NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University’s May commencement will be held in four separate ceremonies as a result of the expansion of Johnson Coliseum, which began last summer.

Degree candidates will participate at either 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, or 9:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9.

Seating at the coliseum, which typically has capacity for 7,200 guests, is temporarily reduced due to construction.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Three graduate students in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art will exhibit their work in a show titled “Pondering the Moment” to be displayed Jan. 23 through March 3 in Griffith Fine Arts Gallery on the SFA campus.

Sculptor Kailan Counahan, ceramicist Aldo Ornelas Lopez and painter Travis Walthall will each exhibit a selection of recent works. An opening reception for the exhibition will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, in the gallery, located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin State University's SFA Gardens, the Pineywoods Audubon Society and the university's student chapter of the National Association for Interpretation are sponsoring the annual Backyard Bird Bonanza from 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 15 at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University faculty, staff and preservice teachers, as well as local teachers and high school students, will have a rare opportunity to work with Naomi Shihab Nye, the Young People's Poet Laureate of the United States, Jan. 21-22.

The author of poetry collections, including "19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East," "You and Yours" and "The Tiny Journalist," Nye also will perform a reading for the public.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — The Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Multicultural Affairs’ sixth annual Diversity Conference will highlight the difference between discussing and demonstrating diversity.

“We talk about diversity, but is this diversity we speak of an actual representation of the diversity people see?” said Jalon Berry, OMA assistant director. “That’s why this year’s conference theme is ‘Diversity vs. Diverse-I-See.’”

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — The Office of Multicultural Affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University will host its first Brave Space Series of the spring semester at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Multimedia Room. The series' discussion is titled “Cultural Pluralism.”

“I think it is important for us to know that diversity is more than race,” said DaQuan Allen, OMA student ambassador. “Diversity also includes religion, sexual orientation, gender, class, socioeconomic status and many other aspects of identities.”

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Guest artists Dr. Matthew Shipes, tuba and euphonium, and Dr. Rajung Yang, piano, will present a recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Music Recital Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. Shipes and Yang will also present a master class to members of the SFA tuba-euphonium and piano studios.

Works to be performed include Concertino for tuba, Op. 77 by Jan Koetsier; Sonata for tuba and piano, Op. 34 by Trygve Madsen; Concertino for flute, Op. 107 by Cécile Chaminade; and “Pearls” by Roland Szentpáli.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Students selected for Nacogdoches County’s Opportunity for a Better Learning Experience, or NOBLE program, can apply to receive one of nearly 30 $1,000 scholarships if they’re planning to attend or currently attend Stephen F. Austin State University.

NOBLE is a program sponsored by the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, SFA and the local business community and is designed to encourage county high school students to take more demanding courses to help better prepare them for the world of work.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The School of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “What Is Truth: A Brass and Media Concert” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, in the Music Recital Hall on the SFA campus.

Performed by Dr. Ronnie Ingle, trumpet professor at the University of North Dakota, and Dr. Mike Hall, trombone professor at Old Dominion University, the concert is a thematic collaborative presentation with brass and multimedia asking through music “What is truth?” in today’s “post-truth culture,” according to the artists.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Dr. Roberta Rust, professor and head of the piano department at the Lynn University Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, will present a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.