The students who attended Holler @ Homer last Thursday certainly are! We are just days away from the start of SFA’s Centennial Celebration weekend. New additions to the celebration are being posted daily at SFA’s centennial website. Here are some highlights to help you plan.

• Friday, Sept. 15, SFA Alumni Awards — Honorees include two former SFA presidents, Dr. William R. Johnson and the late Dr. Baker Pattillo. Tickets are required for entry.

• Saturday, Sept. 16, Community Partnership Day — Nacogdoches businesses will be offering discounts on all things purple.

• Sunday, Sept. 17, Griffith Fine Arts Building Grand Opening and Centennial Concert — Contact the Fine Arts Box Office for free concert tickets while supplies last at (936) 468-6407 or boxoffice@sfasu.edu.

• Monday, Sept. 18, Giving Day — In honor of SFA’s centennial, our goal is to raise $192,300.

• Monday, Sept. 18, Centennial Ring Plaza Dedication — The ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Vista and Alumni drives.

• Monday, Sept. 18, Centennial Birthday Party including a car cruise and this year’s Watermelon Bash — Vista and Alumni drives will be closed for events from 4 to 6 p.m. Other areas will be open to the public earlier in the day including the Naymola Basketball Performance Center, SFA Makerspace and the School of Human Sciences’ aviation simulators. Centennial campus tours begin at 2:15 p.m.

If you’re not sure what to wear, centennial merchandise is available for purchase at SFA’s centennial website.

Remember to log your service hours for the "100,000 service hours for 100 years" centennial competition.

To mark SFA’s first 100 years, university students, faculty, staff and alumni are holding a friendly competition to see which group can complete the most service hours by SFA’s Founders Day, Monday, Sept. 18.

The goal is for all four groups to earn a total of 100,000 service hours by that date. If they don’t reach that goal, the competition will be extended to the end of the fall 2023 semester.

Currently, the university is at 80% of its goal with students logged at 73,482 hours, alumni at 5,265 hours and faculty and staff at 1,344 hours. Hours can be logged on this form.

For more information, visit the centennial website.

The first public performance in SFA’s newly renovated Turner Auditorium will be a concert that honors the university’s past and present and features a grandiose work inspired by the poems of Nacogdoches’ own Karle Wilson Baker, one of Texas’ most celebrated poets in the first half of the 20th century.

The Centennial Concert is one highlight of SFA’s four-day Centennial Celebration, along with the grand opening Sunday, Sept. 17, of the newly renovated and expanded Griffith Fine Arts Building. An open house at 1:30 p.m. includes a ribbon-cutting and unveiling ceremonies in the second-floor lobby.

The centennial issue of Sawdust is live on the Sawdust website. Highlights of this collector’s edition include a historical timeline as well as the following articles:

• “Read Between the Lines: Student journalists document SFA’s story through century-old publications”

• “A History of SFA in Objects: The items and people who shaped SFA”

• “’Neath the Purple and White: SFA traditions bring generations of Lumberjacks together for 100 years”

Those who receive print copies of Sawdust should watch for their magazines to arrive this week. Offices across campus will be receiving copies of Sawdust as well. If your office hasn’t received its copies by end of day Friday, Sept. 15, email johnsonrobin@sfasu.edu.

SFA employees can participate in various employee wellness opportunities, including the following:

• The Living Well Platform is our well-being and engagement program designed to help you live your best life. Register on the website and then download the Limeade ONE app to check on your progress.
• The Employee Wellness Program offers free classes to all faculty, staff and retirees. Employees have access to work out at the Norton HPE Complex in various programs. View the fall 2024 schedule or learn more.
• Wellness leave allows employees to participate in physical fitness activities up to 30 minutes during normal working hours three times per week.
• The Employee Assistance Program offers access to free, convenient and confidential services for you and your family. Explore the website to view the wide range of resources available through EAP.

Trying to help students find their way from the Ferguson Building to the Art Studio? Tell them to type sfasu.edu/map and their destination in their phones, and the new interactive SFA map will guide them there.

Organized in sections including “Academics,” “Student Life,” “Parking” and “SFA Gardens,” the map’s building/area descriptions feature the services housed in them, contact information and, in some cases, historical information. Special events like the Centennial Celebration, Showcase Saturday and graduation ceremonies will have their own sections outlining activities, their locations and parking areas.

Off-campus areas including the DeWitt School of Nursing Complex and the Todd Agricultural Research Center are currently being added to the map. To request updates to the map, submit a ticket at sfasu.edu/umc.

