The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a transformative new facility that will house SFA’s Greg Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship during its regularly scheduled meeting May 7-8.

The Department of Education Studies will host the 2025 Lifelong Learning Conference June 27 to devote time to the art and practice of teaching and learning.

This event offers a unique opportunity to connect with local educators and SFA alumni, explore innovative pedagogies and engage with timely research on what works in diverse learning environments.

This year's keynote presentation features speaker Larrian Menifee, SFA alumnus and two-time Grammy Music Educator Award semifinalist.

Register by June 13 to secure a T-shirt and parking pass. Registration closes June 26. For more information, visit the Lifelong Learning Conference website.

Join fellow adventurers on a noble journey through realms of insight and inspiration at this year's Camp CTL featuring the theme "Scholars and Scrolls: A Quest for Knowledge." Embark on a heroic adventure filled with enchanted workshops, legendary panels and a grand midday banquet fit for sages. Hone your skills and unlock new powers in teaching and learning.

Mark thy scrolls:

August 13-14 — Virtual Realm (online sessions)

August 18-19 — Hybrid Kingdom (choose your path: in-person or online)

RSVP to join the fellowship.

Leadership SFA recently held its graduation for the 2024-25 cohort, which consisted of 24 faculty and staff from various departments at SFA.

Cohort members participated in discussions and activities with campus leaders as well as leaders in East Texas and the Nacogdoches community. They also had the opportunity to gain insight into different departments, units and campus resources. In addition, cohort members conducted a service project to restock the Lumberjack Pantry.

The Leadership SFA program was established in 2018 to identify individuals at SFA with leadership potential and build their leadership skills and knowledge of the SFA community to better prepare them for leadership opportunities at SFA now and in the future.

Multiple Department of Education Studies faculty and staff presented at the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting last month in Denver.

Drs. Chrissy Cross, Marisol Diaz, Lauren Burrow and Heather Olson Beal along with Carrie Wright-Davis copresented "Reaching All Individuals and Communities to Establish Success in Language Learning" based on their co-principal investigator work with RAICES, which is funded by the National Professional Development grant from the Office of English Language Acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, Cross presented "How STEM Teacher Preparation Programs Are (and Are Not) Addressing Rurality and Place" based on her collaborative work on a National Science Foundation-funded project involving 14 institutions across the South, Midwest and Northeast.

Wright-Davis and Olson Beal also copresented "Educator Preparation Faculty’s Perceptions of Roles Within Pre-K-12 Educational Systems: An Exploratory Photovoice Study." Drs. Yuan He and Tingting Xu copresented "Exploring Themes in Feng Zikai Chinese Children’s Picture Book Award-Winning Books." Additionally, He copresented "Challenges Faced by Women in Higher Education Leadership Across Regions: A Systematic Review."

Dr. Heeok Jeong copresented "Fifty Years of Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Imagining Equity in Multilingual Education: A Literature Review" and "Expanding Utopian Methodology: Possibilities and Challenges of Cultivating Anti-Racist and Equitable Higher Education."

Dr. Jannah Nerren chaired a Division K paper session, “Fostering Equity in Teacher Preparation: Addressing Racial Literacy, Translanguaging Pedagogy, Professional Dispositions, and Trauma-Informed Practices,” and was elected program chair of the Experiential Education and Community Engagement: Scholarship and Practice Special Interest Group.

The Organization for Women’s Leadership and Excellence elected the following faculty and staff to serve as officers:

• Dr. Heather Olson Beal, professor of education studies — faculty co-chair

• Dr. Lauren Brewer, associate professor of education studies — parliamentarian

• Dr. Jessica Gordon, assistant professor of anthropology, geography and sociology — secretary

Emily Dodson, CTL's learning experience design coordinator, will serve the second year of her term as staff co-chair, and Carrie Wright-Davis, assistant director of institutional effectiveness, will serve the second year of her term as treasurer.

OWLE’s organizational mission is to support women’s professional advancement. If you are interested in joining OWLE, email owle@sfasu.edu or contact one of these officers.