SFA will host a COVID-19 rapid-testing clinic from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday, Jan. 21, on the north side of the Student Recreation Center. Testing will take place in the center’s outdoor loading dock.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to register to get tested at register.txrapidtest.org. Results should be texted within a few hours.

Individuals also may volunteer to assist with the clinic and may visit the shared volunteer list to sign up. Volunteers will be required to take a quick 30-minute training.

The Dean of Students Office will host training sessions to become a deputy voter registrar to interested SFA employees and students. The event will take place in the Baker Pattillo Student Center commons room at 1:15 p.m. tomorrow for faculty and staff and at 3 p.m. for students.

The training will allow employees and students to register students to vote. The sessions take about an hour.

Those interested in attending can RSVP with the Dean of Students office at DOS@sfasu.edu. Further information will be emailed to you once an RSVP has been received.

Dr. Carmen G. Montaña, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Christopher Schalk, assistant professor of forest wildlife management, traveled to Guyana during the winter break to continue their research on tropical fish ecology and conservation. This research is part of a collaborative effort among SFA researchers, the University of Guyana and the Centre for Study of Biological Diversity in Georgetown, Guyana, to assess and quantify the freshwater diversity of this region.

The blackwater rivers draining into the lower Demerara River in Guyana are highly impacted by deforestation, sand mining, bauxite mining, urban development and more recently oil exploration, yet their impacts on aquatic biodiversity are not well understood. Montaña and Schalk will continue working together with Guyanese collaborators to better understand how these aquatic ecosystems, local fisheries and overall aquatic biodiversity are affected by different types of land use. These results can provide more accurate information for efforts focused on biodiversity conservation and fisheries management in Guyana.

The call for presentation proposals for the 2022 Teaching Showcase is now open. Proposals will be accepted through Feb. 7.

This year's showcase will be held at 2 p.m. March 1 and will be offered in a hybrid face-to-face and livestream format.

Now in its eighth year, the Teaching Showcase provides faculty, staff and teaching assistants the opportunity to share best practices, recognize colleagues' innovative teaching methods and hold cross-disciplinary conversations to create better learning opportunities for students.

During the event, 10 faculty presenters provide five-minute overviews and/or demonstrations of teaching tips, technology uses or strategies that enhance student learning.

To submit a proposal or view past presentations, visit the Teaching Showcase website.

Faculty members are invited to attend the Core Curriculum Committee town hall meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, to discuss recent student achievement results in the Texas Core Curriculum.

This town hall is a key component of SFA’s accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and affects all academic programs, departments and offices.

The meeting will address the strengths and weaknesses of student performance associated with core curriculum objective attainment and will include a faculty discussion of possible improvements.

The meeting will be held via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 975 5606 9360

Passcode: 642523

The Office of Multicultural Affairs is seeking faculty, staff and students to assist with facilitating safe space and ally trainings. A safe space is a welcoming, supportive and safe environment for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

Facilitators will receive information to conduct trainings as needed. The spring train-the-trainer session is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Jan. 25. Those interested in participating can email Veronica Beavers at vbeavers@sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-1073.

The eighth annual SFA Kick Axe Wellness Challenge will run from Monday, Jan. 24, through Feb. 27. The five-week challenge will focus on the seven dimensions of well-being to promote a healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle. Registration is due by Friday, Jan. 21.

Teams of four participate in a friendly competition and earn points by completing weekly activities. Prizes will be awarded weekly, and the top three teams will be announced at the end of the challenge. A party for all participants will take place at the challenge's end.

Teams may consist of university employees and/or students. To register online, visit the Campus Recreation Department and select "Getting Started."

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

Track and Field

The men's and women's track teams competed at the Ted Nelson Invitational hosted by Texas A&M University Saturday and returned with several Top 5 finishes across multiple events for both programs.

Women's Basketball

SFA - 79 vs. Sam Houston State University - 46

SFA - 65 vs. Lamar University - 53

Men's Basketball

SFA - 41 vs. Sam Houston State University - 49

SFA - 86 vs. Lamar University - 78

Dr. Minhae Lee, assistant professor of piano at SFA, will collaborate with Dr. Jeong-Eun Lee, visiting assistant professor of music at Indiana University, to present a recital at 7:30 p.m. today in Cole Concert Hall.

The program will feature “El Salón México” by Aaron Copland, arranged for two pianos by Leonard Bernstein; Two Piano Sonata in D major, K. 448 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Paganini Variation for Two Pianos by Witold Lutoslawski; and Suite No. 1 in C minor, Op. 17 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Minhae Lee joined the faculty of the School of Music in 2021. Equally at home as both a solo pianist and collaborative pianist, she has held a staff position as collaborative pianist at the Jeju International Brass Competition, the Manhattan School of Music, the Manhattan in the Mountains Summer Festival, Michigan State University, Central Michigan State University, and the Aspen Music Festival and School as a full scholarship pianist.

Drs. Christina Guenther and Ron Petti in the SFA School of Music will present the program “Composers of Our Time: Music for Flute and Piano” when they perform in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, in Cole Concert Hall.

Guenther, professor of flute at SFA, and Petti, professor and director of collaborative piano, will perform works by Dan Welcher, Matthew Durrant, Valerie Coleman, Scott Stephen Hansen and Daron Hagen. “This recital features works of all living composers,” Guenther said.

The program opens with “All the Words to All the Songs” by Welcher, who was a long-time composition professor at The University of Texas at Austin, which is where Guenther met him. “He has composed in many different genres and gifted me some of his flute works,” she said. “I have always found ‘All the Words to All the Songs’ to be a very special piece – meaningful and powerful; the audience will recognize one of Elvis Presley’s best-known songs quoted in this piece. I think it is a really nice opener to our program.”

Power washing, but make it art!

There’s little more satisfying than watching the original beauty of places and things reveal themselves through a good power wash — even better when people throw a little creativity in the mix.

View the splendor of 30 fresh power washed places and items.