Sul Ross State University

News Release for March 26, 2008

ANNUAL SUL ROSS SPRING CAREER FAIR APRIL 8

The Career Life Center at Sul Ross State University will host its annual Spring Career Fair Tuesday, April 8.

The fair, featuring a wide range of companies from Texas and surrounding states, will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Espino Conference Center, located on the second floor of the University Center. Refreshments will be provided, and visitors may register for door prizes, to be distributed at the end of the fair.

Visitors will be able to investigate job markets, ask recruiters questions, explore different business resources or apply for available positions. Appropriate business attire is recommended.

The Career Life Center is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, contact Joyce Sesters, (432) 837-8178.

TEACHER JOB FAIR APRIL 23 AT SUL ROSS

The Sul Ross State University Education Department will host the annual Job Fair for Teachers Wednesday, April 23 in the University Center.

Representatives from school districts around the state will be available to meet with Sul Ross students and area teachers from 9 a.m.-noon in the Espino Conference Center. Anyone interested in teaching opportunities is welcome to attend.

For more information, contact Dr. Tyra Manning, (432) 837-8170 or tmanning@sulross.edu.

SUL ROSS PROFESSOR ADDRESSES AUSTRIAN SCHOLARS CONFERENCE

Dr. Larry Sechrest, Sul Ross State University professor of Economics, was a keynote speaker and panelist at the Austrian Scholars Conference held by the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Ala., March 13-15.

Sechrest was a panelist in the session "The Transition to Sound Money" and also gave the closing address of the conference: the Mises Memorial Lecture. The title of the address was "The Anti-Capitalists: Barbarians at the Gate." The video of the address can be accessed at http://blog.mises.org/archives/007920.asp.

For more information, contact Sechrest, (432) 837-8069 or larrys@sulross.edu. Information on the Austrian Scholars Conference may be found at: http://mises.org/events/100.

SPREADSHEET WORKSHOP APRIL 2 AT BBRMSBDC

The Big Bend Region Minority and Small Business Development Center will present a free hands-on workshop, "Spreadsheets for Business Applications,'" Wednesday, April 2.

The workshop will be held from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m., Room 107, Centennial School Building, 500 W. Ave. H, Alpine.

The versatility of spreadsheet programs has made them one of the most utilized tools for number-crunching. As such, a good understanding of spreadsheet operations can be invaluable to the small business owner. Topics addressed will include how to setup and format a workbook and worksheets, values, functions, linking data and creating a database.

Computer familiarity is a pre-requisite and this workshop is limited to 14 participants. Pre-registration is required. To pre-register, call (432)837-8813.

PIANO RECITAL MARCH 29 AT SUL ROSS

Dr. Justin Badgerow, Sul Ross State University assistant professor of Music, will present a piano recital Saturday, March 29, 3:30 p.m. in Marshall Auditorium. There is no admission charge and the public is invited.

Badgerow will play the music of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Glass, and Radiohead.

Badgerow will give a Pre-concert lecture Friday, March 28, 5 p.m. in Francois Fine Arts Building, Room 200 (Choir Room).

For more information, contact Badgerow, (432) 837-8222 or jbadgerow@sulross.edu.

GRADUATE EXHIBIT BY JESSICA MORGAN OPENS MARCH 31 AT SUL ROSS

A Master of Arts exhibition by Sul Ross State University graduate student Jessica Morgan, Brownsville, will open March 31.

Morgan's exhibit,"Bloodlines," will continue through April 11 in the Main Gallery, Francois Fine Arts Building. A closing reception will be held Friday, April 11, 6-8 p.m. There is no admission and the public is invited. "Bloodlines" is a series of graduate-level images which contain cultural myths along with Chicano, both personal and historic, imagery synthesizing two popular creative artistic movements commonly referred to as "Fantasy" and "Realism."

The three basic elements of Spirit, History, and Art are incorporated and encompasses these concepts. Over the years, these concepts have been a significant influence upon Morgan's life, and a source of profound inspiration within her artworks.

Morgan's subjects are intimate ones, and include self-portraits, her marriage and family, and her friends. She intentionally chose the portable versatility of pastels, the flexibility of oils, and the cleanliness of ink for her works. Even though black and white is starkly suggestive, the availability of a vast palette of color is truly advantageous.

