SFA faculty, staff and Peter Andrew, retired professor of art, recently visited the Naranjo Museum of Natural History in Lufkin to begin the process of creating a 3D replica of a moon rock from Apollo 14.

Faculty and staff are invited to join President Neal Weaver at the 2026 Fall Welcome Meeting at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, in Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

Lunch will be provided. Those interested in attending lunch should RSVP online. For information on attending the meeting virtually, visit the president's webpage a few days before the meeting.

Success coaches are one of the most impactful components of GenJacks. Each student is paired with a faculty or staff member or a graduate student who meets with them once a month throughout their freshman year to provide guidance, encouragement and accountability as students transition to college and navigate their first year.

GenJacks students with success coaches consistently earn higher GPAs and achieve higher retention rates than the overall first-generation student population at SFA. Success coaches help students build confidence, develop a sense of belonging and succeed during their first year. Students consistently share how much they value the encouragement, guidance and personal connection they receive from their success coaches.

Those interested in serving as a success coach should complete the sign-up form by Sept. 2. Success coaches receive optional training, monthly conversation topics and a simple meeting summary form.

Faculty and staff are invited to the ASPIRE Faculty and Staff Meet and Greet from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 21 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Approximately 400 incoming students will participate in ASPIRE this year. As host of the meet and greet, Student Development and Support Services would like to see faculty and staff from as many colleges, departments and campus areas as possible attend the event, mingle and help welcome the newest Lumberjacks. No preparation is needed — just come ready to connect.

Faculty and staff planning to attend should fill out the RSVP form.

The Center for Career Education and Exploration is offering to assist with class assignments and presentations for all courses this fall, allowing students to engage in professional development learning and practice.

Class assignment and presentation request forms are available for those wishing to sign up. Presentation requests also are open to student and community organizations.

Drs. Lauren Burrow and Amber Wagnon, professor and associate professor in the Department of Education Studies, respectively, were invited by Google to attend its AI Educator Training Series in Chicago. This invitation was a continuation of their past representation at the International Society for Technology in Education’s EPP Alliance last summer.

Kristin Bailey-Wallace, associate professor of social work, and Dr. Mohammad Mostafizur Khan and Lenola Wyatt, assistant professors of social work, served on the planning committee and presented research at the 51st annual National Conference on Social Work, Health and Human Services in Rural Areas at Murray State University – Hopkinsville Regional Campus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Commonly known as the National Rural Social Work Caucus Conference, this year's theme was "Rural is Real: Thriving in a Time of Rapid Change Through Solution-Based Problem Solving and Collaboration in Rural Areas." Khan also was acknowledged for coordinating international presentations.

Rural social work is a pivotal area of social work education, practice and research. SFA's School of Social Work is one of the leaders in advancing rural social work through scholarship, professional service and collaboration with practitioners and communities across the nation.

Dr. Matthew Beauregard, associate dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics; Dr. Lynn Greenleaf, retired associate professor of mathematics at SFA; and Dr. Jonathan Mitchell, associate professor of mathematics, coauthored and published the seventh edition of "Boundary Value Problems and Partial Differential Equations."