SFA announced a generous donation from distinguished alumna Priscilla “Prissy” Abshier Sliva in support of the School of Theatre and Dance. A proud member of SFA’s Class of 1959, Sliva made the commitment to enhance programmatic efforts and honor and commemorate the legacy of her uncle, Denard Haden, one of the university’s most influential figures in the arts.

SFA has added Tyler Junior College to its recently launched Lumberjack Transfer Alliance, a partnership with community colleges in East Texas that features guaranteed admission, scholarships and enhanced services to students.

Do you have questions about retirement? TIAA financial consultants will be on campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 24, at the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 2.303.

Schedule your appointment through the TIAA website.

Summer 2025 Lumberjack Education Assistance Program applications for eligible participants — SFA employees, their spouses and dependents — are now available in mySFA. Access the application form in the “Benefits” section under the Employment tab.

Approved LEAP exemptions will be applied to eBills starting May 23. Refer to each payment deadline for each summer part of term on the Student Business Services summer deadlines webpage. Note that financial aid may affect your LEAP benefits. Refer to the LEAP procedures webpage for more information.

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

Faculty and staff are invited to attend the Endowed Faculty Recognition Ceremony at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, in the Wright Music Building, Cole Concert Hall. A reception will follow the ceremony.

We will celebrate our esteemed faculty members who have earned the honor of endowed professorships:

• Dr. Kwame Antwi-Boasiako, Donald Gregory Professorship

• Dr. Justin Blount, Sanner-Berry Business Professorship

• Dr. Dan Bruton, Micky Elliott Engineering Professorship

• Dr. Lauren Burrow, Margaret Hoover Perkins Research Professorship

• Dr. Emiliano Giudici, John Lewis Professorship

• Dr. Gregory Grabowski, Gene Moon Professorship

• Dr. Michele Harris, Tom F. and Deborah Nichols Pruitt Patent Education Professorship

• Dr. I-Kuai Hung, Robert E. Minton Professorship

• Dr. Matthew Jaramillo, John and Karen Mast Professorship

• Dr. Janet Jones, Temple-Inland Employees Distinguished Professorship in Accounting

• Dr. David Kulhavy, Laurence C. Walker Distinguished Professorship

• Dr. Stephen Lias, Dean's Circle Endowed Professorship of the College of Fine Arts

• Dr. Matthew McBroom, TLL Temple Chair

• Dr. Kelly Noe, Beverly Hatfield Smith Professorship

• Dr. Emmerentie Oliphant, Buddy Zeagler Professorship

• Dr. Brian Oswald, Joe C. Denman Professorship

• Dr. Barbara Qualls, E.J. Campbell Distinguished Professorship

• Dr. Nikki Shoemaker, Michelle and Harmon Smith Professorship

• Dr. Elizabeth Spradley, Jim Towns Mentoring Professorship

• Dr. Jeremy Stovall, Bone Hill Foundation Distinguished Professorship

• Dr. Sarah Straub, Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education

• Dr. Pat Stephens Williams, Dr. Hiram and Gloria Arnold Professorship

• Dr. Stephanie Ross, Sammie L. Smith Professorship

• Dr. Daniel Unger, Kenneth Nelson Professorship

• Dr. Yanli Zhang, Marilyn Cranford Professorship

All SFA faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend and support SFA graduate students at the 2025 Graduate Research Conference from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today on the second floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center. Paper presentations begin at 11 a.m., and the poster session begins at 1 p.m.

The Graduate Research Conference provides an opportunity for graduate students from all disciplines to showcase their subject expertise, gain experience in presenting their research, and foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary connections with other researchers and stakeholders across the university and community.

For more information, contact the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at ext. 2807 or grc@sfasu.edu.

If you know someone who’s considering applying to SFA, point them to sfasu.edu/lumberjackfamily. This webpage offers an overview designed for prospective students and their parents, families and education supporters. They also can sign up for a monthly e-newsletter featuring student life and academic program highlights as well as upcoming events to enjoy during their campus visits.

If family members of current students have asked you about what’s happening at SFA, they can subscribe to the Lumberjack Family Connection e-newsletter produced by New Student Orientation and Family Programs. Distributed quarterly, the e-newsletter offers the latest news from SFA, an events calendar and tips to support students.

Thank you for helping our future and current Lumberjack family members connect with us!

Looking for a quick, meaningful assignment or a way for students to earn extra credit? Encourage them to take a self-paced well-being course through Vector Solutions.

Courses including “Adulting 101,” “Conflict Resolution” and “Stress Management” offer practical skills that help students thrive in and out of the classroom. You can find these extra trainings under the “Policy” section in Vector.

To access, students should log in to their mySFA account, click on “Campus Life” and open the “Vector Ed. Modules” widget. For more information, contact the Lumberjack Wellness Network at lwn@sfasu.edu.

Staff Council will host the Staff Service Awards Ceremony from 2 to 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Cole STEM Building atrium.

