As part of the SFA Commencement Crew, you’ll help create lifelong memories for our graduates and their families — welcoming guests, cheering on our Jacks and keeping everything running smoothly at SFA’s fall commencement ceremonies. Plus, if you work two or more shifts, you’ll receive an SFA quarter-zip pullover!

• Shift 1: Graduate ceremony, 4 to 8 p.m., Dec. 11, Turner Auditorium, Griffith Fine Arts Building

• Shift 2: Undergraduate ceremony (business and education), noon to 4 p.m., Dec. 12, Johnson Coliseum

• Shift 3: Undergraduate ceremony (fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, sciences and mathematics), 4 to 8 p.m., Dec. 12, Johnson Coliseum

Complete this form by Nov. 19 to reserve your spot on the crew and note your pullover size. Please check with your supervisor before signing up to work a commencement ceremony. For more information, email April Smith, director of executive programs and events in the Office of the President, at alsmith@sfasu.edu.

Join Employee Wellness in this year's Holiday Hustle Challenge. The challenge runs from Nov. 17 to Jan. 11. The goal is to exercise 30 minutes, four times a week

To participate, visit the UT Living Well platform, powered by Limeade, on Nov. 17 to register. Navigate to the "Discover Tab" to add the Holiday Hustle Challenge or email employeewellness@sfasu.edu to sign up. Participants will be entered to win prizes at the end of the challenge for each week you exercise four times or more.

The myTraining site in mySFA will be removed on Dec. 18. Faculty and staff should complete any assigned training prior to the date to support the upcoming changes. A new training and learning system is coming soon and details are forthcoming. For questions, contact Human Resources at hrtraining@sfasu.edu or ext. 1361.

SFA ranks among the top universities in the nation for helping students grow in wisdom, integrity and leadership, according to data from The Wall Street Journal Survey of U.S. Colleges and Universities 2025.

Student Involvement is collecting toys to brighten the holiday season. Participants should bring a new, unwrapped toy for children ages 1 to 12 to Holiday on the Plaza from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 1. The donated toys will be distributed to kids in Nacogdoches County.

For those who can’t make it to Holiday on the Plaza, Student Involvement can pick up donations from your office. For questions or to schedule a toy pickup, contact Shelby DeWitt at shelby.dewitt@sfasu.edu.

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

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

Natalie Thornton, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pines and former public high school teacher, will present “Connected and Compassionate: Humane Education Strategies for Trust-Based Relational Intervention” at SFA’s Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education Speaker Series. The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212, and via Zoom.

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

Dr. Brent Burt, professor of biology, will teach the course "Commercial Brewing Entrepreneurship" for the program. This course will explore topics related to the production, regulation and sale of beer at different commercial scales. Topics will include review of brewing practices and equipment, as well as taproom management and product distribution. The course will meet at the Fredonia Brewery and other local craft breweries on most days. Two to three weekend trips to breweries in Dallas and Houston will be required.

The Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship invites all students to share their best ideas in the Pop-up Pitch Competition, now open through Nov. 30. Participants have 30 seconds to pitch a business concept, creative solution or innovation by submitting a recorded video online. This competition is a great way to spark creativity and entrepreneurial thinking across campus.

Top ideas from each college will earn a $1,000 scholarship and advance to the spring Lumberjack Entrepreneurship Competition. Overall winners will receive additional scholarships of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000. For more information, visit the Pop-up Pitch Competition webpage.

Pop-up Pitch Competition

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, Human Services Building, first floor

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow, Sesquicentennial Plaza

East Texas Business Accelerator

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

Theron Brown 'Mr. Magnetic' Panel Discussion

2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, McGee Business Building, Room 133

Society for Entrepreneurial Advancement - Dinner with a Guest

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, McGee Business Building, Room 321

Dr. Liane Stevens, assistant professor; Dr. Zach Fleming, assistant professor; and Mike Read, lecturer; led a professional field trip in connection with GSA Connects 2025, the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, in San Antonio.

The trip, “Highlights of the Hill Country: A Trip Through the Llano Uplift,” guided 18 participants through the oldest rocks in Texas and included a hike to the top of Enchanted Rock and dinner at Cooper’s BBQ in Llano. A field trip guide by Stevens was included in the GSA Field Guide v. 74, which was co-edited by Fleming and published in conjunction with the meeting. Earth Sciences and Geologic Resources faculty members Julie Bloxson, Mindy Faulkner, Fleming, Read and Stevens presented research at the meeting.

Chakravarrty will be the lecturer during the next Fred Talk at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov 16, at the Fredonia Brewery. These talks are open to the public and are meant to spark discussion.

The pervasiveness of technology has become an essential element of human life and our interaction with it has shaped our actions in significant ways. This talk will discuss the various facets of technological engagement to develop a broader definition of the historical archive that has shaped the contours of historical knowledge.

For more information visit fredtalksnac.com or contact Julie Bloxson at bloxsonjm@sfasu.edu.