COLFA Quarterly Vol. 4

C O L F A

Q u a r t e r l y

The official newsletter of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts T A R L E T O N S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

L E T T E R F R O M T H E D E A N

Dear COLFA Community,

As we approach the end of the semester and the winter break, I would like to wish great success to our students and faculty, congratulations to our graduates, and for an enjoyable and blessed holiday season to all.

It is hard to believe we are near the end of the term, one that has been filled with new records and recognitions for Tarleton State, as well as amazing opportunities for our students and faculty. We look forward to even more progress and success in the new year.

On October 21 we held our annual COLFA Leadership Council event and presented our inaugural Public and Community Service Awards. You will find more about this in the pages that follow. The Council is an opportunity to strengthen our vision and networking opportunities for our College. The presentation of these awards is also an affirmation of those in our community, region, and state who exemplify the highest levels of leadership and service for our students. Thank you to our honorees!!

As we continue to build on a strong foundation of growth, quality, and student success, and we see the visibility of Tarleton State increasing across Texas and the US, I want to thank all of you who are engaged with our college, programs, and students. I also want to invite everyone to see and experience what is happening! Momentum is increasing. New initiatives, programs, resources, facilities, and adventures are happening for our students. The energy is visible in all areas as we guide students in exploring their potential and earning college degrees. Our faculty are engaged in quality instruction, research, and mentoring. Great things are happening and many more great opportunities are ahead.

As you read this edition of our COLFA Quarterly, think about how you can connect. Do you want to know more about a specific program? Do you have ideas and expertise to offer? Is there a specific initiative you would like to support? What can we do to connect you in a significant way to your Tarleton State? Please feel free to reach out to me and let me know (254-968-9141 and morrow@tarleton.edu).

Just as our educational mission extends far beyond our campuses, so too does your engagement and support.

Sincerely, Dr. Eric Morrow Dean

Dean

Dr. Eric Morrow morrow@tarleton.edu

Associate Dean School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration Dr. Alex Del Carmen delcarmen@tarleton.edu Administrative Coordinator

Associate Dean Dr. Ben Sword sword@tarleton.edu

Ms. Cory McCray cmccray@tarleton.edu Newsletter Designer Ms. Sydney Brown

Criminal Justice Page 12 Visual Arts & Design Pages 17-20

COLFA Leadership Council

The College of Liberal and Fine Arts hosted their annual COLFA Leadership Council event on Friday, October 21st. This event highlighted the future of COLFA and how our donors and partnerships have helped us achieve where we are today. Faculty, staff, and student advisory council members were in attendance to talk about the future of COLFA and our programs. To all of our donors and partners, thank you. To all of our students, faculty, and staff, thank you for your dedication to our success! Thank you to our award recipients for your leadership and service.

Award Recipients

Bosque Arts Center Creative Arts Award

Chief Justice John M. Bailey Public Service Award

Laura Gambino

Cross Timbers Family Services Community and Service Award

Anita Rhoades Henslee Civic Engagement Award

Dr. T Lindsay Baker

Excellence in Scholarship

Emily

Hannah Hale English Education

Gloria Dominguez

Avery Tumbleson Criminal Justice

Elizabeth Black English

Ashley Thiel Criminal Justice Psychology and Social Equity

Andrew McCain Geographic Information Systems

Anastasia Mounce Digital Media Studies

Michelle Linson Studio Arts

Brooke Bernard Public Administration

Fort Worth Fire Chief Retires

After 37 years, Executive Assistant Chief, Homer Robertson, retired from the Fort Worth Fire Department. Emergency medical technicians, police officers, and firefighters all gathered to celebrate Assistant Chief Robertson's career and service to the community. Thank you for your service and congratulations!

Read more here!

Funding Boosted for Texas Center for Community Journalism at Tarleton

The Texas Center for Community Journalism at Tarleton State University recently received a 25% increase in annual funding.

