The Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs has announced and congratulates the following Course of Innovation awardees:

• Dr. Cassandra Hayes, Department of Mass Communication, for MCOM 2311

• Dr. Sara Parks, Department of English and Creative Writing, for ENGL 2311

• Drs. Sarah Straub and Heather Olson Beal, Department of Education Studies, for CIED 5300

• Dr. Louise Stoehr, Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication, for INCM 1305

Earlier this fall, the Office of the Provost issued a call for proposals for Courses of Innovation. The faculty members selected proposed the creation of signature learning experiences in a single course that involve AI, integration of industry-recognized microcredentials and/or a z-course. The proposal selection committee included SFA faculty and staff with a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.

Recipients will receive a three-hour course reassignment in spring 2024 and a $2,500 stipend in summer I 2024.

Pulliam was selected as a program facilitator for the Alpha Sigma Alpha Elevate Leadership Summit. She has been part of the Student Engagement staff since 2021.

The program facilitator guides sorority members through an engaging learning experience that helps participants learn more about how to lead and communicate with their peers throughout their Greek experience.

Ceja recently was promoted to assistant director of Counseling Services. A licensed professional counselor, she has been part of the Counseling Services staff for almost five years and has focused on treating individual students, creating new and dynamic group therapy opportunities and providing psychoeducation to the campus and Nacogdoches community.

In her new position, Ceja will assist the director in program development and take the lead with training programs such as the onboarding and supervision of counseling graduate interns. The new position will assist in further diversifying the department by expanding staff and increasing the type of and level of services provided to students.

Childress was accepted into the Emerging Leaders Program through NODA-Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher Education.

The yearlong professional development program prepares professionals with fewer than four years of experience in the field for future leadership roles within the association. Childress joined the Orientation and Transition Programs staff in May.

Roquemore recently received a citation from the College Media Association board of directors for her years of service on the organization's communications committee.

The award was presented during CMA's general membership meeting as part of the Fall National College Media Convention held in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this fall. In addition, she has been appointed chair of the CMA Awards Committee for the coming year. Roquemore has been employed at SFA since 2007 and has held her current position for nine years.

Onchoke, professor; Sengupta, associate professor; and four undergraduate students from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry recently presented their research at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Onchoke presented “Density functional theoretical studies of mononitrated chrysenes," which highlighted the structural parameters for consideration in predicting the mutagenic and/or carcinogenic behavior of environmental pollutants (chrysenes). Sengupta presented “Dual fluorescence of natural flavonoid kaempferol in quadruplex DNA matrix,” which showcased a promising new approach for the screening and design of the most suitable therapeutic drugs, thereby opening new avenues in medicinal chemistry.

Onchoke and Sengupta advised undergraduate researchers Madison McFarland, James Villanueva, Blake Maillet and Allyssa Fisher for their two oral and two poster presentations, respectively.

Lewallen is a strong leader on SFA's Information Technology Services team. According to staff members, Tim always listens to feedback, entertains new ideas and always does his best to advocate for positive change.

Lewallen has a knack for taking a seemingly no-win situation and ensuring everyone emerges as satisfied as possible. He continually shows a high level of empathy for others.

Thank you, Tim, for your hard work and dedication to SFA.

The SFA Faculty Senate will hold a meeting at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in McGee Business Building, Room 133 and Zoom.

Members of the SFA community are welcome to attend the public portion of the session either in person or via Zoom. However, per senate rules, only invited speakers and members of the senate are permitted to speak during the session. Therefore, questions should be forwarded in advance to your faculty senator for potential consideration.

The 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. December trainings include:

Foundations, Dec. 7

Slate Emails, Dec. 14

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

As part of its affiliation with The University of Texas System, SFA has named eShipGlobal Inc. as the preferred vendor to manage and provide shipping and delivery services for parcels and freight.

Department personnel responsible for shipping are encouraged to register for a training to learn about eShipGlobal services and how to create shipments, access reports and more. Training is available from 10 to 11 a.m. tomorrow and from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7. To register and access the trainings, complete the Zoom sign-up form.

For more information, contact Central Stores at ext. 5303, Central Receiving at ext. 4273 or PPD-CS.CR@sfasu.edu.

Volleyball

SFA – 0 vs. University of Arkansas - 3

Men's Basketball

SFA – 79 vs. Abilene Christian University – 74 (overtime)

Women's Basketball

SFA – 89 vs. Abilene Christian University - 82 (double overtime)

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

The Symphony Orchestra will perform Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 at 7:30 p.m. today in Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

Arguably the most famous of Shostakovich's works, Symphony No. 5 came at a pivotal moment after Shostakovich had displeased Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin with his opera “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.”

The combined choirs will present the annual Seasonal Celebration concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

The annual holiday event features the Singin’ Axes and Kantorei choirs with Dr. Tod Fish, conductor, and the A Cappella Choir with Dr. Michael Murphy, conductor. Graduate student conductors are Tate Ashby of Lufkin and Ryan Herriage of Sulphur Springs.

Feel like you need a little "classic" in your Christmas this year?

Stop by Millard's Crossing from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, to see Lamp-Lite Theatre's production of "A Christmas Carol," sing carols around the Christmas tree, make ornaments, enjoy food and hot cocoa vendors, and more.

Visit the Millard's Crossing website to learn more about this old-fashioned Christmas celebration.