The SFA Board of Regents will meet Sunday and Monday, Oct. 25-26.

In-person attendance will be limited in accordance with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Only authorized participants will be allowed in the conference room.

The meeting may be viewed via livestream.

SFA’s State Employee Charitable Campaign leaders want to remind you about the annual charity campaign, which benefits various agencies and nonprofit organizations across Texas. In the past, SFA employees contributed more than $20,000 to various agencies across Texas. This year, the goal is to raise more than $22,000. Today is the last day to participate in the SECC.

For 25 years, Texas state employees have embraced fellow Texans through the SECC by contributing millions of dollars each year to provide meals to hungry children and service dogs for our veterans, support cancer survivors, and more.

There are two ways employees can give through the campaign: make a one-time donation via cash or check, or sign up for payroll deduction.

Your donations go to those agencies and nonprofit organizations that you designate. The minimum donation is $2.

If you would like a form or more information, contact Veronica Beavers, Office of Multicultural Affairs director, or Dr. Tim Bisping, dean of the Rusche College of Business, at secc@sfasu.edu.

The SFA "Stay at Home"coming Online Auction 2020 will continue through 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, with proceeds supporting alumni programs and student scholarships.

Auction items range from SFA memorabilia and vacation getaways to hand-crafted collectibles. To view auction items and place your bids, click here.

Refer your friends and family for a chance to win a two-night stay at The Fredonia Hotel.

SFA faculty and staff are invited to the first-ever Fall Beach Bash from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the sand volleyball courts located southwest of the Student Recreation Center.

Watch the SFA beach volleyball team practice while enjoying great music and delicious local food truck fare. Grab your chairs and blankets, and spread out on the lawn around the courts for a fun and socially distant fall event.

The Fall Beach Bash is brought to you by the SFA Social Events Team in the spirit of our “SFA Envisioned” strategic plan, which includes fostering a culture of engagement within our campus community. To stay informed about other SFA social events, please “like” the SFA Faculty/Staff Lounge Facebook page.

SFA’s Center for Career and Professional Development and Human Resources have partnered to offer guidance to departments interested in expanding or creating on-campus internship programs for students. HR can assist with creating and posting the opportunities, and CCPD can offer best practices from its own on-campus internship program. The departments have collaborated on the On-Campus Internship Insider and are hosting open office hours on Zoom with representatives who can answer questions about these processes.

Click here to attend the first Zoom session, scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27. Click here to participate in the second Zoom session from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28

While off-campus internships have always been a valuable tool for students looking to boost their prospects, times have changed. Shutdowns, social distancing and the overall contraction of the economy have taken their toll on traditional internships. The silver lining is that on-campus internships are convenient and flexible for students, as well as their mentors, and departments can improve their operations with well-crafted programs.

For more information, click the "Read More" button below.

The Global Learning Collective will host a presentation about virtual international experience opportunities at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, via Zoom.

Virtual activities can be integrated into a preexisting course or as part of an international program itinerary that is a virtual or hybrid model. The experiences can be customized and linked with local collective partners in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Collective members offer virtual experiences in a variety of formats, from internships and case competitions with local businesses to virtual exchange programs that integrate cultural activities, service learning activities and industry speakers.

To attend, register here.

The international education fee/study abroad scholarship is approved for use in on-campus virtual programming and serves to benefit students who might not be able to participate in a traditional study abroad program. For funding requirements and availability, contact the OIP at international@sfasu.edu.

The Center for Career and Professional Development and Doches Credit Union will host the Fall 2020 Virtual Financial Reality Fair from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 28, virtually through Zoom.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to inform students about the event, especially those who may be interested in gaining a reality check on their finances after college. This simulation will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete and will give participants an idea of how budgeting, paying bills and spending money look realistically after they graduate and start working. Click here to preview event registration. Faculty members who want to track student attendance may email their rosters to derouenb@sfasu.edu for notification after the event. 

For more information, contact Brandi Derouen, assistant director of the CCPD, at derouenb@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-3305.

The Employee Wellness program will host its first Dine and Demo from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Dining Hall teaching kitchen. Join us for a deliciously healthy spin on some of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. Enjoy lunch in the newly renovated dining hall while the campus dietitian whips up various holiday samples.

The cost is $7, or you can use your faculty/staff meal plan. Space is limited. To attend, contact Jessica Waguespack, Employee Wellness assistant director, at (936) 468-6056 or waguespaja@sfasu.edu.

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

Members of SFA’s Jacks Council on Family Relations are gearing up for their annual food drive, Thanksgiving Homebound.

JCFR asks members of the SFA and Nacogdoches communities to donate food items families can use to prepare a Thanksgiving meal along with gift items for family members. Those interested in participating should contact JCFR at sfasujcfr@gmail.com to adopt a family. Donated items will be distributed to families through the East Texas Family Crisis Center, Solid Foundation and GETCAP Head Start.

The SFA School of Theatre will present the student-directed one-act play “The Bald Soprano” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, in Regents' Suite A in the Baker Pattillo Student Center. The show also will be livestreamed.

Directed by Sulphur Springs senior Kaitlyn McDearmont, “The Bald Soprano” is an absurdist play written by Eugène Ionesco. The storyline follows a proper English couple, the Smiths, who are sharing an evening with the Martins. The play was inspired by Ionesco’s attempt to learn English, and the dialogue is a parody of the kinds of conversations that take place in foreign-language instruction. The couples, eventually joined by the Fire Chief and his lover, who also is the Smiths’ maid, tell stories about their lives.

Tickets are $4. To purchase tickets or virtual access, visit the SFA Fine Arts Box Office online at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407. Box office sales end at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. For more information about the play, call the School of Theatre at (936) 468-4003 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

Sometimes we need to view the world from a different angle to truly appreciate its beauty.

The Aerial Photography Awards has announced its winners and best picks of 2020. Photographers from 65 countries submitted their best images captured from drones, helicopters, kites, balloons or airplanes.

Take a look at the winning shots here.