The Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture recently hosted the 22nd biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference at the Fredonia Hotel in Nacogdoches.

The event was attended by more than 180 scientists and practitioners. Dr. Brian Oswald, Joe C. Denman Distinguished Professor of Forestry, oversaw the conference as the steering committee co-chair. Attendees shared findings and discussed developments in the silvicultural field and participated in informative sessions, poster exhibits and field tours.

Leysath collaborated with Chad Bronowski, College Station Independent School District, to research full art integration in the chemistry classroom. The results of this action research project culminated in the book chapter “Crafting Science Experiences: Combining High School Ceramics and Chemistry for Academic Achievement,” which will be published in Contemporary Perspectives Through Action Research Across Educational Disciplines: The K-12 Classroom.

The book is the first volume in a series exploring a wide variety of disciplinary settings in which action research produced improved educational practices. The series attempts to examine action research that provides educators with tools and resources that help create a stronger impact in their educational contexts. Action Research Across Educational Disciplines will present the tools and findings associated with action research to educators across the broad field of K-12 education and beyond.

SFA’s Division of University Marketing Communications recently earned a total of nine awards from the Collegiate Advertising Awards, American Advertising Federation of East Texas' ADDY Awards and Educational Advertising Awards for marketing and communication projects produced in 2022.

“The members of the University Marketing Communications team are creative, resourceful and strategic professionals, as evidenced by the work these awards recognize,” said Graham Garner, SFA chief marketing communications officer. “SFA is a wonderful institution deserving of such an accomplished team to promote the members of our community and their contributions to Texas and beyond.”

Recognized projects are listed below with the award designation each received.

 ADDY

Silver: 2022-23 theatre and dance season brochure

CAA

Gold: I Love Nacogdoches social media series

Silver: 2022 Lumberjack Orientation booklet; and the 2022-23 theatre and dance season brochure

EAA

Gold: International programs T-shirt design; 2022 Lumberjack Orientation booklet; I Love Nacogdoches social media series; and fall 2022 Sawdust magazine

Merit: 2022-23 theatre and dance season brochure

After serving four years in the U.S. Marines and in various other higher education roles, Stesha Colby-Lynch has been named program director for SFA’s Veterans Resource Center.

With 10 years of experience in higher education, Colby-Lynch has a well-rounded understanding of what higher education can look like for military veterans and their dependents at SFA.

“I would love to see the veteran student body feel more connected to the whole university,” Colby-Lynch said. “Research shows if a student feels connected to the university, they are more likely to stay and graduate, and they are more likely to do well. I’d love to see that for my students.”

Faculty, staff and community members will have an opportunity to participate in a ticket giveaway tomorrow through SFA’s flagship social media accounts. A SpringFest post will be made on the day with giveaway directions.

The deadline for giveaway entries will be 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 31, and winners will be announced Wednesday, April 5. The first-place prize is eight free tickets, second place is four free tickets, and third place is two free tickets. Additionally, 20 other giveaway participants will receive $5 off their ticket purchase.

Tickets for faculty and staff are $15 for concourse-level seating or $20 for pit-level seating. For community members, tickets are $20 for concourse seats and $25 for pit-level seating. Tickets can be purchased at gosfa.com/springfest23. To buy a block of seats, contact the SFA Athletics Ticket Office at (936) 468-5225.

SFA's School of Social Work and the National Association of Social Workers Deep East Texas Branch are hosting an awards luncheon to honor SFA and area community members planned for 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Judy B. McDonald Public Library, located at 1112 North St.

Honorees include Dr. Freddie Avant, lifetime achievement award recipient; Ruby Ramon, social worker of the year; Amelia Ruiz Fischer, elected official of the year; Dr. Sharon Ninness, public citizen of the year; and Anna Hartman, student of the year.

Seating is limited. RSVP to the School of Social Work by calling (936) 468-5105.

Registration is open for day and overnight camps offered by the STEM Research and Learning Center.

The iMAS Academy explores investigations in mathematics and science. This hands-on, minds-on camp focuses on scientific inquiry through dynamic teaching and learning experiences led by SFA faculty members and master teachers at no cost to students.

The day camp will be held June 12-16 and the overnight camp will be held July 16-21. Camps are for students 14 to 17 years old prior to the start of camp. Both camps will be hosted at the Cole STEM Building. Applications close May 3 with teacher recommendations due by May 9. Announcements of acceptance will be made May 15. Applications can be found at gosfa.com/imasapp.

SFA employs more than 1,400 students who play a key role in educational, research and operational excellence. Human Resources encourages faculty and staff to show their appreciation to those students during National Student Employee Appreciation Week, planned for April 10-14.

For ideas on how to show your appreciation, visit the "Ways to Celebrate Student Employees" section on the HR website.

The Center for Teaching and Learning has launched a ChatGPT support site and is hosting a professional development session to discuss the technology’s potential use as a classroom tool and to determine best practices for fostering responsible student use.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that launched late last fall. The new support site will provide an overview of the technology and outline its impact on higher education. Additional content hosted on the site will include tools for detecting AI-generated work, integrating ChatGPT as an instructional tool and much more. The site also will house a comprehensive list of resources for faculty and staff.

The session will be held from 11 a.m. to noon today via Zoom. Faculty and staff can register in mySFA by clicking the “Employee” tab and then selecting “myTraining” and “Exploring ChatGPT.”

For more information, contact the CTL at ctl@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1010.

SFA’s Stanley Center for Speech and Language Disorders will host a voice screening clinic that’s free and open to the public this semester before being offered for a fee at some point after the introductory spring period.

The clinic will assess the human voice and how it functions. The goal of the clinic is to find voice disorders and study how they can affect one’s work performance and quality of life. The clinics are being conducted within the communication sciences and disorders program in SFA's Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership.

The clinics will take place each Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Human Services Building, Suite 202.

For more information, contact Shafia Bowker at (936) 468-7109 or shafia.bowker@sfasu.edu.

Baseball

SFA - 13 vs. Utah Tech University - 10

SFA - 17 vs. Utah Tech University - 9

SFA - 6 vs. Utah Tech University - 5

Beach Volleyball

SFA - 2 vs. University of Central Arkansas - 3

SFA - 0 vs. University of Arizona - 5

Softball

SFA - 9 vs. Seattle University - 11

SFA - 2 vs. Seattle University - 1

SFA - 2 vs. Seattle University - 4

The story of an entrancing and free-spirited girl and the inexorable impact of fate is featured when SFA's School of Music presents Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen.” Based on a novella by Prosper Mérimée, “Carmen” will run nightly at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, through Saturday, April 1, in Cole Concert Hall.

“‘Carmen’ is an opera full of spectacle, love, jealousy, ambition, beautiful music and dramatic conflict,” said Dr. Richard Berry, professor of voice and opera theater director.

The School of Theatre and Dance will present Danceworks Coda, a choreographed concert depicting various topics ranging from the influence of social media to French Impressionist paintings, April 13 through 15 in the Norton HPE Complex.

Danceworks Coda primarily consists of contemporary modern dance. Each senior choreographer has researched a topic of their choice and created choreography to depict their findings, said Heather Samuelson, coordinator of the dance program and an assistant director within the School of Theatre and Dance. “Audience members will experience a flood of information, told through the human body, and bear witness to the hard work and athleticism each dancer possesses,” she said.

Researchers at Columbia University have discovered the solution to a sweet tooth!

The scientists used a 3D printer to create a seven-ingredient slice of edible cheesecake and recently shared the results of their study. Get a taste of the experiment at simplemost.com.