Dr. David Creech, professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University, was awarded the Sidney B. Meadows Award of Merit, the highest honor of the International Plant Propagators’ Society Southern Region, at its annual meeting in Biloxi, Miss.

Creech received the prestigious award based on his numerous contributions to the nursery industry, his students and the public, said Dr. Fred Davies, Southern Region IPPS editor.

“Dr. Creech is a master teacher and mentor who has had a huge impact on horticulture students and has been very active in promoting practical experience of his students through hands-on learning,” Davies said.

“For the past 30 years, he has been ‘Dr. Horticulture’ of East Texas, and with his selection, development and introduction of new plant materials, he has greatly benefitted the nursery/green industry. He is deeply deserving of the Sidney B. Meadows Award of Merit.”

Some of Creech’s research emphases include blueberry germplasm, crop nutrition, endangered plant rescue, new plant introductions and evaluations and sustainable solutions to environmental concerns.

Creech earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in horticulture from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M.

Creech has served as an SFA faculty member for more than 30 years and currently directs the SFA Gardens, which include the Mast Arboretum, the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden and the Jim and Beth Kingham Children’s Garden. He also co-directs the 40-acre Pineywoods Native Plant Center. Creech has been developing these gardens since 1985.

Christian Announces Preservation Grant Awarded to SFA - November 17, 2009
Submitted by Ellen Troxclair, Chief of Staff

Representative Wayne Christian (R-Center), announced today that Stephen F. Austin State University was awarded a $7,000 grant from the Texas Preservation Trust Fund (TPTF), a program of the Texas Historical Commission (THC). The grant will allow SFA to increase the capacity of its anthropology lab where many important artifacts of the state are stored.

The THC selected nine preservation project from 31 project proposal applicants to be recipients of the 2009 TPTF grant awards totaling $200,000.

The 71st Texas Legislature created the TPTF in 1989 to develop a stable source of funding to assist preservation efforts throughout the state. The TPTF is an interest-earning pool of public and private monies. The earned interest and designated gifts are distributed as matching grants. The program provides up to one-half of the total project costs for acquiring, planning, developing, and surveying historical properties and sites as well as promoting heritage education, and curating archeology collections.

The economic downturn over the last year took its toll on the Trust Fund, whose revenues for fiscal year 2009 were substantially lower than they have been over the past several years. Due to the unstable market, the THC delayed grant awards from October 2008 to October 2009.

"The Texas Preservation Trust Fund continues to be an investment in the future of Texas ," said Representative Christian. "The financial support for historic properties and artifacts provided through the Texas Preservation Trust Fund is not only contributing to SFA, but to the Texas economy as a whole, as heritage tourism and adjacent business development are a direct result of investing in historic preservation."

For more information, or to apply for the fiscal year 2009 TPTF grant awards, contact Lisa Harvell of the THC's Architecture Division at (512)463-6094 or P.O. Box 12276 , Austin , TX 78711 . To view a list of grant recipients and projects, visit the THC website at www.thc.state.tx.us.

SFA Gardens Lecture Series to Feature Horticulturist - November 17, 2009

SFA Gardens will host its monthly Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Stephen F. Austin State University Agriculture Building Room 110 on Wilson Drive. Dr. Brent Pemberton, ornamental plant researcher with the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, will present "Trials and Travels 2009: Great Plants - Great Gardens."

Dr. Pemberton, a member of the SFA Gardens board of advisors, received a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture from Texas Tech University and a Ph.D. in floriculture from the University of Minnesota. His research specialties include bedding plant production, greenhouse and garden performance evaluations, field and nursery production of garden roses, plant growth regulators, and landscape water use.

A free plant raffle will be held following the lecture. There is no charge for the lecture, and reservations are not required.

The Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series is held the third Thursday of each month at the SFA Mast Arboretum.

For more information, contact Greg Grant at (936) 468-1863 or grantdamon@sfasu.edu.

Texas Church Photo Exhibition at SFA - November 16 ,2009
Submitted by Sylvia Bierschenk

SFA to open photography exhibition of historical Texas churches

NACOGOCHES, TEXAS – The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will open “The Texas Church Photography Project” at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, in the Reavley Gallery of The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The show consists of 30 photographs taken by Mike Castles and Matthew Magruder as part of a larger project undertaken with three other photographers to create a photographic record of 19th and early 20th century community churches in Texas.

The project was the subject of one of the segments of “Texas Country Reporter” in May 2007. The seven-minute report will be screened at the Nacogdoches opening at about 7 p.m.

The exhibition will also include a carved altarpiece by artisan John Sievers along with his woodworking tools. These unique artifacts will be on loan from the Witte Museum in San Antonio.

“’The Texas Church Photography Project’ is a special exhibition to see this holiday season,” said Christian Cutler, director of SFA galleries. “This exhibition celebrates the state’s liturgical heritage with finely crafted photographs and handcrafted architectural elements. It is something everyone will enjoy.”

