Classroom teachers enrolled in Sam Houston State University's College of Education master's program in reading this summer will be working with students who need help with reading skills. Students from grades one through seven are invited to participate. Sessions will be scheduled three times per week from June 9 - July 3. Details.
David E. Payne, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Sam Houston State University, has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Pacesetter Award from the National ACademic ADvising Association (NACADA). Payne is credited as the "driving force" behind the creation of SHSU's nationally recognized SAM Center, which in 2006 was recognized by NACADA as one of the top such centers in the United States. Details.
A new statue of General Sam Houston has been erected at Sam Houston State University. It is a smaller replica of the 67-foot "Tribute to Courage" on I45 south of Huntsville. SHSU donor Ron Mafrige provided funding for the statue and said it honors M. B. Etheredge of Huntsville, the United States' most highly decorated surviving soldier of World War II. Details.
A report by the SHSU Office of the Vice President for Student Services and members of the Student Government Association confirms what students have been saying for years about the skyrocketing costs of textbooks. And now, some students are taking chances on whether or not they should even buy books for their courses. Details.
Two business professors, who join an elite group of multiple honorees, and a physicist have been recognized for their teaching, service and research skills as the 2008 Faculty Excellence Award winners. Details.
Assistant professor of geography John Strait mixes geography and the blues for his "Race, Blues, Rock 'N Roll and the Georgraphy of the Mississippi Delta" course, a five-day field trip on which students get to visit a number of blues-influenced and blues-influencing locations in Tennessee and Mississippi. The course, considered a first summer session class, will begin May 18. Details.
When Jim Tiller went to a family reunion six years ago, he had no idea that a conversation he had with a relative about writing a family history would lead him to the re-invigoration of his professional career. Since then he has written one book, has another planned, has done numerous articles and presentations, and is enjoying his job as professor of geography like never before. Details.
Ceremonies for a record number of graduates are scheduled at 6 p.m. May 16 for the College of Arts and Sciences, 10 a.m. May 17 for the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences and Business Administration and 2 p.m. May 17 for the Colleges of Education and Criminal Justice. Dirk Van Tuerenhout, anthropology curator at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and current member of the board of regents Trisha S. Pollard are the speakers. Details.
SHSU’s Texas Omicron chapter of Alpha Chi has continued to shine bright throughout the semester, with recognitions for both the chapter and its members during the regional convention and 50 inductees for the year. Details.
Trevor Thorn, director of admissions, was quoted in a Houston Chronicle story about students who enroll in private schools or move out of state to avoid having to take Texas public schools TAKS exit exams.
The 2008 "Texas Teachers, Moonlighting and Morale" study by Daphne Johnson, Marilyn Rice, Samuel Sullivan and Abigail Beard was cited in an editorial on National Teacher Week in the San Angelo Standard-Times.
Tuesday, May 13
"The measure of a Life is its Service."