Today's Weather

Today
87° & Mostly Cloudy

Tonight
67°

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This Week's Calendar

Final examinations
ending Friday, May 14

Ladyjack Softball Tournament
Thursday, May 13
4 p.m.
San Marcos, Texas

Book signing for
'Nacogdoches Now and Then'
Friday, May 14
from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Hotel Fredonia lobby

Lumberjack Baseball vs.
Southeastern Louisiana
Friday, May 14
3 p.m. at Jaycees Field

Outdoor Track and Field:
SLC Outdoor Championships
Friday, May 14
ending Sunday, May 16
Arlington, Texas

Armed Forces Day
Saturday, May 15

Commencement
Saturday, May 15
9:30 a.m.
William R. Johnson Coliseum

Lumberjack Baseball vs.
Southeastern Louisiana
Saturday, May 15
2 p.m. at Jaycees Field

Lumberjack Baseball vs.
Southeastern Louisiana
Sunday, May 16
1 p.m. at Jaycees Field

Get HIP at SFA with the Quality Enhancement Plan topic

The topic for SFA’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) will be High Impact Practices in student learning, Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs, announced Monday.

Berry also directed the QEP Steering Committee to form a writing group to begin drafting a formal QEP to be presented to Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges in January 2011 and initiated on campus in the subsequent fall term. The search for a QEP topic addressing student learning at SFA has been a process that involved all constituents of the campus, including alumni and community members.

The most frequently identified topics addressing the enhancement of student learning were collected during an 18-month period and presented with recommendations to the campus leadership by the QEP Selection Committee this spring. From the topics under final consideration, high impact practices in student learning was determined to be the best fit for fully involving all areas of the university. In his charge to the committee, Berry noted that the SFA campus community has overwhelmingly shown support for High Impact Practices (HIP) as the QEP topic.

A Web site that will allow SFA faculty, staff and students to monitor progress on the development of the QEP is under construction. A link to the site will be posted on "SFA Today" in the next few days, and QEP updates will appear on a regular basis.

News and Announcements

NEW! Additional Banner student records training dates have been set for upcoming months through December 2010. The training dates includes training on holds, overrides and permits; registration; building the schedule of classes; grade entry; CAPP; coding student special populations; and Business Office training. To view a calendar of these dates, please go to www.sfasu.edu/axcess/endusertraining.asp. To sign up, please contact Melinda Colby at mcolby@sfasu.edu or 936-468-6046.

NEW! Banner will be down for system maintenance Thursday, May 13 starting at 7pm. This will include both INB and Self Service Banner, which includes fall registration and financial aid awarding. The estimated downtime is 3 hours.

NEW! Dr. Gail Weatherly, distance learning coordinator, and Chuck Lopez, director of disability services and ADA coordinator, presented an online webinar this month to faculty at Indiana University at Pennsylvania. Their topic was "Accessibility of Online Courses," which was presented using Elluminate desktop videoconferencing technology.

NEW! Tonight on SFA-TV 2 (Channel 2 for Suddenlink customers)
7 and 10 p.m. - Replay of Archie McDonald Speaker Series with George Foreman

Gear up on Lumberjack gear!! Save a huge 20 percent on any SFA logo imprinted item purchased at the SFA Barnes & Noble Bookstore when you become an Official Facebook Fan of the “Stephen F. Austin State University Spirit Fridays." Promotion ends Monday, May 31!

Applications for the 2010 Lumberjack Leadership Academy are online and ready for students! The Lumberjack Leadership Academy (LLA) is a year-long leadership development program that integrates service learning and leadership development strategies to assist students in developing the skills necessary to lead effectively. There is no cost to participate in this program. Applications for the 2010-2011 LLA will be available online and are due by Friday, May 14. Students must be nominated by a staff member to apply; no letter of recommendation is necessary, as we will contact the staff member by phone to discuss your candidacy for the program. Download the 2010-2011 LLA Application.

Experience a day of fun on the farm as the Department of Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University hosts Barnyard Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 22, at the Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Center. Visitors of all ages will get a chance to see baby farm animals, enjoy games and a maze, and take a hayride farm tour. A Best Dressed Farmer costume contest will kick off at 10 a.m. with prizes in each of five age divisions ranging from infants to adults. Barnyard Day is free and open to the public. The Agriculture Research Center is located at 442 County Road 123, off Highway 259, north of Nacogdoches. For more information, contact Lindsey Krebs at (936) 564-5924 or e-mail lbkrebs@sfasu.edu.

New students, parents and family members will soon arrive on campus to attend orientation sessions! The orientation dates are: June 10-11, June 17-18, June 24-25, July 1 (Transfer Session), July 22-23, July 29-30, and August 5-6 (Freshman and Transfer Session). Review the complete summer orientation schedule online.

Download the
Fine Arts
May Calendar

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Visit the College of
Fine Arts Web site

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To purchase tickets,
please visit our
online ticket box office
or call (936) 468-6407

Book signing for Nacogdoches Now and Then
Friday, May 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Hotel Fredonia lobby

The book is a result of a Summer 2008 project undertaken by SFA Assistant Professor Chris Talbot and his photography students to recapture historic locations throughout Nacogdoches. Using a group of old photographs found at the East Texas Research Center as a guide, the artists attempted to pinpoint the exact positions where the pictures were originally taken and re-photograph the area to show the development of Nacogdoches over the past 100 years.

According to co-author Dr. David A. Lewis, SFA professor of art history, the book functions as a pictorial guide, presenting paired “Now” and “Then” photographs of 20 specific Nacogdoches sites, along with maps that mark each location with coordinates of the vantage point and directions for viewing.

Talbot and Lewis will be available to autograph books. Hard cover books are priced at $29.95, and soft cover books are $19.95. Nacogdoches Now and Then is a product of the Stephen F. Austin State University Press.

Who Knew?

The ubiquitous piano ditty "Chopsticks" was written in 1877 by 16-year-old Euphemia Allen. The name had nothing to do with Asian eating utensils, but came from the way she played her composition: with palms facing inward, the little fingers lowest, so that the movement of the hands hitting the keys mirrored a chopping motion.

Excerpt from "I Never Knew That!"

SFA Today is published by the Office of Public Affairs Monday through Friday (except for holidays). Items must be received by noon prior to the day of desired inclusion. To submit items to SFA Today, use the online form or e-mail sfatoday@sfasu.edu. The announcement should apply to a significant number of faculty and/or staff members.