The Pine Log

              CMYK
Thursday, April 28, 2011
TODAY
H 78 L 46
The
FRIDAY
H 88 L 66
SATURDAY
H 82 L 72
Volume 90
Issue 19
Next Publication:
Monday, May 2, 2011
Visit us online at
www.thepinelog.com
The Independent Voice of Stephen F. Austin State University
Page 4
.
Finding
Obama’s birth
certificate
Page 8 PINE LOG Lumberjacks
begin series
against UTA
Friday
Applications are available for fall staff
positions on the 2012 Stone Fort, SFA’s
award-winning yearbook. Applications can
be picked up in the student publications
department, Room 2.308 BPSC, or can be
downloaded at www.thepinelog.com under
the “Work for Us” heading.
The deadline to return applications has
been extended to Wednesday, May 4.
All staff positions are open for the fall
semester. Editorial positions include editor-in-
chief, photography editor, and copy edi-tor
as well as section editors in Academia,
Organizations, Student Life, Greek Life, and
Sports. Section editors are responsible for
working with the editor-in-chief to develop
a design plan for their section and to plan
and produce the section.
Other positions available include layout
and design specialists, writers and photog-raphers.
Many positions are paid.
Katie Blevins, student publications co-ordinator
and Stone Fort adviser, said, “A
writing staff was established specifically for
the 2011 yearbook.”
The yearbook writing staff was coordi-nated
mostly through a facebook group,
eliminating the need for weekly meetings.
“Stories were posted to the group as dis-cussion
topics. Students had the opportu-nity
to pick the stories they wanted to cover
as well as be assigned stories by editors.”
Blevins said she hopes to continue this sys-tem
with the 2012 Stone Fort staff.
Blevins said working on the yearbook
staff gives students great experience while
they are still in college.
“Working on the Stone Fort is similar to
working on a magazine in the real world,”
she said. “The skills and experience gained
are extremely valuable when students are
looking for a job after graduation.”
There are no specific requirements for
being hired to work for the publication, and
staff members are not required to be any
particular academic major. Experience in
layout and design, photography, writing or
art is helpful but not required.
“We are more than willing to train stu-dent
staff members to work within our
system,” Blevins said. “We are looking for
students who will put forth the effort to cre-ate
a quality publication for the SFA com-
THOMAS MOTYKA\THE PINE LOG munity,” she said.
SFA yearbook now accepting applications into early May
By Jamie Livingston
STAFF WRITER
The Arthur C. Temple College of Agriculture and Forestry, along with SFA
Nacogdoches Naturally Outdoor Adventure Program will sponsor a Farm and
Forestry Day from 9 a.m to noon Saturday at the Walter C. Todd Agricultural
Research Center.
In its third year, the event is a chance for children and their families to
experience some of the many educational opportunities offered through the
department.
Meredith Howe, agriculture grad student, will help educate families on the
many animals.
“There will be farm animals on close display such as chicks, pigs, calves,
goats, sheep and horses,” she said.
Other activities include a hayride, face painting, various arts and crafts, ani-mal
track learning and outdoor cooking.
Graduate students will also be on hand to show the public an observation
bee hive.
The Agricultural Center is located Hwy 259, past the Equestrian Center on
CR 123. This event is open to the communit. For more information, contact the
SFA Gardens at (936)468-1832.
jlivingston@thepinelog.com
Although SFA leaders will not be sure of the amount of
state funding the university will receive until a budget is
approved by the Texas Legislature, regents approved in-creases
in fees to prepare for a predicted shortfall. A 4.95
percent tuition and fee increase was approved for the 2011-
2012 academic year, along with an increase in room and
board rates of approximately 3 percent.
The tuition and fee increase will amount to an additional
$11.55 per credit hour. A student taking 15 hours will pay ap-proximately
$173 more in tuition as a result of the increase.
This amount includes a $4.55 increase in designated tuition,
a $2 per credit hour increase in the technology fee, and an
academic advising fee of $5 per semester credit hour.
“We do not take any increase in tuition or fees lightly,
and we have made every possible effort to cut corners in
areas across campus, so that when we are forced to increase
rates, we can make the increases as small as possible,” said
Dr. Baker Pattillo, SFA president. “A $22 million budget
shortfall is being predicted for the next two years, and we
must be prepared for that possibility.”