“The Texas Church Photography Project,” which will run through Saturday, Jan. 23, is sponsored in part by SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and Nacogdoches Junior Forum.

For more information on the project, visit www.texaschurchproj.com.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. Regular gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday. The center will be closed Tuesday, Nov. 24, through Saturday, Nov. 28, for Thanksgiving.

For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.

Cutline: “Harper Church,” a platinum/palladium print by Matthew Magruder, is one of 30 photographs included in “The Texas Church Photography Project,” which the SFA School of Art will open at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The SFA Gardens will host its monthly Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 19 in room 110 of the Agriculture Building on Wilson Drive on the SFA campus. Dr. Brent Pemberton, ornamental plant researcher with the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, Texas , will present "Trials and Travels 2009: Great Plants - Great Gardens ".

Dr. Pemberton, a member of the SFA Gardens board of advisors, received a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from Texas Tech University and a Ph.D. in Floriculture from the University of Minnesota . He has been a project leader for Ornamental Research at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, Texas since 1982. His research specialties include bedding plant production and greenhouse and garden performance evaluations, field and nursery production of garden roses, plant growth regulators, and landscape water use.

A free plant raffle will be held following the lecture. There is no charge for the lecture and no reservations are required.

The Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series is held the third Thursday of each month at the SFA Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches .

For more information, contact Greg Grant at 936-468-1863 or grantdamon@sfasu.edu.

SFA Alumni Serving in Iraq - November 10, 2009

U.S. Army Capts. Daniel Copeland, left, and Kwang Fricke, both SFA alumni, recently met for the first time while serving together on a 10-man military transition team in Iraq . Fricke graduated from SFA in 2000, and Copeland received his degree in 2005. This photo was taken last spring at the team’s base camp, where the two officers served together for a year. Fricke completed three tours in Iraq and is now the executive officer of the SFA Department of Military Science, working to recruit and train students to commission as Second Lieutenants for service into the active Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve.

SFA School of Nursing receives grant for exceptional performance
Kayli Steger

The Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing at Stephen F. Austin State University recently was awarded a $25,000 grant for its exceptional performance in producing initial licensure registered nurses.

Of the nearly 100 nursing programs in the state, three grants were awarded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to higher education institutions in the State of Texas. These schools met graduation and licensure rates of at least 85 percent and demonstrated a best practice in achieving these rates.

The grant will be used to develop a detailed business plan that other institutions may use in similar programs. Any additional funds will be used to further increase enrollment in the SFA nursing program.

The awarding of this grant is one of many recent accomplishments for the Dewitt School of Nursing, which will move into its new facility in January 2010. Fall 2008 graduates of the program achieved a 100-percent passing rate for the state licensing exam, and the program currently is utilizing funds from a previous THECB grant to address the need for more registered nurses in Texas.

“We are extremely pleased to be honored by the Higher Education Coordinating Board,” said Dr. Glenda Walker, director of the DeWitt School of Nursing. “It is truly the faculty and students of the School of Nursing who make our program a diamond in nursing education in Texas.”

SFA Receives $1.5 Million Grant to Develop Master Teaching Fellows in East Texas
Amy Roquemore

The College of Sciences and Mathematics at Stephen F. Austin State University has received a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant to develop Master Teaching Fellows within five East Texas school districts.

The grant will fund the new Texas Leadership Initiative: Mathematics Instruction Transformed (Texas LIMIT), in which 20 area middle and secondary mathematics teachers with master’s degrees will be recruited as Master Teaching Fellows. These teachers, who will receive annual salary supplements of $10,000 for five years, will participate in leadership training, provide professional development, and serve as mentors and content specialists on their respective campuses.

The College of Sciences and Mathematics, in partnership with SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education, the Region 7 Education Service Center, and the Nacogdoches , Lufkin , Tyler , Palestine and Rusk independent school districts, crafted the initiative in response to a nationwide need for reform in mathematics education, according to Dr. Kimberly Childs, SFA mathematics professor.

“With the current crisis in mathematics education, it is important that we provide excellent professional development and leadership within public schools for mathematics teaching,” she said. “Developing this cadre of teacher leaders in mathematics in East Texas schools will strengthen mathematics teaching across the region.”

The new initiative represents the latest in a string of externally funded programs the SFA College of Sciences and Mathematics has established in recent years addressing science and math education. They include the Mathematics Science Partnership grant awarded by NSF in 2002; the Texas Teacher Quality Grant program to support in-service teacher professional development; and various grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the preparation of master math and science teachers.

“SFA was initially established as a teachers’ college with a special service responsibility for preparing teachers for rural East Texas, and these origins persist in motivating our endeavors,” said Dr. Anthony Duben, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

“We have the responsibility and opportunity of properly educating teachers for schools in the region so that the beneficiaries of good instruction – the students of East Texas – will be competitive with any other student in the state, region or nation.”

