Springfest, Mud Bugs and Mud Balls will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 24, in the Commuter Parking Lot. The day of fun in the sun will include everything from henna tattoos to inflatables like the joust and sumo wrestling. Enjoy delicious crawfish and barbeque during the Texas country concerts provided during the volleyball tournament. Whiskey Myers will perform at noon, followed by Wade Bowen at 3 p.m. The Lumberjack baseball team will play McNeese at 2 p.m. at Jaycees Field. After the championship volleyball game, everyone is invited to watch the annual Spring Purple and White football game at Homer Bryce Stadium.
Tickets for Mud Bugs are $12 in advance and $15 at the event for 3 pounds of crawfish with corn, potatoes and a drink. Advance registration for Mud Balls is $30 per team in advance or $40 the day of the event. Tickets and registration forms are available at the Tracie Pearman Alumni Center or at the Student Foundation sales table on campus.
A distinguished panel of department chairs from every college on campus will lead a discussion on "Defining Teaching Excellence" at 2 p.m. Monday, April 26, in the Teaching Excellence Center, Steen Library Room 220A. Many departments are revisiting their policy on tenure and promotion. University policy says that we need to demonstrate excellence in teaching, but the question is, "How do we define what excellence means?" We would like to stimulate ideas on how we can measure excellence without being unnecessarily obtrusive. In the modern era of assessment and evaluation, the old adage of "I'll know it when I see it" is insufficient.
The Department of History at Stephen F. Austin State University will present this year's Maxwell Lecturer, Jack Sacco, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, in the Twilight Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center. Sacco is the author of the Pulitzer-nominated book "Where the Birds Never Sing: The True Story of the 92nd Signal Battalion and the Liberation of Dachau."
There are only a few events left for the Human Sciences Quantity Food luncheons. Tickets for the functions are $12.50 and are extremely limited. The menu for Thursday, April 29: grilled pork chops with maple-cranberry glaze; red- and green-cabbage coleslaw; grilled potato salad with watercress, green onions and blue cheese; vinaigrette orange angel food cake with caramel sauce; and tropical-fruit compote. Tickets must be reserved by Friday, April 23, by calling (936) 468-4502.
The Office of Student Affairs offers Service Learning Grants each semester to faculty and staff who are interested in implementing a service learning element to their class. Grants are limited to $500 or less, and approximately five to seven are awarded each semester, depending on available funding. Applications for fall 2010 grants are due by 5 p.m. Friday, April 30, and notifications will be made one week later. The grant application is available at http://www.sfasu.edu/studentlife/servicelearning/docs/student-life-service-grant-app.pdf. For more information contact Jamie Bouldin, assistant director for student life, at jfbouldin@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1088.
SAA will host East Texas Garage Sale from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 1, in the Commuter Parking Lot. Spots are still available to participate in the garage sale. To reserve your spot, call (936) 468-1222. SAA will provide one table and two chairs per spot.
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 Thursday, April 22
Free one-night screening of Food, Inc. at 6:30 p.m. in the Ledbetter Gallery of The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329 E. Main St. Robert Kenner’s film about the U.S. food industry received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. After the screening, Dr. Jerry Williams, chairperson of the SFA Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at SFA, will moderate a discussion panel consisting of Dr. Jeff Roth, SFA assistant professor of geography; Gregory Lide, manager of Sacred Springs Organic Farm in Nacogdoches; and Theresa Tkacik, licensed nutritionist with Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital. The event is presented by the SFA School of Art and is sponsored in part by Austin Heights Baptist Church.
Percussion Ensemble Concert at 7:30 p.m. in Cole Concert Hall, Wright Music Building. The concert will feature a wide variety of percussion and musical styles and is one of the most difficult programs the ensemble has ever presented, according to Scott Harris, SFA associate professor of percussion and the group's director. Tickets: $5 adult, $4 senior, $2.50 faculty & staff, $2 student.
