Named Areas of Campus

Named July 2023

“Helping create the Center for Entrepreneurship at SFA benefits students, businesses and many Texans. The like-minded nature and collaboration that can grow out of a place with the right resources will be compounded to those learned in the traditional classroom. It is my hope we keep growing the spirit and action of Lumberjacks for many years in order to build the communities we call home in East Texas and across the great state of Texas.”

— Greg Arnold

Named October 2021

The Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts was renamed to honor the late Micky Elliott and to recognize the longtime support the Elliott family has provided to SFA, including a recent gift that pledges to support scholarships for fine arts students.

“There are many great opportunities to help SFA build on its record of excellence, but having a degree in music, I was blown away with the quality of the students, programs and instructors in the College of Fine Arts. The College not only develops professional performers, but offers East Texas residents an opportunity to enjoy opportunities that rival more metropolitan areas.”

— Bill Elliott

Opened October 2021

This new facility is home to practice courts and locker rooms for both the Lumberjack and Ladyjack Basketball programs, weight room, training room, film rooms, sports medicine spaces, player lounges and office space for coaches and staff.

“I took the competitiveness I learned on the basketball court into my business, which is one of the elements that led to my success. For this reason, I choose to give back to the university that gave me this opportunity to learn so much.”

— Loddie Naymola

Opened Fall 2021

The competition surface for the football field and track at Homer Bryce Stadium is named in honor of Jimmy W. Murphy. Murphy is a 1956 graduate of SFA who served on the SFA Board of Regents from 1995 to 2001, and was inducted into the Lumberjack Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979.

"This project is more than needed for us to be able to move our football and track and field programs forward.... We are so thankful for everyone who stepped up and supported this project."

- Ryan Ivey, director of Athletics

Named Fall 2020

The Harry and Carolyn Downing Physics and Engineering Resource Commons provide workspaces with computers for students to utilize between and after classes, as well as refrigerator and microwave access and lounging areas.

“As the department chair within the College of Sciences and Mathematics for more than 31 years, Dr. Downing impacted thousands of lives through his teaching, research, service and departmental leadership.”

— Dr. Kimberly Childs, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics

Named April 2019

The Roy E. and Linda Bush Mathematical Sciences Building was renamed in honor of Roy and Linda Bush who generously supported SFA and demonstrated the value they placed on higher education and the university.

"Roy and Linda Bush have generously supported SFA and have demonstrated the value they placed 
on higher education and the university.... The contributions Mr. and Mrs. Bush have made to SFA will not be forgotten."

— Jill Still, vice president for University Advancement

Opened January 2019

The Rex Engelhardt Laboratory is located on the first floor of the Cole STEM Building and honors Rex Engelhardt who graduated from SFA in 1986 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, and was a member of the Lumberjack football team.

"Gifts like Mr. Engelhardt's will elevate our STEM programs here at SFA. His generous spirit is setting a distinguished example for others."

— Jill Still, vice president for University Advancement

Opened Fall 2018

Designed to foster collaboration and innovation, the STEM Building boasts a planetarium with a 52-foot dome, makerspaces and multipurpose labs. The facility also features a machine shop, a digital media center, computer labs, research labs, collaborative classrooms and a terrace with telescopes.

"I’m very grateful and thankful to be a part of this University, and thank you very much for the honor of [the new building] being named Ed and Gwen Cole.... I told Gwen one time—several times—I said, ‘You stick with me, and I’ll put you on Broadway.’ And this building is a better deal than Broadway.”

— the late Ed Cole

Opened Spring 2014

Funded entirely through private donations, the building is designed to integrate educational and outreach programs offered to the more than 17,000 SFA Gardens visitors each year. The facility is named in honor of Tyler philanthropist Ina Brundrett, who served on both the SFA Gardens and Native Plant Center boards of advisers.

"This new building will help us connect more visitors to the natural world, even in undesirable weather. We are also very excited that the facility has an energy-efficient design that will meld into the existing forest and create a perfect setting for a conservation education center."

- Dr. David Creech, professor emeritus of agriculture and associate director of the SFA Gardens

Dedicated Spring 2012

The Gayla Mize Garden honors Gayla Mize, a long-time supporter of Nacogdoches Beautiful, SFA Gardens and many other civic adventures in Nacogdoches.

Opened Fall 2011

This 400-room, co-ed facility is focused on the needs of the first-year student. Programming and resources help aid the transition to college, collegiate academia and for individual development.

Opened Spring 2010

This state-of-the-art facility houses classrooms, laboratories and faculty offices.

"This wonderful new facility is going to benefit not only our own SFA nursing students, but the rest of us, as well. Nurses are important to all of us at some point in our lives, and we all want ourselves and our loved ones to be cared for by nurses with the very best training available."

- the late Lucille DeWitt

Opened Fall 2008

The building’s first floor houses the 2,852-square-foot Jack and Doris Ledbetter Gallery, which includes a 120- by 160-inch drop-down screen which is utilized by the cinematography program when premiering its annual feature-length film and by the Friends of the Visual Arts for its monthly independent film series.

The 1,722-square-foot Florence Wilson Reavley Gallery on the second floor honors the memory of Judge Thomas Morrow Reavley’s late wife, a gifted artist, painter and sculptor who attended Nacogdoches High School, Stephen F. Austin Teachers College Demonstration School, as well as Stephens College in Columbia, MO. She earned a degree in studio art from the University of Texas.

The A.T. and Patricia Mast Forum on the second floor honors Patricia Mast and her late husband, Adlai, who was a fourth-generation native of Nacogdoches.

Opened Spring 2008

This facility, adjacent to 16 NCAA-regulation courts constructed in 2005, includes a coach’s office, locker rooms, and public restrooms. Gerald Schlief of Houston, a 1970 graduate of SFA and a lifetime member of the SFA Alumni Association, funded construction of the building. As a student, Schlief was a varsity tennis player and an ROTC cadet. The SFA Department of Accounting is also named in his honor.