Financial support for the organization, housed on Tarleton’s Stephenville campus since 2020, comes through the Texas Newspaper Foundation, which has renewed its $20,000 yearly pledge, combined with a new donation of $5,000 from the Texas Press Service.

“The mission of the TCCJ is more important than ever,” said TCCJ Director Austin Lewter, a Tarleton journalism Instructor. “We are dedicated to training mid-level professional journalists at community newspapers across the state.”

The TCCJ offers support for almost 400 small-town papers through free training on a variety of topics vital to small newspapers’ survival. This September a workshop on covering sports was held on the Tarleton State campus in Stephenville, TX.

“Newspapers are the bedrock of the community,” Lewter said. “Without them, democracy and diversity are jeopardized. The Texas Newspaper Foundation has been the center’s main benefactor since its inception. We appreciate their support, and communities all across the state of Texas are enriched because of it.”

Over the past year, Lewter and contributors from the center have logged more than 3,800 miles in presenting writing and design workshops at community newspapers statewide as well as hosting inperson workshops in Stephenville and Austin.

TCCJ Holds Free Sports Reporting Workshop for Community Journalists

Journalists from newspapers around Texas joined the Texas Center for Community Journalism (TCCJ) on Sept. 2830 for a workshop about covering sports at community newspapers.

"The mission of the center is to provide training to folks like you, mid-level professional journalists who are out in the trenches doing the work. That's our main goal," TCCJ Director Austin Lewter said.

The workshop featured topics such as multimedia sports coverage, the importance of visuals in sports reporting, sports photography, and how to best cover sports events.

There will be an upcoming TCCJ workshop in November which will cover social media marketing and the power of social media through community newspapers.

PRSSA Students to attend Public Relations Society of America Conference in Dallas.

For the first time since 2019, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is hosting its annual international conference in Grapevine, Texas, and four lucky Tarleton students are attending.

The conference (ICON 2022), which will celebrate PRSA’s 75th anniversary, features top-notch thought leaders, an extensive array of breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. Some of the guest speakers include Actress Marlee Matlin, Amazon’s Managing Director, John Quintas, and former NFL Football Star, Emmitt Smith. It is being held November 13-15 at the Gaylord Texan Resort.

The students who will be attending are executive board members in Tarleton’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA): President Maddie Riggs, Vice President Lauryn Hammond, Secretary Kelsey Kizer, and PR Director Kiley Kocian. Kizer is thrilled with this opportunity. “I can’t wait to meet other student chapters from all over the country and exchange ideas on experiential learning. This is going to be so helpful for our future careers.”

PRSSA at Tarleton is a growing student chapter in the Communication Studies department of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts. Founded in 1967, PRSSA is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. They advocate rigorous academic

standards for public relations education, the highest ethical principles and diversity in the profession. PRSSA is made up of more than 10,000 students and advisers from nearly 375 chapters globally.

Faculty advisor and Communication Studies Associate Professor, Dr. Liza Benedict, who will be attending the conference with the students, says she’s appreciative of the support the student organization has received from the college. “Our College Dean, Dr. Eric Morrow, approved the travel request and our Department Head, Dr. Chris Gearhart, has been extremely helpful in promoting and accommodating the group’s recruitment and participation efforts.”

COLFA faculty participate in "The College Tour"

Some of our Communication Studies students will appear on the Tarleton episode of The College Tour. Logan Allen (MA, ‘19) is helping the Tarleton Marketing and Communication team with the endeavor and Dr. Sarah Maben is serving on the task force. Watch for the episode on your favorite streaming service. No spoilers here, so you’ll have to watch for some Comm cameos. You can find the cameos on Instagram @tarletoncomsdept.

Communication Studies

Student Volunteers Assist with Wedding Event

17 students, mostly Communication Studies and Digital Media Studies majors, volunteered to help with the Worcester-Bocanegra wedding event on September 10, 2022, in McKinney, TX. They did a wonderful job with the reception staging, ceremony grounds, decor placement, directing the photo booth, serving cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres, busing tables, plating food, cutting the wedding cake, taking out the trash, assisting the wedding vendors, and welcoming and accommodating 200 wedding guests.

