In a groundbreaking study, Ashley Wahlberg, an SFA alumna, a former SFA Department of Biology faculty member and a current Angelina College biology faculty member; Christopher Schalk, a U.S. Forest Service research ecologist; and Antoniazzi reviewed the expansion of brown widow spiders (Latrodectus geometricus) in the Americas.

In their Journal of Arachnology article, “Patterns of the introduction, spread, and impact of the brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae), in the Americas,” the authors shed light on the spider’s invasive nature and potential threats to biodiversity, the economy and human health.

Reese was elected to the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He will serve in this role for three years, with his term expiring in September 2026.

Representative of SFA in this role, Reese will work with chamber staff members, its board executive committee and other board members to advance the chamber’s mission to “help Nacogdoches businesses grow and prosper.”

The Employee Assistance Program provides free experienced consultants who offer a wide variety of services in many different areas of life. Some of these include counseling sessions with licensed mental health professionals, legal and financial resources, and work-life referrals.

Learn more about EAP on the Human Resources webpage.

Additionally, October’s EAP employee and supervisor newsletters are now available on the UTEAP webpage.

Topics this month include mental health risks at work, customer service and emotional resilience, and bullying documentation tips to mark Bullying Prevention Month.

For more information, email Livia Pierce at employeewellness@sfasu.edu.

Free flu shots are available to the public from noon to 6 p.m. tomorrow and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, during the annual flu vaccine drive-thru event at the DeWitt School of Nursing Complex.

Sponsored by the School of Nursing and East Texas Community Health Services, the event offers standard influenza vaccines to anyone ages 4 and older. Level 4 nursing students will administer the vaccines. (Note: This is not the higher dose senior vaccine.)

Join stargazers from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, in front of the Cole STEM Building to view the partial solar eclipse. The moon is expected to block up to 83% of the sun’s disk near noon.

You can get a close-up view of the sun through a solar telescope as well as purchase solar glasses to raise money for SFA student organizations.

Remember to avoid viewing the eclipse without eye protection, which can result in permanent eye damage. Also, circle April 8 on your calendar for a second partial eclipse featuring over 97% sun coverage in Nacogdoches and 100% coverage occurring a short drive west. There won’t be another total eclipse visible from this area until after the year 3000.

For more information, visit timeandadate.com or follow SFA Observatory’s Facebook page.

Dr. Jeremy Stovall, professor of silviculture, helped the Sylvans earn a perfect score at the 39th annual Arkansas State Lumberjack Competition.

SFA's timbersports team won the collegiate contest in addition to winning every event in the collegiate division.

The Organization for Women’s Leadership and Equity invites all faculty and staff to its lunch meet-up from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at the fourth-floor terrace in the Cole STEM Building.

OWLE is a professional organization of staff and faculty who work together to empower women and support women’s professional advancement while balancing their professional, personal, physical, and mental health demands and needs.

Bring a lunch or grab a snack at The Market on the first floor. Email owle@sfasu.edu with questions.

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

If you cannot join us in person, you can join us on Zoom. To be included in the PAAC email list, contact Kara Predmore at kara.predmore@sfasu.edu.

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

Dr. Allen Owings, professor emeritus of horticulture at the Louisiana State University AgCenter, will present “Common Landscape Shrubs: Varieties and Keys to Success.”

Friday, Oct. 20

• “Back in Nac” Social, 4 to 7 p.m., The Fredonia Hotel’s Nine Flags Bar

• Bonfire and Drone Show, 8 p.m., Intramural Fields

• Concert featuring Pat Green and Hailey Whitters, 9 p.m., Intramural Fields

Saturday, Oct. 21

• Flap “Jack” Breakfast, 7:30 to 10 a.m., The Fredonia Hotel’s Convention Center

• Homecoming parade, 10 a.m., downtown Nacogdoches

• Alumni Corner and Fall Festival, 1 to 4 p.m., corner of Raguet and Hayter streets

• Football game, 4 p.m., Homer Bryce Stadium

Sunday, Oct. 22

• Alumni brunch, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Fredonia Hotel’s 1st City Café

Every fall semester, Campus Recreation hosts a 5K race during Homecoming week with a route that winds through campus and includes a combination of road and paved trails. This race is the main source of fundraising for the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to current Campus Rec student employees.

The timed 5K will begin at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Alumni Drive roundabout. Participants who register will receive a T-shirt, and top category winners will receive medals. Participants in the mile option, which will not be timed, can purchase a T-shirt if they wish.

The virtual runner option allows participants to show support for SFA and the Worsham scholarship even if they can’t attend the event in Nacogdoches. They receive their T-shirts in the mail and complete their 5Ks wherever they are during Homecoming week.

To register for the 5K, visit the event's webpage. To volunteer, fill out this form.

AXEperience, SFA's spirit and traditions organization, is hosting a homecoming-themed office decorating contest. Offices will be judged on their creative interpretation of this year’s theme, "All things SFA!"

The three office size categories include small office (1 to 10 people), medium office (11 to 20 people) and large office (21 or more people). The winning office from each category will receive a delicious pastry tray to enjoy.

Register for the office decorating contest by 5 p.m. tomorrow. Judging will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17. Offices will be contacted with a judging time on Monday, Oct. 16. Email questions to amanda.west@sfasu.edu.

To view SFA Athletics news and a schedule of upcoming events, visit sfajacks.com.

Dr. Christina Guenther, professor of flute at SFA, will join music faculty colleagues in presenting the concert “Controversy and Hope: Music for Flute and …” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Cole Concert Hall.

Performing with Guenther will be Dr. Brad Meyer, percussion; Dr. Deb Scott, trombone; Dr. Samantha Inman, flute; and Davidson Reyes, piano.

Works by Gareth Farr, Zachery S. Meier, Angela Oh, Gary Schocker and Valerie Coleman will be performed.

The Kenari Quartet will present a recital that will range in repertoire from heartfelt to adventurous when the saxophone ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Cole Concert Hall.

The Kenari Quartet includes soprano saxophonist Dr. Bob Eason; alto saxophonist Kyle Baldwin; tenor saxophonist Corey Dundee; and baritone saxophonist Steven Banks.

Their program will feature “They Might Be Gods” by John Leszczynski; “Selections from the Goldberg Variations” by Johann Sebastian Bach; “In Memoriam” by Joel Love; and “Leafless Trees” by David Laganella.

The first event in the return of the University Series at SFA will be a performance by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster at 7:30 p.m. today in the newly renovated Turner Auditorium in Griffith Fine Arts Building.

Raised in a family of gospel singers, Foster performs blues, jazz, folk, soul and gospel, often being compared to Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. Touring extensively around the world, her ninth studio album represents a new high-water mark for the Austin-based veteran blues artist. “Healing Time” finds Foster pushing her boundaries as a singer and songwriter more than ever before.

The Chamber Singers will present “Ode to Music,” a concert extolling the virtues and wonder of music, when the ensemble and guests perform at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, in Cole Concert Hall.

The concert will showcase the graduate conducting studio and includes student conductors Joe Alvear of Brownsville, Tate Ashby of Lufkin, Katie Bulen of San Antonio, Desteni Granston of Cypress and Ryan Herriage of Sulphur Springs. Piano collaborator is Jina Jeong.

While porcelain is often locked up in the China cabinet, sculptor Brock DeBoer brings the artform to everyday objects like lunchboxes, basketballs and a cowboy boot.

DeBoer first got into sculpting with porcelain in 2008, and describes the moment he finally developed his own porcelain body as the turning point in his practice.

Read more at mymodernmet.com.