NACOGDOCHES, Texas – A traveling exhibition of local photographer Richard Orton’s images of the Upshaw family of Nacogdoches County, currently showing in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, will be on display through Saturday, Aug. 22.

The photographs, which have been featured in an exhibition that’s been traveling across Texas for the past three years, are the focus of Orton’s book, “The Upshaws of County Line: An American Family,” which is a documentation of the County Line community’s history through photographs and oral histories of the families who lived there.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University student Chris Moore is certain of one thing going into his first semester as Student Government Association president – the semester is unprecedented.

A senior sports business major from Carrollton, Moore has a track record of excelling during uncertain times. He successfully completed a full load of classes during the spring semester after making the transition from face-to-face to online classes. Now, he will balance his senior year of college, a global pandemic and his duties as student body president.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Students enrolled in Tyler Junior College’s wellness and exercise program now have a way to complete a four-year Bachelor of Science in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches.

The new pathway helps TJC students transfer their credits based on the Workforce Education Course Manual to SFA, which recently switched to the Texas Common Course Numbering System.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas ¬— According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, glaciers around the world have lost significant mass since the 1970s, due in part to warming trends in global temperatures. While the concept of massive sheets of ice may seem foreign to Texans, their importance can’t be overstated.

In early March, SFA students' slight concerns about COVID-19 were drowned out by excited buzz surrounding the impending spring break. With midterms finished and bags packed for visits home or road trips with friends, they departed campus and Nacogdoches in the usual droves, anticipating a respite from day-to-day college life and a return to their routines in a matter of days.

But it was not to be.

When Fred Poston was a senior at Klein Forest High School in the Houston area, attending Stephen F. Austin State University was a good business decision.

“I had interest in attending a private university, but when I compared the costs, SFA just made sense,” he said.

Poston’s early business acumen paid off – he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1992 and soon departed the state to begin his career in the entertainment industry.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Stephen F. Austin State University has named Dr. Michara DeLaney-Fields, currently the university’s assistant dean for student affairs in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, as its first chief diversity officer.

Established as an executive position housed within the Office of the President, the CDO role was created to provide collaborative, strategic and results-oriented leadership for institution-wide diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Registration is underway for fall classes in the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music.

The fall roster for youth includes lessons in piano, violin, cello, viola, voice, Music Theory Adventures and Piney Woods Youth Orchestra, among many others. Lessons may be available for other instruments upon request. Lessons begin Aug. 17. Music Prep also offers programs for adults in piano and strings.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to greatly impact the hospitality industry, from shuttering restaurants and entertainment venues to limiting travel abroad and canceling internships for college students pursuing hospitality degrees.

But with the help of a country club in Arkansas and an event planning business in South Carolina, four seniors in Stephen F. Austin State University’s hospitality administration program completed their internships. They also had a lot of fun this summer serving others and building their confidence for their future careers.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Two separate virtual programs will allow Stephen F. Austin State University students and their parents to experience firsthand the academic rigors and student engagement that make the Lumberjack experience unique among institutions of higher education.

The two programs, Virtual Saturday and the Lumberjack Family Experience, will provide parents the opportunity to engage in informative livestream sessions with campus faculty and staff and have their questions answered about SFA’s programs and instruction.