A new Center for Science and Mathematics Education will be established within the college in space vacated by the DeWitt School of Nursing when it moves to its new location in January 2010. The mission of the center will include preparing new science and mathematics teachers, providing professional development for area school teachers, and coordinating science and math education research efforts within the college.

Students whose annual family income is $25,000 or less may now attend Stephen F. Austin State University free for four years as a result of the SFA Purple Promise approved by the Board of Regents Tuesday.

The program will be available to all incoming freshman students who meet admission requirements and income threshold, complete a specified number of credit hours each semester and maintain certain academic standards. According to Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs, the new program is part of SFA’s efforts to increase enrollment and support the state’s “Closing the Gaps” initiative.

“We want to motivate students who may think college is out of reach to apply at SFA,” said Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “This is an investment the university is willing to make in order to reassure students who may believe higher education is too expensive to be a part of their future.”

In addition, the regents approved the allocation of $20,000 in matching funds to endow need-based scholarships for economically disadvantaged and first-generation college students. The Greater Texas Foundation, a Brazos County non-profit corporation, has donated $20,000 for the endowment with the condition that the gift be matched with institutional funds

SFA regents also voted at their regular meeting Tuesday to increase the required minimum score for undergraduates on the Test of English as a Foreign Language. The test is required for admission of international students. The decision to raise the required minimum score was based on data on the academic progress of non-native speakers of English collected by the administration and the Office of International Programs.

“Feedback from professors regarding the recent performance of undergraduate international students enrolled in English classes indicated that these students needed to demonstrate higher levels of vocabulary and writing skills before matriculation,” said Dr. Daniel Norton, director of international programs at SFA. “I do not foresee that the increase in TOEFL requirements will have a negative impact on recruiting international students.”

Revised admissions procedures at the SFA Early Childhood Lab that give priority to children of full-time university employees also were approved. The procedures require that students be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis with exceptions made for children with currently enrolled siblings or a parent employed full time at SFA. Length of time on the wait list is the next determining factor for allocating positions. Additionally, the Early Childhood Lab management may exercise professional judgment in determining the makeup of individual classrooms to maintain the highest quality care for children enrolled at the facility.

At their meeting Tuesday, SFA regents also approved issuing requests for proposals for a project architect and construction manager at risk to proceed with plans for a new freshman residence hall and multi-level parking garage. The proposals will be reviewed by university staff, and finalists will make presentations to the board at the April meeting.

Steve Westbrook, vice president for university affairs, said the proposed new residence hall would address the current need for additional on-campus housing, while also planning for future growth. The occupancy rate in SFA residence halls exceeded 100 percent throughout the fall 2008 semester.

The new residence hall also will offer enhanced academic support programs designed to increase the university’s retention rate of first-year students, Westbrook said. “We know that once we move students from year one to year two, they are very likely to persist to graduation with us,” Westbrook said.

The regents received a report on upcoming maintenance projects totaling $10 million. SFA is issuing tuition revenue bonds to complete the various deferred maintenance projects, which have been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The projects include: a $700,000 renovation to the SFA Theatre where sets for university productions are assembled; a $2.5 million HVAC upgrade at the Nursing and Math Building ; safety improvements such as upgraded fire alarms at various academic buildings totaling $700,000; and a new roof and other renovations at the Science Research Center totaling $150,000.

A $6 million renovation to the existing chemistry building also is planned, but the project will be deferred until the Texas Legislature makes a decision on the university’s request for a proposed new molecular science building. SFA has submitted a tuition revenue bond request to the 81st Texas Legislature to construct the state-of-the art facility.

Regents also voted to:

• Allocate $59,000 for the testing, adjusting and balancing of the new air-handling systems in the older section of the Baker Pattillo Student Center ;
• Approve the installation of new elevators at Steen Library and the Ferguson Building ; swimming pool equipment replacement at the Norton H.P.E. Complex; and electrical upgrades to the northeast section of campus. The cost of these projects will total approximately $1 million;
• Issue a Request for Qualifications for an energy service company to identify and evaluate energy savings opportunities and recommend improvements to be paid for with the energy savings;
• Allow the administration to work with the City of Nacogdoches and the Texas Department of Transportation to reconfigure traffic signals and traffic flow at the intersection of North Street and Vista Drive ;
• Develop the site between the newly installed signage at the corner of North and College streets and the fine arts buildings with new landscaping and possibly a water feature;
• Approve the 2007-2008 Annual Financial Report that was submitted to the governor, comptroller of public accounts, legislative budget board, state auditor, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Texas State Library, as required by law;
• Acknowledge the annual review of the university’s investment policy and strategy;
• Approve a list of qualified financial institutions and investment brokers;
• And renew a contract between SFA and Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. to provide bookstore operations and management for the university.