MUSEUM DIRECTOR FRANCELL TO RECEIVE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION AWARD

Museum of the Big Bend director Larry Francell will receive a prestigious award from the Texas Historical Commission (THC).

Francell will receive the John L. Nau, III Award of Excellence in Museums, to be presented at the annual Historic Preservation Conference, scheduled May 1-3 in Corpus Christi.

Francell will be recognized for significant achievement in the areas of historical interpretation, museum education, conservation of collections and/or community involvement.

He was nominated by the Texas Mountain Trail Board of Directors.

"The Board...was very happy to nominate Larry for this award and bring statewide recognition to the Museum of the Big Bend," said Beth Nobles, Texas Mountain Trail coordinator. "Through Larry's leadership and hard work of the museum's staff, volunteers and partners, the region now has a strong anchor attraction for tourists."

Since becoming director in 2000, Francell spearheaded a $4.4 million renovation/relocation campaign that resulted in the return of the Museum to its original location, a building constructed in 1936 during the Texas Centennial.

The renovation also included new and expanded exhibits and a curator of education will be added to the staff.

"The vision that has brought us the new Museum of the Big Bend belongs to our director, Larry Francell," noted Sul Ross President R. Vic Morgan. "He has provided the motivation for the creation and continuance of this project. By developing the plan for the funding of the building renovation and exhibits, and now for the operation, has been achieved by his commitment to create a facility that will serve the region far into the future.

"The museum, and its collections and exhibits, will attract visitors and scholars from all over the world who seek to better understand the culture and heritage of our region that is preserved and exhibited here," said Morgan. "We have already begun to see an increase in visitors and requests for research opportunities as the reputation and information about the facility is spreading. Larry's vision for the education component will add to the attraction and bring to life the culture and heritage of this region, particularly for our youth."

Francell praised his staff, as well as Sul Ross' administration and supporters.

"Without the commitment of the staff, the help of Museumscapes and all the people who had a hand in actually fabricating and installing our exhibits, the support of Dr. Morgan and the belief in the importance of preserving the history of the Big Bend expressed by the generous financial support of donors over the years, today's facilities would still be in the planning stage," Francell said.

For more information, contact Francell, (432) 837-8145 or francell@sulross.edu.

SACS ACCREDITATION TEAM TO VISIT SUL ROSS MARCH 30-APRIL 1

An 11-member representative team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) will visit Sul Ross State University March 30-April 1 as part of the process of reaffirmation of accreditation.

The SACS team will conduct on-campus interviews on Monday, March 31. Sul Ross has submitted a compliance report to SACS and completed a focused report to address additional requests. The onsite visit will mainly review the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) also known as Lobo Stars. A committee of 43 has been at work on the plan since fall 2006. This 75-page document includes an explanation of the Sul Ross plan to enhance student learning through engagement with their classes with support from university activities. The plan includes three strategies: increasing outdoor learning opportunities, pilot programs to encourage innovation, and a faculty support center.

"We are optimistic that our focused report and our QEP will meet with the general approval of the visiting team, although there are often specific suggestions for improvement.," said Sul Ross President R. Vic Morgan. "Reaffirmation has actually become an opportunity for Sul Ross to design and implement exciting plans for improving student engagement and learning on our campuses."

Student learning will be measured through administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the critical thinking portion of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) test. These two instruments also represent the two requirements, engagement survey and academic testing, of the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) that has been designed and sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

Sul Ross has registered for participation in the VSA. Thus, the QEP assessment plan also fits into a larger national plan to help students and parents select a university that will provide the educational opportunities desired.

"Sul Ross should look very attractive on the VSA web site," Morgan said. "We will rank close to the top for ratio of available laboratory equipment per student, number of full-time Ph.D. faculty who teach freshman courses, campus safety, and numerous other categories. We will also rank near the top for affordability and small class size. We also believe that our students can make significant progress in critical thinking during their four years at SRSU. The NSSE survey and the CAAP test should work together well to guide us toward demonstrating that our graduates receive a quality education for a reasonable price."

As research reviewed in the QEP document demonstrates, higher education is now focusing on "value-added learning" or measuring how much progress students make during their college careers as a measure of quality, rather than using a university's endowment fund or the ACT/SAT test scores of their entering freshmen to determine quality.

A similar QEP document was created by a similar committee at Rio Grande College campus. Both QEP's will be evaluated by the SACS review team.