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Focus

May 2009

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In this issue

El Camino Real de los Tejas Heritage Education Project continues with series of lectures

East Texans wishing to learn more about El Camino Real de los Tejas are invited to attend one of four upcoming public lectures hosted by the Stone Fort Museum at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Jeffery Williams, landscape geographer and GIS systems administrator for SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, will outline his ongoing research on the historic trace and the new mapping efforts to identify trail resources. The lectures are planned as follows:

The series of lectures is part of the Camino Real Heritage Education Project funded by the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service. The second of two workshops for heritage resource professionals will be held this summer, as well, followed by a workshop exclusively for teachers.

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail was added to the National Trails System in 2004. It crosses Texas into northwest Louisiana and is a portion of the historic trail that linked Mexico City with the Spanish colonial capital at Los Adaes, near Robeline, La. The Stone Fort Museum has been actively involved in education and interpretation of the trail for more than a decade, beginning in 1996 with the award-winning exhibit, Traversing the Wilderness: El Camino Real in Eastern Texas.

To learn more about the public lectures, summer workshops or the museum’s current exhibit, “Building a Community and the Meaning of Leadership,” visit the Web site at www.sfasu.edu/stonefort or contact museum director Carolyn Spears at (936) 468-2408.

The Stone Fort Museum’s regular hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Stone Fort Museum receives donation

Cum Concilio Club members Peggy Wright (right) and Ster Dubberly (left) present a $200 donation to Carolyn Spears, director of the Stone Fort Museum at Stephen F. Austin State University, for the establishment of a preservation award in the club’s honor. The new Cum Concilio Club Preservation Award will be presented biannually to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to the preservation of eastern Texas history and Nacogdoches County.

SFA Honors retirees

Mary Ann Miles, second from left, recently celebrated her retirement from 29 years of service at SFA with friends and colleagues. Pictured with Miles are, from left: Dr. Violet Rogers, dean of the Nelson Rusche College of Business; Dr. Anthony Duben, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics; and Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Dr. Craig Wood, third from right, recently celebrated his retirement as professor and chair of the SFA Department of Computer Science with friends, family and colleagues. Pictured with Wood are, from left: Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Dr. Violet Rogers, dean of the Nelson Rusche College of Business; son Ryan Wood of Cedar Park; son Deron Wood of Plano; wife Ellen Wood, retired SFA mathematics and statistics instructor; and Dr. Michael Pickard, SFA computer science professor.

Alumni Association membership rates to increase July 1

Faculty and staff members are invited to join the SFA Alumni Association before membership rates increase July 1.

“Now is a perfect opportunity for faculty and staff members to join the alumni association and take advantage of the current rates before the July 1 increase,” said Rhonda Minton, director of marketing and membership for the SFA Alumni Association.

Minton said records show that approximately 500 university employees have degrees from SFA, and she hopes those who aren’t already association members will take advantage of the chance to join at the current rate.

“We’re glad many SFA employees are already members of the association, and we want to notify everyone that now is the time to join or upgrade his or her membership, especially if you are planning to become a Life Member,” she said.

After July 1, the current $450 Life Member rate increases to $750 per person. The annual member rate will go from $40 to $50, and joint annual will go from $60 to $75.

Starting July 1, membership rates will be as follows:


“Due to the increasing costs associated with providing services to our alumni, we examined our current dues structure and discovered we needed to raise rates to help offset the cost,” Jeff Davis, executive director of alumni affairs, said. “Raising the rates will help us as we work toward our goal of increasing services to the alumni membership, raising funds for scholarships and growing our membership numbers.”

“Membership is what helps make activities such as Sawdust magazine, Homecoming, alumni chapters, and other programs possible. Each event and activity the association presents is designed to support the alumni association’s mission of serving alumni, students, friends and the university,” Minton said. “Membership in your alumni association is simply a great way to show your support for your alma mater.”

Visit http://www.sfaalumni.com and click on Become a Member to view the list of Membership Advantages.

Visit http://www.sfaalumni.com/?page=FacStaffMAY09 to join online. Use Promo Code FacStaffMAY09 when filing out the online membership form.

Memberships may be purchased through the SFA Alumni Association’s Web site or at the Tracie D. Pearman Alumni Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday thru Friday. Payment may be made using cash, check, MasterCard or Visa. Payments using American Express and Discover are available online only.

For more information, contact the SFA Alumni Association at 468-3407.

