August 2012 Regents Report

Today@Sam has a run-down of the projects discussed by the Texas State University System Board of Regents, the governing body of SHSU; notably:

• Plans for an enhanced outdoor recreation area for SHSU...[the] Board of Regents approved design documents prepared by TGB Partners of Houston landscape architecture and planning firm. The project application will now go to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for approval. Once approved, the university will develop construction documents to build a camp facility 15 miles northeast of the main campus to accommodate 200 participants overnight.
  
  Plans call for four residence halls, a 50-by-80-foot assembly building, a multipurpose field in the central camp area, an outdoor swimming pool, and site improvements to include walking trails. The estimated cost of the project is $4.9 million. More than half the funding will go toward infrastructure campsite development.
  
  The 345-acre parcel of land near Riverside was donated to Sam Houston State by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2001. The university remodeled an existing indoor pavilion in 2003 and built a new outdoor pavilion, a high and low elements challenge course, and made other property improvements in preparation for completing projects identified by the master plan in 2010.
• ...Authorized SHSU to purchase real estate consisting of approximately 15 acres at 615 16th St. and 2.8 acres at 2207 Ave. J in Huntsville. Plans for the properties include campus expansion to accommodate the university’s growth and new student housing.
• ...Authorized to enter into a renewed contract with Barnes & Noble Booksellers, LLC, to manage and operate the University Bookstore in the Lowman Student Center through June 30, 2022. Barnes & Noble has operated the bookstore since 1999.

100th Anniversary of first Bearkat Game Oct. 6

GoBearkats.com has an article about the significance of the SHSU/SFASU match-up scheduled for October 6. The 87th annual Battle of the Piney Woods takes place on the 100th anniversary of Sam Houston State University's first football game:

The Rice Owls defeated Sam Houston 20-6 on Oct. 6, 1912 in Huntsville.

Dr. S. R. Warner, who had come to Huntsville as an instructor in the biology department and had played football as a student at William & Mary, served as volunteer coach for the first two Sam Houston football teams in 1912 and 1913.

The first team consisted of 19 players whose average height and weight were 5-8 and 150 pounds.

Lynn Baldwin scored Sam Houston's first touchdown on a five-yard run for the team's only points against Rice. Baldwin never punted but passed out of bounds on fourth down. Under 1912 rules, the opponent would take over possession where the pass crossed the sideline.

The Sam Houston football team won their next two games, defeating Bryan Baptist Academy 27-6 and Blinn College 18-6. Lon Morris College defeated Sam Houston 19-7 in the final game of the year. All three games also were played in Huntsville.

SHSU, then known as Sam Houston Normal Institute, was not known as the Bearkats until 1923. The nickname used for the athletic teams was "The Normals."

The coming 2012 football campaign marks the 97th season in Bearkat gridiron history. The university did not field teams in 1918 (during World War I) and in 1943, 1944 and 1945 (during World War II).

During its 96 previous years of play, the Sam Houston football program has rolled up a record 460 victories, 444 losses and 34 ties.

Making their first conference affiliation in 1923 as a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA), Sam Houston also competed in the Lone Star Conference from 1932 to 1983, the Gulf Star Conference from 1984 to 1986 and the Southland Conference from 1987 to the present.

The Bearkats have totaled 11 conference championships (TIAA 1930; LSC 1955, 1956, 1961 and 1964; Gulf Star 1985 and 1986 and Southland 1991, 2001, 2004 and 2011).

Room Named For COE Leaders

Today@Sam reports that over the summer a room in the Garrett Teacher Education Center was named after two long-time leaders in the Sam Houston State University College of Education:

The Dr. Genevieve Brown and Dr. Beverly J. Irby Center for Research in Educational Leadership highlights “the importance of two women in educational leadership who worked to ensure a legacy for future students,” according to Sheryl Serres, assistant professor of counseling.

A ceremony was held over the summer to formally recognize their accomplishments. Among the attendees were faculty members, community members, and representatives of numerous school districts.

Music Therapy Expands Services With New Clinic Space

Today@Sam reports that after more than 25 years operating without a facility, the SHSU Music Therapy program finally has a clinic to call its own:

While the music therapy program has operated in the Huntsville community for almost 30 years—with students working in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—this past February marked the first time services were offered in a clinical space created specifically for music therapy students and their clients.

The music therapy clinic is the result of the efforts of former School of Music director Mike Bankhead, Computer Science Chair Peter Cooper, and Provost Jamie Hebert, who recognized the need and allowed for the renovation of an old computer science space in Academic Building One.

Academic Building I Room 201, where the clinic can be found, is a large room peppered with instruments, a small lobby, an office for graduate students, and an observation room.