The Dean of Students Office welcomes Brendan Lardie, pictured left, coordinator of student conduct, and George Montgomery, assistant dean of students.

Lardie, a recent graduate of SFA, is excited to have an opportunity to give back to the university that gave him so much during his time as a student.

Montgomery, who has worked in higher education institutions across the country, is looking forward to collaborating with campus partners to provide first-rate service and support for our students.

Drs. Lauren Burrow and Chrissy Cross, associate professors of education studies, and Dr. Heather Olson Beal, professor of education studies, recently published their co-authored article, “Art-looking within MotherScholarhood: Art elicitation for self-reflection and sense-making,” in the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative.

This study presents both the critical self-reflections resulting from and advocacy for the process of art elicitation, which is an effective methodology to allow MotherScholars a vital pause for valuable personal self-interrogation and renewed clarity within their scholarship.

In addition, Dr. Lauren Brewer, associate professor of psychology, along with Olson Beal, Cross, Burrow and Dr. Shelby Gull, director of evaluation and project management at North Carolina Science Museum, published the article, “Quarantine mothering and working at home: How institutions of higher education supported (or failed to support) academic mothers,” in the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative.

This mixed-methods study explores whether and how explicit policies, implicit practices and internal communication from university administrators about academic mothers’ work lives and expectations were impacted by the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine protocols.

Kwiatkowski recently published an article, "Effects of anthropogenic light on anuran calling site," with his former graduate student, Ashley Kobisk, in the journal Environmental Pollution.

Their work investigated how light pollution impacts the calling behavior of frogs. Male frogs call to attract females for mating, and any disruption to this first step in the mating process could reduce reproduction.

They found that high light pollution causes frogs to call from locations darker than the general light environment, but there was no effect in frogs calling from areas with less light pollution. Hence, light pollution acts as a form of habitat loss, limiting the locations available for calling. The study is the first to demonstrate this effect across multiple species.

Officers of SFA's University Police Department received a dual commission with The University of Texas System’s police force during a ceremony Monday on the SFA campus.

UPD officers became jointly commissioned as both SFA and UT System officers, which will hold until Sept. 1 when SFA officially becomes a member of the UT System. At that time, UPD officers will be commissioned only with the system, though their primary role will remain serving the SFA campus.

SFA faculty members and professional advisors are invited to the Professional Academic Advising Council meeting from 2 to 3 p.m. tomorrow via Zoom.

To be included in the PAAC email list, contact Raquel Skidmore at skidmorerr@sfasu.edu.

Cortex XDR, the anti-malware software installed on all SFA-owned Windows and Mac OS computers, is designed to protect SFA computers and data from security threats. The software scans every campus computer every evening, so leave your SFA computers on when not in use, including weekends, holidays and summer breaks.

Computers that are not connected to SFA’s network, such as laptops on campus or at home, are not scanned automatically and should be manually scanned from time to time to ensure they are free of malicious software. View manual scanning directions.

Graduate students in SFA's School of Social Work have helped prepare for and promote the fundraising event “Christmas in July for H.O.P.E,” which invites the community to restock and support the food pantry, Nacogdoches H.O.P.E., or Helping Other People Eat.

The fundraiser, which will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 14, at the Cottage Wine Bar in Nacogdoches, will directly benefit H.O.P.E. and its soup kitchen, Jo’s Diner. It’s free to attend, but monetary and canned food donations will be accepted and go directly to the pantry. Canned meats, fruit and vegetables are preferred, as well as cereal and peanut butter.

For those involved in the interview and hiring process, Human Resources is hosting training sessions for its new toolkit. The session goes through the hiring process from start to finish.

Register for training in mySFA. Go to “Employee” and then “myTraining.” Then, click “Browse for Training” and search for “Hiring Manager Toolkit.”

Training will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, July 17, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 2.106, by Starbucks.

SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Rosanne Green, gardening social media influencer, will present “Raising the next generation of horticulturalists, entomologists and master gardeners.”

In her lecture, Green explores where the next generation of horticulturalists, entomologists and master gardeners will come from and emphasizes it will be children who are influenced by their parents, grandparents and educators. This presentation will feature specific ideas for how to inspire, educate and influence the next generation.

Did you know SFA has a soil, water and plant testing laboratory that has been serving our community for more than 70 years? Opened in 1952, the lab has provided a valuable service to the SFA and surrounding communities.

Through Aug. 31, the lab is offering a 10% discount to SFA employees, students and alumni for one sample analysis. For more information, call (936) 468-4500, email sfasoilslab@sfasu.edu, or visit the lab in the Agriculture Building, Room 122. The lab is open from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Relax by the pool and grab a bite to eat while listening to live music by Johnny Mullins from 5 to 7 p.m. July 21 at the Student Recreation Center pool.

The event is free for Rec Center and pool members, and children aged 4 and under. The cost is $5 for nonmembers.

Campus Recreation is now hosting Group Axe exercise classes. Whether you're interested in yoga, cycling, functional training or Aqua Zumba, Campus Rec has something for you. View the Group Axe schedule for times and dates of classes. If you have any questions regarding fitness and wellness services, please contact jescelyn.madrigal@sfasu.edu.

This position is responsible for performing complex (journey-level) clerical and advanced duties applying accepted accounting and fiscal procedures to the preparation and maintenance of accounting records. This role typically performs a combination of tasks but may specialize in one phase of work such as payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc. The clerk performs work independently according to standard procedures. The role is responsible for supervision of office employees and participation in the maintenance of fiscal records for a large university department. Work may be performed independently of supervision. The clerk reports to assigned supervisor.

This is a professional position responsible for overseeing and supporting learning experiences in face-to-face and distance education for the university. The role is responsible for envisioning appropriate applications and goals, developing policies and procedures, and facilitating and coordinating distance education activities. The coordinator works under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. The role reports to the director of the Center for Teaching and Learning.

This is a service position responsible for supporting the operations of the transportation and special services unit within the Physical Plant Department. It is responsible for performing routine, repetitive work involving various physically demanding tasks including trash disposal, general asphalt and/or concrete work, custodial and housekeeping duties, general labor, or any combination. The technician works under close supervision, with minimal latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment. The role reports to the special services foreperson.

For more job opportunities, visit SFA's career website.

Sometimes you need a hug. In Tokyo, a couple of friendly and furry alpacas provide some of the best hugs.

Visitors to Alpaca Fureai Land, an indoor petting zoo, can purchase 30 minutes of petting the two alpacas, hugging them and burying their faces in the alpacas' fleece for only 1,000 yen ($7).

Learn more from Reuters.