Presentations

Carolyn Spears, Stone Fort Museum, presented “Sight and Sound: Media Options in Museum Exhibits” at the Texas Association of Museums Annual Conference in El Paso in March. The presentation addressed multi-media in the museum environment, particularly means to utilize technology to further interpretation, engage audiences and extend resources.

The AARC Supplemental Instruction Program hosted an SI Consortium with the University of Texas at Tyler on April 18 in the AARC. The purpose was to collaborate and share SI training ideas and to showcase the facility. Six SFA SI leaders presented various training topics and demonstrated their creative motivation techniques and study strategies.

Angela Bacarisse, Theatre, will design the costumes for the musical “She Loves Me” at the Texas Shakespeare Festival in Kilgore this summer. She has worked on costumes at the festival six times during the past 13 years. The Texas Shakespeare Festival is nationally recognized for the excellence of its productions.

Jeremy Becnel, Mathematics and Statistics, presented “The Radon Transform and Support Theorem in White Noise Analysis,” at the Probability Seminar hosted by Louisiana State University in April. He presented results concerning the development and proof of the Radon Transform and Support Theorem in the setting of White Noise Analysis.

Steve Cooper, Social Work, presented “Interorganizational Relationships Among Providers of Public Social Services for Emotionally Disturbed Children in Rural East Texas” at the 26th annual BPD Conference in Phoenix. The primary providers of services to Texas children with emotional/behavioral issues currently face a variety of issues that impede their ability to deliver effective services, and many individuals who need assistance are unable to access services and eventually find themselves in other less appropriate systems, such as foster care and juvenile justice. This is especially true for rural areas, which often lack the resources found in urban counties. Many believe the solution involves closing the gaps in services through interorganizational relationships. Concept Mapping was employed to identify and assess the impact of factors that affect service providers’ ability to engage in interorganizational relationships and to deliver services. Implications of the findings for baccalaureate social work education were also discussed.

David Howard, School of Music, performed as baritone soloist with the Eastern Michigan University choirs and orchestra in a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' “Dona Nobis Pacem” in April. He also performed arias and duets by Verdi, Britten, Puccini and Bizet at a fine arts benefit concert at the First United Methodist Church in Grand Ledge, Mich.

Rick Jones, Theatre, presented "Thirteen at Dinner: Variations on a Theme in Ibsen, Maeterlinck and Chekhov" at the Comparative Drama Conference in Los Angeles in March.

Robert Kinsell, Michelle Rozic and Chad Erpelding, Art, had work accepted into the final round of the Hunting Prize, an annual competition held in Houston. The competition has a single prize of $50,000 awarded at the event's Gala reception, which was held May 2 at the Decorative Center in Houston.

Darrel Dean Kniss, Kinesiology and Health Science, presented “Healthy Jacks: Applying the Health Education Process to the University Community” at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance conference in Tampa Bay, Fla. The presentation provided an overview of a service-learning project, which was implemented in an introductory community health course.

Scott LaGraff, School of Music, performed a recital of American Song and conducted a voice master class at Illinois State University in March. LaGraff will also perform the role of Schaunard in Puccini’s “La Boheme” with Opera East Texas on June 13.

Judith Lauter, Human Services, presented research at the 84th annual meeting of the SouthWest and Rocky Mountain division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Tulsa, Okla. She presented “Waking up the brain: The efficacy of kinethetic programs for enhancing neurological readiness for learning.” She also made a presentation at the College of Education’s Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day regarding prenatal hormones and the implications for human health and behavior.

Herbert Midgley, Music, presented a hands-on demonstration regarding the use of computers to record music at the Science Centered Family Night at Carpenter Elementary School. He was one of 10 math/science stations at the April event

Perry Moon, Modern Languages, presented “Image and Narrative Voice in ‘Les Enfants Terribles’ and ‘Journal d’un curi de campagne’” at the Kentucky Foreign Language Conference in April. The presentation examined the use of voice-over narration in these two French films of the 1950s. The paper called into question the traditional distinction between narration and image.

Kent Riggs, Mathematics and Statistics, attended the Conference of Texas Statisticians at Sam Houston State University in March. He presented “Interval Estimation in a Poisson Model Where the Data is Subject to Misclassification.” The invited presentation was given at the annual statewide gathering of academic and industrial statisticians. It demonstrated estimation techniques of parameters in a statistical model when the data is potentially misclassified.

The Steen Library’s Digital Projects department hosted a day-long session in Kilgore at the Texas History Workshop for Region VII educators. Digital Projects education coordinator Rhonda Williams presented an overview of the TIDES program; Linda Reynolds, director of the East Texas Research Center, guided teachers through the resources available through the archives; George Avery from the Center for Regional Heritage Research discussed the use of archaeology in the classroom; and Digital Projects librarian Christine Hennessey gave an instructional tour of new Web 2.0 technologies.

