As we celebrate SFA’s 101st birthday tomorrow, we want to express our gratitude to our dedicated faculty and staff. Your unwavering commitment has played a vital role in shaping futures, fostering friendships and creating the lifelong Lumberjack spirit we all cherish.

Thank you for helping us build a legacy that continues to grow, and here’s to 101 more years of success and happy mem'ries!

The Division of University Advancement invites you to give during the fourth annual SFA Giving Day tomorrow.

Your donation will help continue our legacy of excellence and make an impact for future Lumberjacks. Funds raised will benefit all areas, from our student success initiatives and scholarships to resource assistance for faculty and athletic programs.

To make a donation, visit the SFA Giving Day 2024 website.

In honor of the Air Force turning 77, the Veterans Resource Center will serve cake from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow. Celebrate with your fellow veterans, faculty and staff.

To help increase retention rates among first-year students, Student Development and Access Services is asking faculty and staff to volunteer as mentors for the AXcel Peer Mentor Program. AXcel is designed to assist incoming students with their transition to student life at SFA by emphasizing the importance of academic excellence, leadership and personal growth.

In addition to being paired with current student leaders who exhibit a balance between academics and involvement, each first-year student can request to be paired with an SFA faculty or staff mentor. Faculty and staff mentors are assigned between one and four mentees, depending on their preference, and meet with their mentee(s) at least twice a semester.

If you're interested in mentoring, complete the 2024 AXcel Faculty/Staff Mentor Registration form by Sept. 27. For more information, visit the AXcel website or email SDAS@sfasu.edu.

Dr. Uzma Quraishi, an associate professor of history at Sam Houston State University, will present "White Flight, Brown Flight, Ethnoburb: Residential Segregation in post 1960s Houston” at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Twilight Ballroom. Her presentation is this year's Georgiana and Max Lale Lecture, which is being held in conjunction with the East Texas Historical Association Fall Meeting.

Quraishi is a historian of Modern America, with an added emphasis on immigration to the U.S. Her book, "Redefining the Immigrant South: Indian and Pakistani Immigration to Houston during the Cold War" (University of North Carolina Press, 2020) was recognized with the 2021 Theodore Saloutos Book Award by the Immigration and Ethnic History Society.

For information on ETHA and the Georgiana and Max Lale Lecture Series, visit the ETHA website.

Human Resources is offering weekly, 30-minute training sessions at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays for the hiring manager toolkit beginning tomorrow. 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.

The following nine faculty members were selected to receive a total of $695,000 from The University of Texas System's Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention, or STARs, program for the 2024-25 academic year:

• Dr. Kesha Becnel, assistant professor of nursing

• Dr. Jason Bruck, associate professor of biology

• Dr. Garett Hancock, assistant professor of agriculture

• Dr. Sheryll Jerez, professor of environmental science

• Dr. Eric Jones, professor of kinesiology

• Dr. Yeonjin Jung, assistant professor of physics, engineering and astronomy

• Dr. Joe Mask, assistant professor of agriculture

• Dr. Bidisha Sengupta, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry

• Dr. Aakriti Sharma, assistant professor of forestry

The program, established by the UT System Board of Regents in 2004 to help system institutions attract and retain the best research-active faculty members, provides funding to purchase state-of-the-art research equipment and renovate laboratories.

Funds will be used to buy tribometers, drone systems, plasma cutters, ultrasound equipment, virtual reality headsets for nursing simulations, a carbon and nitrogen analyzer for soil sample analysis, biometric equipment for the James I. Perkins College of Education Human Performance Lab, and a new boat to support health assessments of dolphins in the wild.

Weatherly recently concluded a three-year term on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Learning Technology Advisory Committee.

LTAC informs the coordinating board about how distance education and computer-assisted instruction, including e-learning tools such as electronic textbooks and open course materials, can help the state reach the goals of Building a Talent Strong Texas. LTAC membership includes representatives from public community and technical colleges, four-year universities and health-related institutions.

Oliphant, the Buddy Zeagler Endowed Professor for Community-Based Research, was appointed to serve on the Board of Accreditation for the Council on Social Work Education.

The CSWE accredits bachelor's and master’s social work degree programs in the United States and its territories. The board also accredits post-master’s social work fellowship programs and is piloting accreditation processes for professional practice doctoral programs.

Human resources is highlighting three job postings this week:

• Accountant III - Payroll

• Business Coordinator - College of Business Dean’s Office

• Tenure Track Faculty (Open Rank) - Aviation Sciences

To view more job openings, visit careers.sfasu.edu.

Break out your cholesterol chews because the Brick Street Burger Battle is back through Oct. 18!

From the Forgetaboutit Burger to the Slawmill Burger, the nine competitors have created delicious twists on the classic dish.

Learn more on the City of Nacogdoches website.