This year, the Academic Assistance and Resource Center recertified its tutor training program and received the new Peer Educator Training certification for its supplemental instruction program.

Certification allows the AARC to honor tutors as certified tutors, certified advanced tutors and certified master tutors. Tutors earn these titles by completing additional training in topics such as active listening, probing questions, collaborative learning, neurodivergency, positive relationships with faculty members, and programmatic assessment needs of the unit. In 2000, the AARC was the first academic resource center in the nation to certify its tutor training program at all three levels. The International Tutor Training Program Certification standards and review process are overseen by the College Reading and Learning Association.

The Lumberjack Wellness Network is offering its Wellbeing Certification again this semester. Based on the Seven Dimensions of Wellness, this program teaches faculty and staff motivational interviewing techniques to enable them to guide students to appropriate resources and goal-setting approaches.

Requirements include completing a motivational interviewing module, an emotional module and two elective modules. You can list this certification on your faculty activity report. More information is available on the Wellbeing Certification webpage.

Dr. Court Carney, professor in the Department of History, authored and is set to publish the book, “Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory,” which recounts Forrest’s troubled, complex legacy as a slave trader, Confederate general and prominent leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The book will be published Sept. 17 by LSU Press.

SFA Gardens will host its annual Fabulous Fall Festival Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

The sale will feature an array of hard-to-find, “Texas-tough” plants, like East Texas native plants and pollinator-friendly selections. Expect to find great trees, including Japanese maples, red buds, bald cypress and more. A list of all available plants will be posted on the SFA Gardens website two weeks before the sale.

With the start of the fall semester, The Pine Log would like to remind you of a unique opportunity to advertise your programs and activities to the SFA community. The campus newspaper offers competitive rates, as well as discounts for our on-campus clients. Ad spots are available both on The Pine Log website and in the weekly Pine Log newsletter.

Advertising in The Pine Log is a smart business decision for any department or program wanting to reach out to SFA students, faculty and staff. Your investment in our publication also benefits SFA students who are gaining important real-world skills while working in campus media. To inquire about advertising opportunities, call (936) 468-4703, email pinelogads@sfasu.edu or view the 2024-25 rate card.

The Dean of Students Office is looking for SFA community members who are willing to participate in the university’s student conduct process by serving on the Academic Integrity Hearing Board or Behavioral Conduct Hearing Board.

Academic Integrity: Faculty members who wish to serve as panel members to adjudicate academic integrity cases should complete the Academic Integrity Hearing Board panel member application.

Behavioral Conduct: Faculty, staff and students who wish to serve as panel members to adjudicate behavioral conduct cases should complete the Behavioral Conduct Hearing Board panel member application.

Serving on these panels is a large time commitment. You will be asked to attend trainings on adjudicating conduct cases and to take hours off during the workweek to hear a case.

For more information, email george.montgomery@sfasu.edu.

Human Resources is offering weekly, 30-minute training sessions at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays for the hiring manager toolkit beginning Sept. 18. These sessions are for any staff or faculty who either serve on a search committee or have hiring process responsibilities.

The first session presents an overview of the hiring process, and the second session reviews search committee expectations and rules.

Find Zoom links for the sessions on the HR website under the “Professional/Personal Development” section.

Join Nac Safe Place for the "It’s OK to Not be OK" suicide awareness walk at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Festival Park in Nacogdoches. The goal of the walk is to raise awareness for mental health.

Registration is $25. The event features food trucks, an uplifting concert with two headliners, and a candlelight vigil to remember those lost to suicide. For more information, visit nacsafeplace.life.

University Marketing Communications is pleased to announce the launch of its SFA News and Events Facebook page.

The new page — which will serve the campus community as well as external audiences — will be a source for news, campus updates, upcoming events, community achievements and more. Follow us to discover why every day is a great day to be a Lumberjack!

Our official social media profile image just got a fantastic refresh, and we want you to join the party!

Show off your purple pride with a vibrant, new profile image featuring a big and bold account name. Simply visit the University Marketing Communications Service Desk, click “Graphic Design,” select “Social Media,” and provide your account name in the details box.

Drs. Heather Olson Beal and Amanda Rudolph, both professors, completed their three-year terms as the editors of Action in Teacher Education, the journal of the Association of Teacher Educators.

Featuring research that investigates how best to prepare new teachers, the journal receives more than 300 submissions per year with a 7% acceptance rate. Under Olson Beal’s and Rudolph’s editorial direction, journal usage rose 19% from last year and journal downloads increased by 8.66%.

“I am particularly proud of the speed with which we evaluated and reviewed so many manuscripts,” Olson Beal said. “The 7% acceptance rate was difficult at times because we received so many manuscripts — many of which were good but not ultimately accepted.”

Also from the Department of Education Studies, Dr. Tracey Covington Hasbun, associate professor, and Dr. Tingting Xu, professor, committed their three-year term as associate editors, contributing critical work and managing the double-blind peer-review process extensively. Dr. Chrissy Cross, professor, served as an associate editor for one year.

Volleyball

SFA - 3 vs. High Point University - 0

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

Faculty members in the School of Music will present the recital “Laurence Sherr: Chamber Music for Flute” at 6 p.m. tonight in Cole Concert Hall.

The School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of the documentary film “Seadrift” at 7 p.m. tomorrow at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

Professor Emeritus Dr. Andrew Parr and his daughter, mezzo-soprano Eva Parr, will perform “The Music of Earl Kelly” in a recital at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Cole Concert Hall.

As LEGO expands its appeal beyond childhood with offerings like floral bouquets, Lamborghinis and movie-themed sets, the company has recently announced a new initiative to pay out of pocket to increase the recycled plastic content in its bricks to 50% by 2026.

This eco-friendly effort complements their existing Replay program, which allows consumers to recycle their unwanted LEGO bricks for reuse in future sets.

Read more at Good News Network.