NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Global leadership changes and their potential impacts on the Texas economy will be discussed during a conference titled "The U.S. and Middle East: The Future Relationship" Oct. 18-19 at the Magnolia Hotel in Houston.

The conference is hosted by Stephen F. Austin State University, the Center for International Studies at the University of St. Thomas, the Egyptian Consulate of Houston, and the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest.

This illustration by author and illustrator William Joyce, Santa © 1993, will be among the paintings and drawings to be featured in the exhibition "The World of William Joyce," which will open Friday, Oct. 26, in the Ledbetter Gallery in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House as part of the SFA College of Fine Arts' University Series.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Two art exhibitions will open Friday, Oct.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The SFA Gardens will host its monthly Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Agriculture Building, Room 110, on Wilson Drive at Stephen F. Austin State University. Dawn Stover, longtime SFA Gardens research associate, will present an entertaining program titled "Why Dr. Creech Rocks as a Boss."

Country music entertainer Aaron Watson will perform a free concert at the Homecoming bonfire on the SFA campus at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the corner of Starr Avenue and Wilson Drive.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas-The Homecoming bonfire, one of Stephen F. Austin State University's most popular traditions, will return to the campus at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the corner of Starr Avenue and Wilson Drive.

SFA's nearly 300 military veterans and their dependents are now being served by the new Veterans Resource Center that opened last spring in the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

To better meet the unique needs of students who have served in the military, SFA has established an on-campus Veterans Resource Center that brings opportunities for guidance, networking, studying and recreation together under one roof.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Join Elyce Rodewald, SFA Gardens education coordinator, for "Gifts from the Garden," a soap-making workshop at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. until noon Saturday, Oct. 20, in Room 118 of the Agriculture Building on Wilson Drive. Participants will create a variety of herbal soaps, learn recipes and techniques of soap making, and take home samples of luxurious soap they make themselves.

SFA's A Cappella Choir will perform its fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in Cole Concert Hall as part of the SFA College of Fine Arts and the School of Music's Concert Series.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - An early work of modern English composer John Rutter will be the centerpiece of the Stephen F. Austin State University A Cappella Choir's fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Piney Woods Camerata, a conductorless string ensemble led by Stephen F. Austin State University music faculty, will present its fall concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The string ensemble specializes in the performance of music from the baroque and classical periods, according to Evgeni Raychev, an SFA adjunct cello professor.

"The ensemble strives to provide an opportunity for students to excel in their musical abilities through dynamic collaboration with professional musicians," Raychev said.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The work of contemporary American composers will be highlighted when the Stephen F. Austin State University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band perform a joint concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in W.M. Turner Auditorium as part of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music's Concert Series.

"Earth and Sky" will showcase American composers John Gibson, John Stevens and Frank Ticheli, among others, as well as a standard march by venerable British composer Kenneth Alford.

Jeff Miller, internationally-ranked martial artist and consultant on workplace violence

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Jeff Miller, an internationally-ranked martial artist and consultant on workplace violence, will present a lecture regarding martial arts and life purpose titled "Live Like a Ninja," at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, in the Ferguson Building, Room 371, on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus. The event is free and open to the public.