NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University students studying elementary education recently hosted a “We Need Diverse Books” event at the SFA Charter School to promote diversity in literature.

Through this event and class project, 36 SFA students in a course taught by Dr. Lauren Burrow, elementary education assistant professor, read diverse books to elementary students and participated in group activities related to the readings.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches will be open during a portion of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, gallery officials have announced.

Cole Art Center will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 21 through 23. The gallery will be open during regular hours on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24 and 25. The downtown gallery will continue its new Sunday afternoon schedule and will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 26.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Wind Symphony and the Symphonic Band at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “Monuments” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

The SFA Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Tamey Anglley, assistant director of bands at SFA, will open the first half of the concert with Jack Stamp’s “Cenotaph,” which will be conducted by graduate student Brandon Beavers of Livingston.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Contemporary Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a contemporary jazz/rock fusion concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The program will feature the music of John Scofield and Pat Metheny, Plini, Suda, Tribal Tech and others, according to Andrew Sperandeo, adjunct faculty in Sound Recording Technology and guitar instructor in the School of Music. Sperandeo said he chose a program that would focus on “some challenging, higher-level music.”

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University’s Human Performance Lab in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science is offering free health-related physical fitness testing to the university and Nacogdoches communities as a part of a service-learning project for kinesiology majors.

The fitness testing will take place between 7 and 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the Human Performance Lab, located in the Education Annex, Room 112, on campus.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University student Lana Welford recently won the Women’s Collegiate Work Climb title at the 2017 Tree-Care Industry Association Expo held in Columbus, Ohio.

Welford, a senior urban forestry major at SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, said she entered the competition following encouragement from Dr. Hans Williams, dean of the college, as well as supervisors from her summer internship with SavATree, a professional tree and lawn-care company.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House will host a holiday exhibition that provides a glimpse into the celebrations of Christmas past from a child’s point of view.

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” featuring charming items from a bygone era, is from a local private collection. The exhibition will be displayed in small vignettes placed around the gallery on both floors. The show will be exhibited Dec. 1 through 31.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Who the #$%& is Jackson Pollock?” at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “A Jazzy Christmas” that will feature a mixture of holiday songs and jazz favorites at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Children’s Performing Arts Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will present two performances of Virginia Repertory Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” on Friday, Dec. 1, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Perhaps the best loved holiday story of all time, Virginia Repertory’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” is particularly suited to children, according to Diane Peterson, SFA Fine Arts Box Office manager and director of the children’s series.