Erath County Business and Health Summit

The business community was invited to the Erath County Business and Health Summit in July 27 via a free, interactive Zoom session.

The interactive summit, hosted by Erath Engaged, an outreach of Tarleton State University’s Rural Communication Institute, focused on the most recent Erath health statistics. Future sessions will address Nutrition and Local Resources for You and Your Employee, and Preparing Your Business for Natural and Manmade Disasters.

The expected participants — entrepreneurs, business leaders, aspiring business owners — worked together to develop potential solutions for the health of employees and their families.

Events are supported by the Texas Department of State Health Services, Public Health Regions 2/3, and co-sponsored by the Tarleton Small Business Development Center.

High school Students

Visit Tarleton

About 75 high school students from Johnson County schools visited Tarleton State over the summer to learn about the Communication Studies program and opportunities. These students were being served by Opportunity Resource Services which has a mission to connect Texans to higher education and build educated communities.

You can learn about the mission, programs, and opportunities in Communication Studies here.

To learn more about Communication Studies, scan here!

Communication Studies

Tarleton Sports Internship

Program Growing

About two years ago, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications Nate Bural started discussing with Communication Studies faculty how to involve students more with athletics –especially in the areas of communications – and the Tarleton Sports Internship program was started. This program has four tracks for students: production, creative, marketing, and sports information. Each semester has had between 15-25 student interns.

When the WAC made the move to ESPN+, dreams came true for a lot of these students because they were working to provide the entire ESPN productions for the university. Our production teams were 95% student produced. They have also been instrumental in the increase of Tarleton Athletics’ social media content and presence.

Interns from the program have accepted graduate assistant positions at Southwest Baptist University and, most recently, Tulane University. We've also had undergraduates move on to positions with the Cleburne Railroaders, USA Softball, ESPN Radio Central Texas, and the Houston Rockets (NBA).

Communication Studies has a Sports Communication degree program with classes geared towards teaching students the ins and outs of working in sports.

More information about the Tarleton Sports Internship program can be found by scanning the QR code.

Tarleton Faculty Doing Community Health Outreach

Tarleton State University involved Panola County in a community give-and-take at the Turner Alumni Community Center in Carthage last month. The goal was to initiate conversations and an information exchange on crucial health issues.

The event featured a conversation game called Table Topics. Afterwards, participants received information about medical decision making and advance directives plus access to a prepaid notary if they would like to notarize their directives.

Contact Dr. Edwards at jtedwards@tarleton.edu or 254-307-1375.

Communication Studies and Criminal Justice Faculty Unite for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Drs. Rebecca Morrow and Cessna Winslow assisted Laura Gambino and others with Cross Timbers Family Services to tie purple ribbons on trees around the Stephenville community.

Cross Timbers Family Services 24hour hotline: 866-934-4357

Alumni Spotlights

Christa Wilson ('22) a former TCCJ intern, hit the ground running as a Multimedia Account Executive with the Press' parent company Cherry Road Media.

Savannah Trantham ('14) has been promoted to Director of Campus Welcome Center at Tarleton State University.

Emily Love ('21) has joined Texas 2036 as an Events and Engagement Coordinator. She previously worked in the Texas House of Representatives, where she served as the Administrative Director and Legislative Aide for Chairman DeWayne Burns.

Brielle Morgan ('16) is now the Community Relations Coordinator for Mission Central Metroplex.

Callie Fender ('12)

is “elated to share that I’m starting a new position as Strategic Account Manager at Keystone Automotive Operations!"

Taylor Green ('17) is now a Catering Sales Executive at Gaylord Hotels

Lauren Roberts ('22 is the new HTeaO Social Media Specialist.

Cassidy Head ('21) is now the Creative Marketing and Social Media Specialist for Little Elm.

Jessica Pounds (MA, '21) is the new Communications & Government Relations Coordinator. at the Burleson Chamber of Commerce!