President’s Achievement Award recipients will be recognized as well as retirees and staff members who have served for 10, 20 or 30 years. For the full list of honorees, visit the Staff Council website.

SFA’s spring Registration Rally will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Lumberjack Learning Lab on the first floor of Steen Library.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to tell students about the event, which is intended to offer students a one-stop opportunity to receive help clearing holds and to register for the summer and fall 2025 terms.

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. Snacks and refreshments will also be available.

SFA Gardens will host the Little Princess Tea Party from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in the backyard of the Tucker House in the Pineywoods Native Plant Center at 2900 Raguet St. Cost is $50 per person.

Princesses and their accompanying adults will be served lunch and “tea,” and will enjoy songs, stories and crafts designed to help them learn about conservation while they create lasting memories.

See the SFA Gardens Little Princess Tea Party webpage for more information. Purchase tickets online.

SFA Gardens is hosting the following events in May at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. Parking is available at the center or at Raguet Elementary next door.

• Plant Propagation Workshop With Dr. Andrew King, 9 a.m. to noon, May 3, Brundrett Conservation Education Building — Dr. Andrew King, assistant professor of ornamental horticulture at Texas A&M AgriLife at Overton, will demonstrate various plant propagation techniques, including making cuttings and sowing seeds. Participants will also get to take home the results of their hands-on learning. Purchase tickets online — $25 for SFA Gardens members and $35 for nonmembers.

• Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series: A Snake Woman's Garden, 7-8:30 p.m., May 8, Brundrett Conservation Education Building — Kimberly Benton will share her insight about the Snake Woman's Garden located at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site near Alto. She has a Master of Science in agriculture from SFA and has served as the Texas A&M AgriLife extension agent for horticulture in Cherokee County since 2010.

For more information on these events, call ext. 4404, email sfagardens@sfasu.edu or visit the SFA Gardens website.

Andrew received the Educator of the Year Award at the District 10 American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition earlier this month in Arlington.

Weber, who recently retired from SFA after 47 years of service, received a lifetime achievement award at the 28th Annual Mission Possible Mental Health Conference hosted by Burke last month in Lufkin.

The inaugural School of Theatre and Dance in Concert series features a limited run of "Into the Woods," the Tony Award-winning musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 25, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, Flex Theatre.

This enchanting production follows a baker and his wife on a quest to break a witch's curse. They encounter fairy tale characters including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk" along the way.

Directed by Zeke Bocklage, assistant professor of theatre, the production features talented students from across the university as well as Dr. Scott LaGraff, professor of voice in the School of Music.

For tickets and more information, visit the Fine Arts Box Office website or call ext. 6407.

CCPD’s Career Coaching and Exploration: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. April 22, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Room 3.201

Symphonic Band and University Band: 7:30 p.m. April 22, Griffith Fine Arts Building, Turner Auditorium

CCPD’s Résumé Guidebook: 11 a.m. to noon April 23 on Zoom (link will be emailed in advance to those who register)

Steel Band aka Jacks of Steel: 6 p.m. April 23, Wright Music Building, Cole Concert Hall

Trombone Choir: 7:30 p.m. April 24, Wright Music Building, Cole Concert Hall

Lumberjack Entrepreneurship Competition: 4:30 p.m. April 25, McGee Business Building, Room 133

Popular and Commercial Sound Recording Technology Ensembles (’80s concert): 7:30 p.m. April 25, Griffith Fine Arts Building, Turner Auditorium

Concert in the Park: 2 p.m. April 27, Free Speech Area across from Wright Music Building

Campuswide come-and-go lunch: Between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. April 28, Food Hall 1923 or Eatery on East, followed by Sesquicentennial Plaza for dessert

Town Hall Meeting with President Weaver: 3 p.m. April 28, McGee Business Building, Room 133, or via Zoom

Wind Symphony: 7:30 p.m. April 28, Griffith Fine Arts Building, Turner Auditorium

Senior Send-Off: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 29, Banita Creek Hall

National College Decision Day: May 1

Presidential Investiture Ceremony for Dr. Neal Weaver: 10 a.m. May 1, Griffith Fine Arts Building, Turner Auditorium. A reception will immediately follow.

The Big Dip: May 2, Grand Ballroom, Baker Pattillo Student Center

Choral Masterwork Concert with SFA Symphony Orchestra: 7:30 p.m. May 3, Griffith Fine Arts Building, Turner Auditorium

Final exams: May 5 to 9

Lumberjack Launch Guaranteed Admissions Program kickoff: May 7

Commencement: Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, and Nelson Rusche College of Business: 3 p.m. May 8, Johnson Coliseum

Commencement: Graduate Studies: 6 p.m. May 8, Johnson Coliseum

Commencement: College of Liberal and Applied Arts and College of Sciences and Mathematics: 3 p.m. May 9, Johnson Coliseum

Commencement: James I. Perkins College of Education: 6 p.m. May 9, Johnson Coliseum