID-19,” Murphy said. Dr. Charles Gavin, professor of horn at SFA, will join the choir for the tribute.

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.

The internet is losing it a bit over medieval art.

Inspired by the show "Horrible Histories," art enthusiast Daniel Holland created a Twitter thread of medieval paintings depicting animals that the artist had clearly never seen before.

Elephants with giraffe legs and horse feet? Sure. An oyster with a beak and apparently big dreams of being a balloon? Why not.

Take a gander (or is that a flying beaver?) at more nightmare creatures here.