Brylee Beall ('21) graduate in Public Relations and Event Management, was promoted to General Manager at Fort Brewery & Pizza in Fort Worth after having previously held the role of Sales and Events Coordinator for one year. “Here’s to new adventures and challenges,” Beall said. BryLee and Fort Brewery were featured on an After Dark segment from Fort Worth Today TV which airs on CBS.

Criminal Justice Hosts Panel Discussion

The Department of Criminal Justice hosted a panel discussion on mass shootings on October 4 on the Stephenville campus. Attendees learned about the history of these events in the U.S. as well as the common factors among people that commit these acts. In addition, the panel of experts discussed ways to prevent these events in the future. Dr. Alex del Carmen, Associate Dean for the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration served as moderator for the panel. Panelists were: Barry Bowling, Research Associate for the Institute on Predictive Analytics in Criminal Justice, Tom Petrowski, Visiting Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice and retired FBI Special Agent, and Kevin Kolbye, retired FBI Special Agent.

Public Administration Attends Graduate Studies Fair and the RELLIS Transfer Fair

Drs. Cohen and Tao introduced Public Administration programs at the INFO EXPO event hosted by Tarleton's College of Graduate Studies on the Fort Worth campus. Ms. Kelly and Dr. Islam also attended the RELLIS transfer fair in the courtyard at Blinn College.

Public Administration Faculty Speak at NTCPA Luncheon

Drs. Cohen and Ray spoke at the North Texas Crime Prevention Association luncheon about a unique training opportunity on the topic of human labor trafficking.

Public Administration Graduate Students Listen to Dr. Galia Cohen Lecture

Dr. Cohen taught a face-to-face Negotiation and Conflict Resolution class to the Master of Public Administration cohort from College Station and Bryan. The Public Administration program is located at the RELLIS Campus and online. Check out more about the program here. Scan

MPA program!

Public Administration Faculty

Attend Opening of New Blinn College RELLIS Building

Some of the new Public Administration RELLIS Campus faculty, Dr. Islam and Ms. Kelly, had the privilege of attending the grand opening of the new Blinn College RELLIS Administration Building.

Public Administration Faculty and Staff Meet to Kick Off The Fall Semester!

It was a long but rewarding day of meetings and events to kick off the fall semester. The PA department is welcoming Dr. Islam, Assistant Professor (first from left) and Ms. Kelly, Instructor (last from left), as our new faculty at the RELLIS campus. We also congratulate Dr. Tao (Fourth from left) for his new appointment as an Assistant Professor. Also pictured, Dr. Rickman and PA Department Head, Dr. Cohen. We are ready to serve those who serve the public. Happy fall semester!

English Department Hosts Night of Prose Poetry

Paul Juhasz visited Tarleton’s campus on Tuesday, October 4th, where he debuted his new book of prose poems, The Inner Life of Comics, in front of a receptive audience in O. A. Grant. Earlier in the day, he visited the creative writing class of Hank Jones and delivered a fascinating craft talk on the genre-defying prose poem and engaged the students in writing prose poems of their own. Paul is a professor at Seminole State College in Oklahoma. His previous books include Fulfillment: Diary of a Warehouse Picker, a caustic account of the six months he spent working at an Amazon Fulfillment Center, and Ronin, his first book of prose poems which came out in 2021.

English Department Hosts

"Share Your Scare"

The Department of English and Languages hosted the second annual “Share Your Scare” event on October 18th, with standing-room only turnout and a frightfully good mix of student and faculty submissions. The event kicked off with a skeleton-festooned buffet complete with cupcakes, candy, fruit, and drinks, surrounded by eerie “candle” lighting and Poe approved décor. With the passing of the candelabra, students and faculty presented multilingual folklore, original horrorstories, and tantalizing mysteries, leaving the audience well entertained. Although difficult, as all student submissions and readings showed talent and enthusiasm, the audience chose the Best Read Overall, and a panel of faculty voted on Best Original Poetry and Best Original Short Story from student submissions. The winners were Best Original Poetry – “The Boogeyman” by LaMontae Washington; Best Original Short Story – co-winners “My Loving Family” by Isabel Gotera and “Daemon: A Midwest Gothic” by Brenna Franklin; and Best Read –“Mysteries and Morrows” by Blaine McManus.

