Hundreds of SFA and local community members welcomed the university's 11th president, Dr. Neal Weaver, and his wife, Kristi, Tuesday evening during a reception hosted by the UT System.

Weaver told the crowd gathered in the Cole STEM Building atrium that he believes in “urgency without fear” and is ready to help take SFA into an exciting future of growth and success.

Watch more on SFA's YouTube page.

SFA’s spring Registration Rally will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in the Lumberjack Learning Lab on the first floor of Steen Library.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to tell students about the all-day event, which is intended to offer students a one-stop opportunity to receive help clearing holds and to register for the summer and fall semesters.

Representatives from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Student Business Services, Office of the Registrar and the Student Success Center, among others, will be stationed and ready to offer one-on-one assistance.

For information on registration, visit sfasu.edu/registrar.

SFA's Staff Council will host a meeting at 10 a.m. Monday, April 8, in McGee Business Building, Room 133.

Clare Fite, director of Counseling Services, will discuss new UT Mental Health Initiatives. CC Conn, chair of Faculty Senate, will present information on the Ombuds Proposal Update for the incoming president. Mark Scott, assistant director of the Physical Plant Department, will discuss “Keeping the Wheels Turning.”

The meeting will be livestreamed via Zoom, and the meeting agenda is available on the meeting information page.

The Organization for Women’s Leadership and Equity invites all interested staff and faculty to its April meeting planned for 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. April 12 in the Wyatt Room of Steen Library, as well as via Zoom.

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.

If you are interested in the Zoom link, email owle@sfasu.edu prior to the meeting.

The sixth annual Kentucky Derby dinner and auction is set for 6 p.m. April 19 at the Fredonia Hotel.

The event will feature a four-course dining experience inspired by traditional Kentucky Derby dishes. A cocktail reception with a cash bar will take place at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7 p.m. Silent and live auctions will take place throughout the evening.

Tickets must be purchased in advance, and are $60 per person, $100 for couples and $400 for a table of eight.

For America Saves Week, which runs April 8-12, the SFA benefits team encourages you to check in on your finances, set savings goals and learn how you can create better financial habits to help you achieve your goals.

Discover how easy it can be with Voya Financial's resource center.

The Office of International Programs is hosting a Study Abroad Fair for prospective study abroad students from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Office of International Programs, located in Steen Library, Suite 103.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to inform their students about this opportunity to learn about SFA's partners and to see how study abroad can benefit their educational career.

Students should complete the sign up form to attend.

SFA Gardens will host its annual Garden Gala Day Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

The sale will feature an array of hard-to-find, “Texas-tough” plants, including exclusive SFA introductions, Texas natives, edibles, tropicals, perennials, shrubs and trees, with an emphasis on pollinator-friendly selections. A full list of available plants is posted on the SFA Gardens website.

Students in the DeWitt School of Nursing are preparing for Springfest, which will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at Festival Park in downtown Nacogdoches.

The annual event is presented by the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches and partners throughout the community. Families are invited for a fun afternoon of face painting, games, pony rides, inflatables and more.

SFA's horticulture program and Horticulture Club will host their sixth annual Spring Plant Fair from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the SFA Plantery.

Along with the wide array of plants, pancakes also will be available to customers in the morning on a first-come, first-served basis. Pancakes will be free; however, donations are encouraged.

The Congressional Art Competition is a decades-long tradition meant to encourage and recognize the rich talent of young artists throughout the country, according to U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions. Every spring, Congressman Sessions invites students from the 17th District to join this annual competition and showcase their artistic skills. This year’s theme for the 17th Congressional district is “Patriotism in America” as an opportunity for students to showcase why they are proud to be an American. 

A reception to recognize participants and announce top winners in the Deep East Texas District will be at 6 p.m. Friday, April 5, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches. Sessions will be present to congratulate the winners in first, second, third and fourth places.

The Jazz Doctors of SFA will join The Swingin’ Aces jazz band for a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in Cole Concert Hall, Wright Music Building.

The concert will open with The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Jake Walburn, performing some jazz standards from the Count Basie Library, such as “April in Paris” and “88 Basie Street.” The Jazz Doctors will perform “Ymir’s Bones” by Ben Morris, assistant professor of composition at SFA.

“Street Scene,” an American opera by Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes and Elmer Rice, is this year’s opera theater production presented by the School of Music.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1929 play of the same name by Rice, “Street Scene” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 11 through 13, in Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

The School of Theatre and Dance will present the spring student-choreographed Danceworks “Unveiled” concerts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 11 and 12, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13, in the third floor Dance Performance Studio, Griffith Fine Arts Building.

The spring event, Danceworks “Unveiled,” represents everything from sculpture-inspired dance to the prison boom of 1970, according to Heather Samuelson, SFA’s dance program director and associate director of the School of Theatre and Dance.

SFA's School of Art will host the annual Texas National Competition and Exhibition April 12 through June 30 at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The School of Art’s annual juried competition and exhibition attracts entrants from across the United States, providing artists an opportunity to have their work juried by highly acclaimed curators, artists and critics, such as this year’s juror, Peter S. Briggs, noted art historian, researcher and curator.

A reception at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, will open the show. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places and best in show at the juror’s discretion. Prior to the reception, a juror’s talk begins at 5 p.m.

The Nacogdoches Symphony Club and the Nacogdoches Music Teachers Association will mark milestones in each organization’s history by presenting “A Brick Street Serenade,” a concert and scholarship fundraiser planned for April 20.

Beginning at 7 p.m. at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches, the event is designed to raise funds for the Baumgartner Memorial Award and the Mamie Middlebrook Scholarship, both of which are awarded to deserving music students attending SFA.

The Swingin’ Axes jazz band and The Jazz Jacks student combo will present their spring “Swingin’ at the Brewery” fundraiser from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at Fredonia Brewery in downtown Nacogdoches.

"The opening set will feature some of our standard swing dance era tunes such as ‘Satin Doll,’ ‘Route 66,’ and ‘‘Deed I Do,’” said Dr. J.D. Salas, director of the Swingin’ Axes jazz ensemble. “Dancing is welcomed and encouraged! After the Jazz Jacks combo performs, the Axes will finish up with a fun set of rock and funk tunes such as Maynard Ferguson’s ‘Chameleon’ and Chicago’s ‘25 or 6 to 4.’”

SFA's School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Kabluey,” a dark indie comedy film written and directed by and starring Scott Prendergast, at 7 p.m. tomorrow at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

In “Kabluey,” an inept Salman (Prendergast) comes to help his sister-in-law tend to his holy terror nephews while Salman's brother is off fighting in Iraq. Salman must take a humiliating job as a giant blue corporate mascot in order to help make ends meet and hold the family together.

The School of Theatre and Dance will present the student-directed dramedy for young audiences “Nice & Slow” by Lojo Simon at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6, in the Black Box Theatre in the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

“Nice & Slow” is the story of Sam, who is slow getting dressed on a particular morning. The grown-ups in the house expect their kid to share their hurried lifestyle, and they're not pleased. Just as Sam prepares to hop to it, the sloth living in Sam's upper bunk tickles the child's nose and triggers a sneeze. Sam goes from rushing to get ready for school to having the day off and going on fantastical adventures with sloth.

Celebrate the bounty of spring at the Nacogdoches Farmers Market annual Spring Fling, planned for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at 107 Pearl Street in Nacogdoches.

Enjoy vendors, local musicians and seasonal food. The park will host a petting zoo, pony rides, bounce house and free kids' activities. Shop local farm produce and artisan gifts while enjoying live music entertainment.

For more information, including the live music lineup, visit nacogdochesfarmersmarket.com.