SFA announces the appointment of Dr. Kent L. Willis as the institution's inaugural senior vice president for enrollment and student engagement. A 2008 graduate of SFA, Willis brings a wealth of experience in student affairs and enrollment management, most recently serving as vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at California State University, Fresno.

The University of Texas System Police Department at SFA sponsored 39 children from the community to shop with officers and other volunteers for gifts and essentials at the fifth-annual Shop with a Cop event Dec. 10.

Special thanks go to the following volunteers and donors who helped make this a memorable experience for the participants:

Volunteers: Nacogdoches Police Department, Nacogdoches Fire Department, SFA Athletics, SFA African Student Organization and all other SFA volunteers.

Donors: Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, McWilliams and Son, SFA Alumni Association, Eaton and Concerned Black Men of Nacogdoches.

The University of Texas System Police Department at SFA collected over 100 toys for Toys for Tots this year so children in the community can have a magical Christmas. Thanks to all who donated!

Those who still want to contribute can bring new, unwrapped toys to the Dean of Students Office in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 3.105. Toys will be accepted through noon tomorrow, and donated items will stay in the Nacogdoches community to help local families have a brighter holiday season.

For more information, email dos@sfasu.edu.

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

Construction management students in the James I. Perkins College of Education’s School of Human Sciences will host an open house featuring the tiny homes they built this fall from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at Village Nac, located at 1188 County Road 823.

Students enrolled in the construction management program worked together to build two tiny homes on concrete slabs and renovated a partial building that was donated and moved to Village Nac, a faith-based shelter for those experiencing mental health issues and homelessness. This is the third year construction management students have built the tiny homes. Visitors will get to view the homes and hear testimonials from students about the project.

For more information about the program, visit the construction management program website.

SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. today in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Dr. David Creech, director of SFA Gardens, will present “Plans, Plants and People Making a Difference at SFA Gardens.”

Parking is available at the PNPC, 2900 Raguet St., or Raguet Elementary School, 2708 Raguet St. For more information, visit the SFA Gardens website.

With the holiday season upon us, the Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management Department reminds everyone to follow these simple tips to ensure a happy and fire-safe holiday season.

Also, remember that all decorations should be taken down before leaving for the winter break. For more information, visit sfasu.edu/safety.

As the semester winds down, SFA Today will also take a break for the holidays. This is our final issue of the year. We’ll resume publication Thursday, Jan. 16, as the spring 2025 semester begins. We wish the campus community a joyful holiday season.

Wagnon and Hubbard collaborated with Tarcia Hubert and Tracy Samuel, faculty members at Lone Star College-Houston North, to publish "Community College and University Collaboration for STEM Teacher Preparation" in the Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, a peer-reviewed national journal.

Their work explored the partnership and efforts between SFA and LSC-HN to encourage STEM majors to pursue science and mathematics teaching careers. Their research was funded by a National Science Foundation grant.

Gary published "Imidazolate-Stabilized Cu(III): Dioxygen to Oxides at Type 3 Copper Sites" with the Stack Research Group at Stanford University in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a journal of the German Chemical Society.

The paper discusses the potential role of imidazolate ligation to form the biologically unprecedented copper(III) oxidation state. Through synthetic model complexes and structural biology evidence, the work highlights the potentially unique role imidazolate ligation could play in Type 3 copper sites in biology and, more broadly, the role of imidazolate ligation in metalloproteins more generally.

Dr. Sharon Rice, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, and Dr. Amber Wagnon, associate professor in the Department of Education Studies, recently published "The edTPA Experiences of Physical Education Teacher Candidates" in The Texas Forum of Teacher Education, a peer-reviewed state journal.