Faculty members and professional advisors are invited to the Professional Academic Advising Council meeting from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sep. 14, in the Wyatt Room of the Steen Library.

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

The Division of University Marketing Communications has updated SFA’s wordmarks to reflect our affiliation with The University of Texas System. Download the new wordmarks at sfasu.edu/logos.

The Identity Standards Manual will be updated with more details about using the UT System wording in marketing materials. You can download the updated manual starting Oct. 1 at sfasu.edu/umc.

The new Certified Communicator Program from the Division of University Marketing Communications will show you how to be an effective SFA brand ambassador.

From advertising, photography and videos to web presence and Slate emails, these Zoom modules presented by UMC staff members offer the latest information on how to market your event or service as well as branding updates stemming from SFA’s affiliation with The University of Texas System.

To earn a certificate, you must complete the Foundations module and three other modules of your choice. The trainings are held from 2 to 3 p.m. on Thursdays. September trainings include:

• Foundations, Sept. 14

• Social Media, Sept. 21

• Accessibility, Sept. 28

To register, visit “myTraining” through mySFA and search for "CCP." To submit a marketing request to UMC, visit sfasu.edu/umc.

Have you encountered students of concern in your classroom or office and are you unsure of how to assist them? Many barriers as well as symptoms of stress and anxiety can exacerbate these concerning behaviors.

Lumberjack Wellness Network staff members will offer two opportunities for faculty and staff to attend a crash course for working with this special population: from 2 to 4 p.m. both tomorrow and Nov. 7.

To register, visit myTraining through mySFA and search for "Students of Concern 101."

The graduate athletic training program in the James I. Perkins College of Education will host several open houses throughout the fall semester. Learn more about athletic training and what the program has to offer!

The first open house is virtual via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 27. To attend, register online.

For those involved in the interview and hiring process, Human Resources is hosting training sessions in September and October. The training goes through the hiring process from start to finish.

To 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 at 3 p.m. today and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 2.106, by Starbucks.

A new SFA study abroad course sponsored by the Rusche College of Business is introducing incoming first-year students and non-business majors to business concepts and principles as well as other cultures over the summer.

Unlike SFA’s other business study abroad trips, the “Discovering Business” course requires no previous knowledge of business, said Dr. Ryan Phelps, associate professor of economics and a co-instructor for the course. As part of the class, students also conduct interviews with the founding entrepreneurs of several local businesses.

SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Keith Hansen, a retired extension horticulture agent for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, will present "I Wish I Never Planted That (There), and Other Thoughts after Gardening 30 Years in Tyler.”

Volleyball

SFA – 3 vs. Northern Arizona University – 0

SFA – 0 vs. Arizona State University – 3

SFA – 3 vs. Boise State University – 2

Soccer

SFA – 0 vs. The University of Texas San Antonio – 3

Football

SFA – 38 vs. Alcorn State University – 10

Cross Country

The men's and women's cross country team competed at the Rice University Invitational, placing second and fourth, respectively, Sept. 8 in Houston.

Maggie Hinchliffe, staff pianist at SFA, will present a recital with guest performer Michael Alampi, flute, at 7:30 p.m. today at First Baptist Church, in Nacogdoches.

“Works by Women for Piano and Flute” will feature selections by women composers, including Anna Bon, Augusta Holmès, Valerie Coleman, Amanda Harberg and Samantha Fernando. The program was presented on a summer tour in upstate New York and Long Island. Following a Texas tour, the program will be presented in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

SFA School of Music faculty members will be the featured performers during the annual Pi Kappa Lambda Music Faculty Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in Cole Concert Hall.

The concert highlights the talents of the diverse School of Music performing faculty, according to Dr. Jamie Weaver, associate professor of music history and president of Pi Kappa Lambda honor society. Proceeds from the concert fund scholarships for deserving SFA music majors selected by the society.

Dr. Jonathan Tsay will present a solo piano recital pairing selections from the standard repertoire with pieces written by Taiwanese composers who wrote their works in the early to mid-20th century when he performs at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, in Cole Concert Hall.

Tsay, assistant professor of piano at the University of Memphis, is a collaborative pianist, chamber musician, producer and arts administrator who recently discovered the library of works by Taiwanese composers from this era.

Gazing at the night sky has captivated the imagination of humans throughout time. Historically, heroes and mythical creatures have been attributed to the star patterns, giving birth to what is now known as constellations. However, finding famous constellations among the stars requires knowledge of their fascinating history.