Brian Utley, Music, presented a guest artist recital with the Red Stick Saxophone Quartet at Cleveland State University in Ohio on March 31. The event was also broadcast live online and featured a work by Stephen Lias, SFA associate professor of composition.

Conferences

More than 5,800 higher education professionals from 35 countries and all 50 states came together to learn and share best practices during the SunGard Higher Education Summit in March in Philadelphia. Attendees were encouraged to “connect” with new ideas, new possibilities and new networking opportunities with peers from around the world regarding SunGard products, such as the Banner software SFA is implementing. SFA attendees included: Melinda Colby, Jackie Vose, Shawn Hardy, Danny Duplechian and Sandy Turner, Information Technology Services; Dora Fuselier and Dalyce Franks Controller’s Office; Debbie Sellman, Business Affairs; Diana Boubel, Procurement and Property Services; Sherry Wells and Angelia Crocker, Office of the Registrar; Tierney Untiedt, Graduate Studies; and Bobby Williams, Office of the Bursar.

Information Technology Services employees Paul Davis, Rich Barnhart, Sandy Turner, Melinda Colby, Tracey Foster, Seana Utley and Shawn Hardy attended the annual Texas Connection Consortium April 30 through May 1 in San Antonio. Also attending were Karyn Hall, Institutional Research; Beth Smith and Denise Douglas, Admission; Rachele' Nixon and Valerie Harrell, Financial Aid, Sherry Wells, registrar; and Danny Gallant, vice president for finance and administration. The Texas Connection Consortium works with SunGard Higher Education to provide Texas-specific solutions that allow members to meet state reporting needs.

Kelly Fonville and Adela Espinosa, Financial Aid, attended the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp. conference in Austin in April.

Publications

Steve Cooper, Social Work, will have the essay he co-authored, “Mexico's Drug Wars: Implications and Perspectives from California and California's San Joaquin Valley,” published in The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education. The essay discusses Mexico’s drug war along the California-Mexico border occurring in the Tijuana, Mexico, border region. The authors also discuss Mexican drug trafficking into the United States from the San Diego-Tijuana border region and moving north to the San Joaquin Valley of California, one the most prosperous agricultural regions in the country. The authors examine the intersection of Mexican drug wars along the border, drug trafficking to the north, immigration from Mexico, and the San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural economy and its relationship to socioeconomic conditions in the area. The human cost of the drug trade on residents of the San Joaquin Valley is also presented. The authors suggest that the San Joaquin Valley, one of the most economically depressed regions in the U.S. despite its successful agribusiness, may be more vulnerable to the influences of Mexican drug trade than other areas of the country, and also to current U.S. immigration policy meant to secure the U.S-Mexico border.

 “Original Music for Wind Band in the Latter Half of the 1950s: A Historical Perspective” by David Campo, Music, has been published. The work focuses on the sudden flourishing of original music for band that occurred during the late 1950s and investigates the economic, social and creative forces that contributed to the phenomenon.

Rick Jones, Theatre, had his article regarding Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winnning play “Topdog/Underdog” published in Masterplots II: African-American Literature. He also revised and updated an encyclopedia entry on Peter Handke, with special attention to the short novel “On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House.” The entry was for Magill’s Survey of World Literature.

Stephen Lias, Music, was appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Composers, USA. This appointment carries with it the distinction of serving as chair of NACUSA during 2010. Lias’ composition for flute choir, “Melange of Neumes,” was commissioned by the National Flute Association and will be premiered at its 2009 annual conference in New York City. It has been accepted for publication by ALRY publications.

Adam Peck, Student Affairs, had an article, “Keep the change: Using reflection to frame the transformative qualities of learning” published in About Campus. The article discusses ways to use student reflective activity to illustrate learning outcomes and prime the future learning of the student and his/her peers.

Steve Taaffe, History, wrote an analysis of the selection and retention of Union Navy squadron commanders titled "Commanding Lincoln's Navy: Union Naval Leadership During the Civil War.” The book will be published by Naval Institute Press.

Announcements

The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers has named SFA as one of the top three Healthcare Interior Design Programs. With more than $40 billion spent each year on healthcare construction, there is a great need for interior designers who specialize in healthcare. The top three schools are SFA, Auburn University and Arizona State University.