 Saturday, April 24
Orchestra of the Pines Concert, at 7:30 p.m. in Cole Concert Hall, Wright Music Building. The concert’s title, Grand Anniversaries, refers to the anniversaries of two featured composers' births, explained Gene H. Moon, director of orchestral studies at SFA. "We will present 'Adagio for Strings' by Samuel Barber, who was born in 1910, and 'Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major' by Robert Schumann, born in 1810. SFA Professor Charles Gavin will be the featured soloist on Lee Actor's "Concerto for Horn." The concert is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital and the Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts. Tickets: $15 adult, $12 senior, $7.50 faculty & staff, $5 student.
ONGOING (Week of April 19-April 24)
TEXAS NATIONAL 2010 and Judy Pfaff: Drawings and Prints now display at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329 E. Main St. Created by the SFA School of Art, "Texas National" is celebrating its 16th year on the national scene. The competition is open to all artists living and working in the United States. This year, juror Judy Pfaff chose 191 pieces by 162 artists. Both shows run through Saturday, May 22. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.
Consumed: Fast Food in the US now on display at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329 E. Main St. From the eating contests to the mascots designed to appeal to young children, Susana Raab’s 20 photographs capture the influence of the fast food franchise super powers and the saturation of their marketing strategies on everyday American life. The show will run through Saturday, May 15. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
NEXT WEEK
Monday, April 26
Wind Symphony concert at 7:30 p.m. in W.M. Turner Auditorium. Tickets: $5 adult, $4 senior, $2.50 faculty & staff, $2 student.
Tuesday, April 27
Symphonic Band and University Band concert at 7:30 p.m. in W.M. Turner Auditorium. Tickets: $5 adult, $4 senior, $2.50 faculty & staff, $2 student.
Staged reading of Jack Heifner’s Jump for Joy as part of the SFA School of Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New American Plays at 7:30 p.m. in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. For mature audiences. Tickets: $12 adult, $6 faculty and staff, seniors and students.
Wednesday, April 28
Staged reading of Barbara Lebow’s The Adventures of Homer McGundy, Revised as part of the SFA School of Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New American Plays at 7:30 p.m. in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. For mature audiences. Tickets: $12 adult, $6 faculty and staff, seniors and students.
Thursday, April 29
World-renowned jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig performing with the SFA Swingin’ Axes jazz band at 7:30 p.m. in W.M. Turner Auditorium. The Swingin’ Aces will open the concert, which is part of the SFA College of Fine Arts’ University Series. Tickets: $18 adults, $12 seniors, $9 faculty and staff, $6 students.
Staged reading of James McLure’s Seduction as part of the SFA School of Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New American Plays at 7:30 p.m. in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. For mature audiences. Tickets: $12 adult, $6 faculty and staff, seniors and students.
Friday, April 30
Staged reading of Jack Heifner’s Jump for Joy as part of the SFA School of Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New American Plays at 7:30 p.m. in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. For mature audiences. Tickets: $12 adult, $6 faculty and staff, seniors and students.
Saturday, May 1
Staged reading of Barbara Lebow’s The Adventures of Homer McGundy, Revised as part of the SFA School of Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New American Plays at 2 p.m. in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. For mature audiences. Tickets: $12 adult, $6 faculty and staff, seniors and students.
Staged reading of James McLure’s Seduction as part of the SFA School of Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New American Plays at 7:30 p.m. in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building. For mature audiences. Tickets: $12 adult, $6 faculty and staff, seniors and students. |
The SFA Advertising Team was named first runner-up at the American Advertising Federation 10th District Competition Thursday in Amarillo. 
The Stephen F. Austin State University Dance Program will present Danceworks, a studio concert on Friday, April 23, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 24, at 3 and 5 p.m. in the Lucille Norton HPE Complex Dance Studio, Room 201, on the SFA campus. 
East Texans have the rare opportunity to get a preview of three playwrights' newest works during Stephen F. Austin State University's Festival of New American Plays Tuesday, April 27, through Saturday, May 1, in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building.
Patrons can expect an energetic evening of music as three-time Grammy-nominated jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig performs with Stephen F. Austin State University's Swingin' Axes at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in W.M. Turner Auditorium as part of the SFA College of Fine Arts University Series.
April 22, 1689: Mexican explorer Alonso de Leon reached Fort St. Louis, and found it abandoned, during an expedition planned to re-establish Spanish presence in Texas. 
