NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Students in the Junior Jacks Give Back program at Stephen F. Austin State University's Charter School collected approximately 12,000 aluminum pull tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, which will be delivered to the house this week. Proceeds from the recycled pull tabs will help with the house's expenses.

Students enrolled from kindergarten through fifth grade have been participating in this project since August. Jan Wisener, who teaches fifth grade, served as the teacher/sponsor responsible for coordinating the project.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Students in Stephen F. Austin State University's School of Human Sciences participated in the "Dine In" project on Family and Consumer Sciences Day to encourage families to cook and eat together.

Dr. Mary Olle, SFA assistant professor in the School of Human Sciences, supervised the project. Olle's Management in Meal Production classes were divided into 12 "families" and assigned to create themes that encourage families to dine in.

Opportunities to attend fine arts events are plentiful on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus. From concerts and recitals to plays and art exhibitions, there is truly something for every taste and interest in art, music and theatre.

Among the more popular offerings are the free one-night film screenings on the first Friday night (there are occasional exceptions because of holidays) of each month presented by the SFA School of Art and Friends of the Visual Arts at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The application process for the prestigious 2016 George and Peggy Schmidbauer Young Artist Competition at Stephen F. Austin State University has begun.

It's ok that Lynn Atchison '82 spends every day at work thinking about vacation. As chief financial officer of HomeAway, the world leader in vacation rentals with more than 1 million listings worldwide in almost 200 countries, Atchison's accounting degree from SFA led her to her dream job.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A special free one-night screening of "Christmas With the Dead" is planned for 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, the downtown Nacogdoches art gallery owned by Stephen F. Austin State University.

Directed by T.L. Lankford, "Christmas With the Dead" is a zombie apocalypse film based on a short story by the same name written by Nacogdoches author Joe R. Lansdale. Lansdale's son, Keith, wrote the screenplay.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The fall recitals for students enrolled in the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music get underway this weekend.

Music major instructors' piano students and students of Dr. Mario Ajero will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, in the Music Recital Hall of the Wright Music Building. Also that day, music major instructors' string students will perform at 4 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Two outstanding Stephen F. Austin State University faculty members will be honored during the 27th annual SFA Gala Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - State Rep. John Zerwas, M.D., will offer the commencement address during Stephen F. Austin State University's fall graduation ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 19.

Serving his fifth legislative term, Zerwas represents the Texas House of Representatives' District 28, which includes northwestern Fort Bend County, one of the fastest-growing regions in Texas. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education and is an advocate for increasing access to higher education and growing opportunities for graduate medical education.