Convenience fees for credit-card payments through the
SFA website were approved by the regents, along with in-creases
in late registration fees, and course and lab fees.
Regents approved a change in the installment payment
plan for tuition and fees so that students may make three
payments of approximately one-third each throughout the
academic term.
A summer 2011 budget of approximately $4.5 million was
approved that allows SFA to comply with requests made
recently by the Texas Legislature that state agencies return
5 percent, and then an additional 2.5 percent, of state-appropriated
funds.
“Part of the challenge was trying to economize during
the middle of an academic year,” said Dr. Richard Berry,
provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The goal
was to reduce the summer 2011 budget by $1.1 million with
as little impact to the students as possible.”
Regents approved a five-year Quality Enhancement
Plan budget recommended by the on-site team of the
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of
Schools and Colleges. The team visited the campus as part
of the university’s reaffirmation of accreditation process.
An existing doctoral program in the James I. Perkins
College of Education leads to a Doctor of Education degree
in educational leadership. A new program was approved
by regents that will allow students to earn a Doctor of
Philosophy degree in educational leadership.
“The proposed Ph.D. will include four courses that are
research based and prepare the candidates to serve as fac-ulty
in institutions of higher education or as specialists in
agencies engaged in research and policy,” Berry said.
Minimum student credit hours for the Ph.D. will be 69
hours, while the Ed.D. requires a minimum of 66 credit
hours.
With the addition of the Ph.D. in educational leader-ship,
SFA now offers a total of four doctoral degrees. Other
doctorates are in forestry and in school and behavioral
psychology.
The Regents selected the firm Perkins + Will to update
the campus master plan. Perkins + Will, one of three firms
that made presentations to the Regents on Monday, recent-ly
completed a $7.35 million renovation to SFA’s historic
Chemistry Building.
“We have a very good relationship with Perkins + Will,
and they are very familiar with our campus,” said Danny
Gallant, vice president for finance and administration.
“They did a good job with our chemistry building, which
involved a very quick implementation. They also have a
very forward thinking, visionary approach.”
Regents approved a request by the Office of Research and
Sponsored Programs to purchase an X-ray diffraction sys-tem
for $134,426. The equipment is being purchased with
research development funds and departmental funds from
the College of Sciences and Mathematics.
Regents also approved: list of small-size classes; changes
in the graduate and undergraduate curriculum; additional
2011 grant awards totaling $1.3 million; policy revisions.
SFA regents approve 2011-2012 budgets, new doctoral degree
CODY DEROUEN\THE PINE LOG
Dr. Baker Pattillo, SFA president, speaks before the SFA Board of Regents during a recent session when a 4.95 percent tuition and fee
increase and a 3 percent increase in room and board rates was approved for the 2011-2012 academic year. Regents also approved
the creation of a new Doctor of Philosophy degree in educational leadership at the James L. Perkins College of Education.
Farm and Forestry Day this Saturday
Does litter on the SFA
campus bug you? If you an-swered
yes, you are a prime
candidate to become an SFA
LitterBug! The SFA LitterBug
Program runs contrary
to popular beliefs about
LitterBugs. The goal of the
SFA LitterBug Program is to
have a litter-free campus.
The University’s litter
problem is not only unsight-ly,
but it is also costly for
students and the University
alike. By becoming an SFA
LitterBug, students can
improve the appearance
of the campus and save
Uuniversity resources. The
SFA LitterBug Program fo-cuses
on promoting a litter
free campus by encouraging
students, faculty, and staff
to sign a pledge not to lit-ter
by agreeing to follow the
SFA LitterBug Code. Sign-up
and additional informa-tion
about the SFA LitterBug
Program are now available
online at www.sfasu.edu/
litterbugs.
“We hope students, fac-ulty,
staff, student organi-zations
and clubs, and de-partments
participate in
the SFA LitterBug Program.
SFA LitterBugs are able to
set good examples around
campus by promoting a
positive image, discourag-ing
litter, and putting litter
in its place,” according to a
press release from the orga-nization.
This program was initi-ated
by Dr. Rick Herzog and
Devyn Jones in the govern-ment
department.
SFA Litterbugs
sets sights on
fighting litter