SFA students placed third at the District 10 American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition held recently in Houston. District 10 consists of 30 campus chapters in four states, and 15 schools qualified as finalists for the competition. Of these, SFA placed third, just behind Texas Tech and Texas Christian University. The winning SFA presentation team members are David Chavez, Trevor Connolly, Whitney Dodds, Aaron Harlan and Alisen Jackson, advised by Marty Prince, Art. Students also worked with professors Linda Bond in Communication, Marlene Kahla and Barbara Bieber-Hamby in Marketing, and Peter Andrew in Art.

Judith Biss, Susan Evans Jennings, and S. Ann Wilson, General Business, received the 2009 McGraw-Hill/Irwin Distinguished Paper Award, representing the Association for Business Communication Southwestern U.S. at the Federation of Business Disciplines Conference in Oklahoma City. The title of the paper is “Is E-mail Out and Text Messaging In? Communication Trends in Secondary and Post-Secondary Students.”

Jackson Brown, AARC, was awarded the Writing Center Summer Institute Scholarship presented by the International Writing Centers Association. Brown is one of six recipients of the 2009 scholarship. This $800 award covers the registration fee for the seventh annual Summer Institute, a week-long series of workshops, panel presentations and round-table discussions strictly limited to 55 writing center directors from around the world. This summer's institute will be held in July at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Alica Atkins, loan department, and Sara Wilkerson, front counter, are new employees in Financial Aid.

Sue Evans, Controller’s Office, and her husband Calvin announce the April 7th birth of their new granddaughter, Randi Mae Shoalmire.

Two fashion merchandising students from SFA placed in national competitions at the Dallas Career Day 2009 Style Symposium. Alexandreia Smart placed third in the fashion trend board competition in the mohair category. The award was presented to nine students across the country, and Smart’s board will be displayed at the State Fair of Texas. The fashion trend boards were assigned as a project in the Human Sciences 233: Apparel Design course, taught by Rebecca Greer and Michelle Jones. Dana Padgett placed third in the DAVACO Merchandising Competition, in which students analyzed merchandising techniques and designed a merchandising plan for the Kenneth Cole New York clothing line. The project was an assignment in Human Sciences 419: Merchandising Procedures, taught by Greer.

The Academic Advising Center in the Nelson Rusche College of Business is up and running. The center is an expansion of the previous advising efforts within the college, and its services are available to all business students and are designed to accomplish more than just academic advising. The center will advise year-round, engage in recruiting and retention activities, provide additional professional staff for the college, counsel with students who are having difficulties, conduct summer orientation sessions, and meet regularly with other advisers on campus to exchange ideas and best practices in academic advising. Gina Small, former administrative assistant in the Department of Management, Marketing, and International Business, is an academic adviser in the center. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and business communication from SFA and will complete her Master of Arts degree this December in communication and management. Small joins Sharron Graves, an instructor in the Gerald R. Schlief School of Accountancy, in the Academic Advising Office, located in the McGee Business Building, Suite 169.

The James I. Perkins College of Education is about to launch a national Online Head Start Completer Program. This program allows Head Start teachers across the nation to earn a bachelor’s degree online while continuing to work. Head Start assistant teachers, teachers, coordinators and curriculum specialists who have completed the first two years of a bachelor’s degree can transfer seamlessly into the program and earn either a Bachelor of Science degree in child and family development or a Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary studies with Texas teacher certification at the EC-6 level. Visit http://sfaonline.sfasu.edu/headstart/ for more details.

The 2008-09 edition of Fast Facts, a publication produced by Institutional Research, recently received a "Best 'Mini' Fact Book Award" from the Texas Association for Institutional Research during the group's 31st annual conference. The award recognizes "outstanding quality in the presentation of institutional research-related publications for universities and colleges.” The Institutional Research office collaborates with the Admissions Office to produce “Fast Facts,” a publication created to answer commonly asked questions through tables, charts and summarized talking points. SFA employees receive a copy of “Fast Facts” to assist in discussions with any audience, especially prospective students, current students, employees or external constituents. Karyn Hall, director of Institutional Research, credited the efforts of Bill Cox, Admissions, and Amber Middleton, Institutional Research, for the publication’s success.

Retired Lt. Col. John McKinney, Military Science, is the new enrollment adviser/recruiting operations officer. Maj. Bruce Daniel is now stationed in Ft. Hood. Capt. Kwang C. Fricke will arrive on campus in June as Military Science’s executive officer.

Jenny Waters is the new assistant director of Residence Life. Jenny is pursuing a doctorate in education leadership from West Virginia University and comes to Nacogdoches from Marietta, Ohio.

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