NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Experts in political science and history will gather on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus Friday, April 8, to take part in a joint conference aimed at bridging the two disciplines.

The joint mini-conference between SFA and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will task students with the planning, participation and execution of the entire event.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Some say the best way to learn is by doing, and Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in the James I. Perkins College of Education are putting this adage to the test with a service-learning project.

As part of their curriculum, SFA elementary education students are learning the best way to teach social studies to elementary students, and Dr. Vicki Thomas, SFA elementary education assistant professor, said service and experiential learning are some of the best teaching methods.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's Braille and Cane Club within the Department of Human Services has been recognized with the Natalie Barraga Award from the Texas Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

In conjunction with the award, the City of Nacogdoches is proclaiming April 7 Braille and Cane Club Day. The first formal reading of the proclamation and display of the Barraga award will be at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Human Services Building, Room 314, on the SFA campus.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's School of Human Sciences honor society, Phi Upsilon Omicron, is dedicating its service projects to cancer prevention and to helping those battling cancer in honor of former Phi U officer and SFA interior design major Chelsie Watts, who died of cancer Jan. 30, 2015.

Jessalyn Welch, Phi U president, also has been affected by cancer and helped put these projects in perspective. Welch said her aunt is a breast cancer survivor, and a close family friend died from the disease when Welch was in high school.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Nearly three years after discussions began, the first physical off-site branch of Stephen F. Austin State University has opened at Lone Star College's University Center at Montgomery and, pending approval, will begin offering courses this fall.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Successful in its first year, the second Lumberjack Psychology Conference will be held Monday, April 4, aimed at showcasing undergraduate and graduate research and preparing students for the upcoming Southwestern Psychology Association conference.

Three SFA students received awards from the Psi Chi National Honor Society following last year's SWPA conference in Kansas.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in the James I. Perkins College of Education are putting their skills to the test by participating in Project Confianza.

A collaborative effort between SFA's James I. Perkins College of Education and the Lufkin and Nacogdoches Independent School Districts, Project Confianza aims to improve the education of pre- and in-service teachers to help them work effectively with English Language Learners. 

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Dr. Ray Darville, professor of sociology at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present "The Seventh Objective: Live a Natural Life" at the upcoming Regents Lecture.

Darville, the 2015-16 Regents Professor, will deliver the address at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, in the Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus. Refreshments will be served, and there is no admission charge. The Phi Eta Sigma induction ceremony will follow the lecture.