As the fall semester draws to a close and the holiday season begins, Dr. Neal and Kristi Weaver invite you to a holiday come-and-go reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Juanita Curry Boynton House.

Attendees are welcome to bring a guest. Those planning on attending will need to RSVP for themselves and their guest prior to the event.

SFA will be expanding its Purple Promise Guarantee Program, which covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for eligible students, to students whose families make up to $100,000 annually beginning fall 2025 following an announcement from The University of Texas System.

Chris A. Bagley, president and chief credit officer of Cadence Bank, will give the commencement address during fall graduation ceremonies Dec. 13-14 in Johnson Coliseum.

The final Faculty Senate meeting of the year will be held at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in the McGee Business Building, Room 133. Those who prefer to meet remotely may join via Zoom with meeting ID 967 5372 6938 and passcode SENATE.

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 faculty senators are permitted to participate in the discussions during the meeting. Therefore, questions should be forwarded in advance to your faculty senator for potential consideration.

Spring 2025 Lumberjack Education Assistance Program applications for eligible participants — SFA employees, their spouses and dependents — will be available starting tomorrow in mySFA. Access the application form under “Benefits” of the “Employee” section.

Approved LEAP exemptions will be applied to eBills starting Jan. 6. Note that financial aid may affect your LEAP benefits. Refer to the LEAP procedure on this webpage for further explanation.

For LEAP questions, contact Student Business Services at sbs@sfasu.edu. For financial aid questions, contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at finaid@sfasu.edu.

SFA Orientation and Transition Programs has changed its name to New Student Orientation and Family Programs. In addition, Orientation now encompasses two events known as AXEcepted Days and Lumberjack Life.

All incoming first-year students will participate in the following two-step orientation process:

Step 1: Attend an in-person or virtual AXEcepted Day.

•In-person dates: June 6, June 13, July 18, July 25, Aug. 1

•Virtual dates: May 16, July 11

Step 2: Move in to campus early and participate in Lumberjack Life.

•Move-in for first-year students: Aug. 20 and 21

•Lumberjack Life: Aug. 22 to 23 (required)

AXEcepted Day and Lumberjack Life are optional for transfer and graduate students.

To learn more, email Kate Childress, director of New Student Orientation and Family Programs, at katelyn.childress@sfasu.edu, or visit the website as it is updated over the next few weeks.

SFA recently launched Faculty Showcase, a comprehensive platform designed to celebrate the groundbreaking research, teaching and professional achievements of its faculty members.

Join SFA Gardens to create elegant holiday decorations using materials from nature under the guidance of Dawn Stover, agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Cost is $30 for SFA Gardens members and $40 for nonmembers. The session is 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Each session is limited to 16 participants. Register here.

For nine years, SFA's Cooking Matters program has transformed the way families in Nacogdoches think about food, health and budgeting. The six-week community nutrition initiative wrapped up its latest season this week, equipping a new group of participants with practical skills to prepare nutritious, affordable meals.

“Foundation-Level 3D Design” students, under the guidance of art professor Lauren Selden, have crafted a 20-foot inflatable sculpture as their final semester project. This work will be on display from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in front of the McKibben Education Building near the Surfin’ Steve statue.

To view images of previous projects by SFA art students, visit @art_sfa on Instagram.

Are you interested in integrating artificial intelligence into your courses? The University of Texas System faculty developers mini-conference series, "Generative AI Across the UT System," can help!

SFA faculty and staff will share how they’ve integrated AI into their courses and fostered innovation from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, via Zoom.

Join Emily Dodson, Theunis Oliphant, Dr. Heather Olson Beal, Dr. Sara Parks, Dr. Louise Stoehr, Dr. Sara Straub and faculty members from across the UT System for this exciting discussion.

To attend, complete the meeting registration form. Coffee and Conversation, a follow-up discussion, is set for 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at the Center for Teaching and Learning on the second floor of Steen Library.

SFA Gardens will host "Wild About Woody Ornamentals" from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. Check-in for the event, which is $30 and open to all ages, begins at 8:30 a.m.

To learn more, visit the events webpage, call (936) 468-4404 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu. To make your reservation, visit the registration webpage.

Faculty, staff and their immediate family members are invited to attend Citizens 1st Bank Family Nights during Southland Conference Saturday basketball doubleheaders at Johnson Coliseum.

By claiming complimentary tickets to any men’s basketball game listed below, you gain access to both the men’s and women’s basketball games scheduled on the same day. With consistent seating for both games, you can settle in for Ladyjacks games at 2 p.m. and Lumberjacks games at 5 p.m.

•Jan. 4, University of the Incarnate Word

•Jan. 25, Northwestern State University

•Feb. 1, Lamar University

•Feb. 8, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

•March 1, Northwestern State University

Claim your tickets by visiting this link and entering the promo code CITIZENS.