Join us for the annual Holiday on the Plaza from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 1. This festive event brings together faculty, staff, students and their families to celebrate the season, enjoy delicious treats and participate in holiday-themed activities.

Help us count down to the lighting of the SFA campus! Prior to the lighting, which will take place in front of the Austin Building, we will have performances by the incredible SFA Kantorei and Singin’ Axes choirs, as well as SFA Charter School students. Enjoy activities on the Baker Pattillo Student Center Plaza and stop by Santa’s Workshop. Select student center retail food venues will be open.

Staff Council will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in McGee Business Building, Room 133. Damon Derrick, vice president and general counsel/chief of staff, and John Wyatt, executive director for Human Resources, will speak about comp time policy and procedures.

The meeting will be livestreamed via Zoom, and the meeting agenda is available on the meeting information page.

SFA Faculty Forum events offer faculty members a chance to discuss important issues and relay timely information. The next forum will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, in McGee Business Building, Room 133. If you are unable to attend in person, you can attend via Zoom.

Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and engaged!

Meeting ID: 925 4007 1340

Passcode: FORUM

Ale in Favor is an independent initiative for faculty to meet off campus in an open discussion space to talk about topics impacting faculty welfare, academic affairs and policy.

The next meeting will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the Fredonia Brewery. Ale in Favor follows immediately after Faculty Forum. Can’t make it in person? Join us via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 925 4007 1340

Passcode: FORUM

SFA’s fall 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 clear holds and register for the spring 2026 term.

Representatives from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Student Business Services, Office of the Registrar, and the Cole Student Success Center, among others, will be ready to offer one-on-one assistance. Snacks and refreshments will be available.

The Center for Teaching and Learning invites you to its November sessions, two of which will be livestreamed. Email ctl@sfasu.edu for livestreaming information.

2 to 3 p.m. tomorrow, Steen Library, Room 205: Kelsey Wigand and Hollie Beauchamp host “From Distracted to Connected: Building Classroom Community for Focus and Engagement.” Learn how building classroom community can lower distractions and improve student focus.

2 to 3 p.m. Nov. 13, livestreamed: Laura Osborne presents “Faculty Activity Report Workshop.” ​Learn more about the report, including recommendations for where and how to list your credentials, achievements, research and scholarship, teaching, service, and professional development.

1 to 2 p.m. Nov. 20, livestreamed: Emily Dodson hosts "Fostering Online Discussions," which offers strategies to create authentic, engaging conversations in your Brightspace courses. Learn how to encourage genuine student interaction, build a sense of community and foster human-centered dialogue in the age of AI.

Faculty, staff, students and community members are invited to the Office of International Programs’ global gateway presentation on China at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Steen Library, Room 103. The event will include a presentation led by an SFA international student from China who will introduce attendees to their country, traditions and lifestyle.

For more information, contact Enrique Venegas at enrique.venegas@sfasu.edu or ext. 6604.

SFA Gardens is hosting the following events this month at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. Parking is available at the center or at Raguet Elementary.

Fall Foliage Art: A Family Fun Day, 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 8 –Monique Coleman, SFA art student, will lead participants, ages 8 and above, who are interested in learning to paint fall foliage. All supplies will be provided for this free event. SFA Gardens volunteers and staff will offer other educational and fun activities for all ages related to fall foliage such as tree identification and leaf rubbings. For more information, contact Kay Jenkins, environmental education programs coordinator, at ext. 1832 or kay.jenkins@sfasu.edu.

Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series: Natives, Pollinators and Shade Gardening, 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13 – Heidi Sheesley, owner of Treesearch Farms in Houston, will share her decades of experience in choosing extraordinary plants that thrive in native, pollinator and shade gardens. Sheesley started Treesearch Farms, a wholesale plant nursery, in 1983 and strives to provide unique, different and hard-to-find plants. A plant raffle will follow the presentation. For more information, call ext. 4129 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

The Cole Student Success Center hosted and coordinated its second “Supplies for Success” event Oct. 7, distributing more than $5,000 in study supplies to first- and second-year pre-nursing students at SFA. The initiative continues the center’s commitment to helping students access essential resources that promote academic success and degree completion.

The center brought together several campus partners, including the DeWitt School of Nursing, the School of Social Work and the Academic Assistance and Resource Center, to provide holistic support for students pursuing nursing careers. AARC representatives offered strategies for effectively using study materials in science-based courses, while the School of Social Work faculty and graduate students engaged attendees through the Care Connect program, an initiative designed to support students as they prepare for entry into nursing school.

Funding for the event was provided through the Student Success Acceleration Program 2.0 Grant, which supports initiatives that enhance student persistence, retention and degree completion.

SFA’s Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship received the Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers at GCEC’s annual conference hosted by the University of Calgary in October.

In October, SFA launched the Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows Program. This series introduces the fellows and their upcoming entrepreneurship courses.

Dr. Kevin Langford, associate professor of biology, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from SFA and his doctoral degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. His research interests focus on the regulatory processes of embryonic development using both vertebrate and invertebrate models.

For the Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellows Program, he will teach the course "Entrepreneurial Solutions to Healthcare Disparities," which features the basics of entrepreneurship and examines health care disparities across Texas, especially in rural communities. Students will apply entrepreneurial principles to create solutions for these disparities.

The Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship is hosting its Pop-up Pitch Competition now through Nov. 30. Open to all students, this competition is a great way to spark creativity and entrepreneurial thinking across campus.

Students have 30 seconds to share their best idea, whether it’s a business concept, creative solution or innovation. They can pitch it live during weekly Wednesday pop-up events from noon to 1 p.m. in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Spirit Lounge, or they can submit a recorded pitch online.

Each college’s top idea will earn a $1,000 scholarship and entry into the spring Lumberjack Entrepreneurship Competition. In addition, the overall first-, second- and third-place winners will receive scholarships in the amount of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. Encourage your students to get involved. For more information, visit the Pop-up Pitch Competition webpage.

Pop-up Pitch Competition

Noon to 1 p.m. today, Baker Pattillo Student Center Spirit Lounge

East Texas Business Accelerator

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow, Commercial Bank of Texas Community Room

Davis, Selden, Natalie Macellaio from Dallas College and R. Eric McMaster from The University of Texas at Austin co-presented "Building from Scratch: Teaching Sculpture to a Generation Without Shop Class" during the recent International Sculpture Center conference in Dallas.

Many of today's sculpture students enter the classroom with little or no experience using tools or working in three dimensions, so the presentation offered adaptable projects, teaching strategies and course structures that build confidence and foundational skills. Participants were invited to contribute project prompts, adaptable assignments and successful teaching strategies to help build a collaborative digital project book.

SFA’s Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts will host a special event celebrating the release of “Mr. Magnetic,” a collaborative jazz album featuring SFA faculty members and acclaimed jazz pianist and composer, Theron Brown. The event will begin with a panel discussion at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in McGee Business Building, Room 133, followed by a behind-the-scenes documentary and live performance at 7:30 p.m. at Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building. A reception will follow the performance, and all events are free and open to the public.