NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University Alumni Association will honor eight alumni during its annual awards banquet beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

The Alumni Association awards its highest honors to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and the community, and who advance the goals and values of SFA.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - An informal, intimate evening with two of the most beloved performers in East Texas is a must-see event when the Friends of Theatre at Stephen F. Austin State University host a reading of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Brad Maule and Rhonda Plymate Simmons will perform close to the audience and conclude the reading with a casual conversation with everyone in attendance. Proceeds from the event will provide scholarship opportunities for students in the SFA School of Theatre.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Hundreds of Stephen F. Austin State University education students who will soon graduate and begin teaching attended SFA's Student-Teacher Orientation Thursday, Aug. 18.

Throughout the day, James I. Perkins College of Education faculty members discussed student-teaching guidelines, handbook policies and student-teaching tips, as well as answered questions about this next step in preparing students to become educators.

Dr. Janet Tareilo, associate dean of the college, explained the students' focus should now be concentrated on student teaching.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art will present as its first exhibition of the 2016-17 academic year, "Christopher Troutman: Drawing and Narrative," which runs Aug. 31 through Oct. 14 in Griffith Gallery in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

Troutman's beautifully rendered drawings portray scenes from urban daily life, defining the form and space of figures within their environments, according to John Handley, director of galleries at SFA.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present the Heterodyne Duo in concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, in Cole Concert Hall in the first recital of the 2016-17 Cole Performing Arts Series.

The Heterodyne Duo features music faculty members Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies, and Dr. Nathan Nabb, professor of saxophone. They will perform a recital featuring contemporary and ethnic, dance-style music.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A soda craving, an eye for creativity and a heart ready to give back started the design process for Stephen F. Austin State University senior interior design major Jennifer Gregory. During the summer, Gregory, a Willis native, and her classmate, Cody Johnson, a senior interior design major from Hallsville, created a room with repurposed furniture for the seventh annual Nest Fest fundraiser, an event benefiting the Renesting Project in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Jonah Raychev, son of Drs. Jennifer Dalmas and Evgeni Raychev, preforms as a violin student in the Music Preparatory Division of the SFA School of Music. Registration is underway for fall classes, and forms are available on the Music Prep website.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A number of exciting events are on the horizon within the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music.

The privacy of university students is protected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). SFA takes the responsibility of protecting the privacy of students seriously.

Additionally, the federal law Title IX requires SFA to keep confidential any investigations of sexual misconduct. SFA does not comment substantively on ongoing investigations, but takes sexual misconduct very seriously and investigates any such allegations diligently and thoroughly, in accordance with both federal law and university policy.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Dr. Tom Segady, Stephen F. Austin State University professor emeritus of sociology, will offer the commencement address during the university's summer graduation ceremony Saturday, Aug. 13.

Segady served SFA for 27 years as a professor in the Department of Anthropology, Geography and Sociology, where he taught a range of subjects from globalization and social psychology to sociology of religion and cultures of India. He retired in May 2015.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Members of Stephen F. Austin State University's American Marketing Association chapter will sharpen their skills during the AMA Collegiate Case Competition this fall.

The yearlong competition brings together top marketing students from around the world to work on a marketing challenge submitted by a sponsoring organization, according to ama.org.