Just in time for the upcoming mid-term elections, education studies faculty members Drs. Heather Olson Beal and Lauren Burrow co-authored “Encouraging Pre-Service Teachers' Civic Engagement ‘In a Box'” in a special issue of the Journal of Social Studies and History Education.

The article and the activities described in it were financially supported by an internal service-learning grant from SFA’s Center for Teaching and Learning after Olson Beal completed a semester-long training in Burrow’s service-learning faculty learning community in spring 2020. The project also is part of the pair’s co-taught Community Responsiveness and Engaged Advocacy in Teacher Education (C.R.E.A.T.E.) program track within the Department of Education Studies.

Sasso recently co-authored two published research journal articles.

The first, "A Comparison of Generational Differences in Faculty Perceptions of Online versus Face-to-Face Professional Development – A Community College Case Study," is featured in College Teaching and explores generational differences in professional development preferences in community college faculty.

The second, "Post(racial)-Malone: (Un)conscious Habits of White Iverson," explores racism and masculinity in white fraternities and is featured in Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.

More students are graduating sooner, and more first-year students are persisting in their studies, according to SFA’s fall 2022 enrollment numbers and success reports.

Even with a decrease in overall enrollment, the university saw growth among several populations and achieved its highest six-year graduation rate in the university’s history. At a rate of 53.5%, SFA’s fall 2022 six-year graduation rate has consistently risen over several years and in the past five years alone has increased by approximately 5%. Additionally, the university’s first-time undergraduate retention rate is nearly 3% higher compared to five years ago.

“It is very hard to move the needle on retention and graduation rates,” said Dr. Marc Guidry, SFA associate provost, “but we have been doing it with steady progress for several years now through intentional and proactive advising, a revamped early alert system that reaches out to students early in the semester if they are not attending classes or doing assignments, and high-impact programs that direct resources to at-promise students like Generation Jacks and Aspire.”

For more information on SFA’s fall enrollment, visit the Office of Institutional Research’s website at sfasu.edu/ir.

Employees can view the full list of staff system affiliation questions on the Staff Council website.

Systems have until Oct. 6 to send their responses, which will be posted to the university system affiliation website.

The responses from each system will be discussed at the council's next meeting Oct. 17. Participants will submit a report on these discussions and the systems' strengths and weaknesses to Dr. Steve Westbrook, interim president, by Oct. 21. The report will be presented at the upcoming Board of Regents meeting Oct. 30-31.

Staff Council encourages staff members to stay involved in these discussions by communicating with their Staff Council representative(s).

Dr. Marcus Cox, associate professor of management in SFA’s Rusche College of Business, has been named coordinator for Business and Community Services, a new entity launched by the college to assist local and regional businesses, nonprofits and government entities with business-related activities.

“We provide assistance to the community by leveraging the expertise of our faculty and students,” Cox said. “While helping these organizations, students work on problems unique to East Texas and gain real-world experience before starting their careers.”

The Campus Recreation Department will host the Fall Wellness Fair and Flu Shot Clinic from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Twilight Ballroom. M&S Pharmacy staff members will be on-site to provide flu shots to faculty, staff and students.

Participants are asked to bring a prepared registration form and Optum RX card, or make the on-site registration process faster by emailing the prepared registration form to waguespaja@sfasu.edu.

The free event will provide resources and services from a variety of SFA and Nacogdoches organizations and businesses, including health screenings, product samples, refreshments, educational materials and giveaways. Faculty members are encouraged to inform their students about the event.

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

The Campus Recreation Department and SFA Alumni Association will host the 11th annual Homecoming 5K Run/Walk at 5:45 p.m. Oct. 25 on campus.

The event brings together students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members to raise money for SFA scholarships. The 5K race includes timing, a custom performance shirt and medals awarded to the top winners of each category.

The event also will offer an untimed one-mile run/walk option, and a shirt can be purchased. If you are unable to attend in person, you can still participate with the virtual runner option, which includes a mailed performance shirt.

For more information or to register, visit the Campus Recreation webpage.

Football

SFA - 98 vs. Warner University - 0

Soccer

SFA - 1 vs. Sam Houston State University - 0

SFA - 2 vs. New Mexico State University - 1

Volleyball

SFA - 3 vs. Tarleton State University - 1

SFA - 2 vs. Sam Houston State University - 3

SFA’s The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces jazz bands will present their fall “Swingin’ At The Brewery” fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Fredonia Brewery in downtown Nacogdoches.

Admission to the outdoor concert is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the School of Music’s jazz program, according to Dr. J.D. Salas, professor of tuba and euphonium studies and director of the Swingin’ Axes.

Favorites by Gordon Goodwin, Sammy Nestico, Mike Tamaro and other jazz greats will be performed by both bands. Dr. Jake Walburn, associate professor of trumpet, directs the Swingin’ Aces.

Shali’s Indian Kitchen on Wheels will be on site, and the brewery’s Rebellion Pizza will be open. SFA Jazz T-shirts and other merchandise will be available for purchase.

Works for trombone and marimba will be featured in a guest recital performed by two members of the 77th U.S. Army Band at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in Cole Concert Hall.

Staff Sgt. Adam Walton, marimba, and Sgt. Jonathan Stoby, trombone, will perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Andrew Beall, Johannes Brahms, Alexandre Guilmant, Franz Schubert and Georg Philipp Telemann in the concert presented by the SFA School of Music.

Admission is free.

The Children’s Performing Arts Series will open its 2022-23 season on Oct. 6 with three performances of Alley Theatre’s “Oskar’s Not So Simple Comeback.”

The Children’s Performing Arts Series, presented by the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, features curriculum-enhancing programs presented by Texas artists.

“Oskar’s Not So Simple Comeback” targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade. When Oskar starts attending school in person again after an extended period of remote learning, he’s excited about joining his classmates for his favorite activity: Sportsball! But much to his dismay, his skills have deteriorated, and he’ll have to find a way to restore his talent and confidence.

The SFA School of Music will present guest pianist Sung-Soo Cho in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in Cole Concert Hall.

Cho will present “Alexander Scriabin's 150th: The Complete Études for Piano.”

“I first learned about the half (Op. 8) several years ago, and learned the rest of them in the following years,” Cho said. “I first presented them in their entirety at the beginning of the pandemic, and when I could first bring them back, it is the composer’s 150th year!"

Planning is underway for the 12 X 12 Scholarship Fundraiser hosted by SFA's Friends of the Visual Arts and benefiting students in the School of Art.

Mark your calendars now for Oct. 8 through 22 to make sure you have time to participate in silent bidding, and plan to attend the art party and art auction Oct. 22 at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The silent auction features 12-by-12-inch pieces of art created by artists from Nacogdoches, Lufkin and other areas of East Texas, as well as artists from other states.

A bargain hunter in Maine searching for a kitchen mixer went with an impulse buy instead: a $75 framed document in Latin.

Turns out the parchment was from The Beauvais Missal, used in the Beauvais Cathedral in France, and dated to the late 13th century. It could be worth as much as $10,000.

Read more about this estate sale find.