Remembering Mark G. Davis

The Tarleton State Art Gallery presented a special exhibition and reception honoring the life and work of Mark G. Davis. Mark Davis helped found the Art program at Tarleton, and gave 45 years of service to the university. In 1986 he spearheaded the creation of the art program and later wrote the curriculum for the BFA degree in Studio Art. In 2007 he was the recipient of the O. A. Grant Excellence in Teaching Award. Mark has taught generations of students in painting and drawing. As the Art program is now expanding into the new Department of Visual Arts and Design, we wish to honor Mark for his vision.

Mark’s painting work includes compositions that combine flat and two-dimensional shapes with images and iconography inspired by western themes. His work is included in the collections of numerous individuals and businesses across the state and nation. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Art at the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Master of Arts at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in 1971.

A reception was held on Sunday, August 21st in the Gallery at the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center. Former colleagues and students attended to celebrate his life and memory.

Visual Arts and Design Students Learn About Bookmaking

Frank Hamrick, a Professor at Louisiana Tech University's School of Design in Ruston, Louisiana, visited our Photo/Printmaking students to teach them about making artist books. Oxford American Magazine and NPR has written about Frank Hamrick's book works. His works are collected by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Graduate Sheena Dorton Teaches Students on Tintype Photographs

Tarleton State University Dept. of Visual Arts & Design welcomed back Digital Media Studies graduate Sheena Dorton '17 who gave a workshop to students and the general public on tintype photographs. Tintypes are one-of-a-kind photographs on metal plates and are still made by hand today using the same wet-plate collodion process that dates back to the mid 1800s. Since graduation Sheena has run her own portrait studio (@rubybellowstintype) as well as worked on production teams such as the TV show 1883.

Work of Artist Trey Burns Visits the Art Gallery

The work of artist Trey Burns was featured in the exhibition “Lagoonoogal” in the art gallery of Tarleton State University’s Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center in Stephenville, Oct. 3-27.

The multimedia installation considers water and the larger vena cava systems of development. A series of videos continue Burns’ recent work exploring the landscapes of infrastructure and the ways they vine through our daily lives.

A turquoise lagoon sits in high contrast to the surrounding sod and brown, a wave pool churns behind a highway wall, a water treatment plant’s uncanny offerings feed back into a river — the exhibition documents these and other regional landscape specimens as artifacts of dreams and aspirations.

The sculpture and architectural interventions in the gallery speak to larger ideas of the built environment and its entanglements with nature.

Burns is an artist and writer whose work explores filmmaking, built environments and histories of place. In 2018, he cofounded Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, a Dallas nonprofit that highlights temporary projects in an outdoor setting.

After receiving his MFA from the Savannah College of Arts and Design in 2008, Burns has shown his work at the Ecole Nationale d’Architecture in Paris, Malaquais Gallery in Paris, Pavillion Vendome in Clichy-la-Garenne, France, St. Paul’s Cultural Center in Chicago, Wassaic Projects in Wassaic, N.Y., ex ovo in Dallas, and Trestle Gallery in Brooklyn.

Sophomore Digital Media Student has a Bright Future

Diego Campos is a 19-yearold sophomore at Tarleton majoring in digital media and interacting with the performing arts department and music business areas with his compositions.

His recently released film score for The Light of Versa is a remarkable accomplishment showing an ability to express innumerable moods and emotions and to enhance action and drama with music. Film scoring requires a voluminous musical output, and Diego created literally hours of music for this project. Excerpts of his score his reflections on the project and more of Diego's work may be found by scanning the QR code below.

Diego is in demand as a composer and is an active collaborator with musicians, composers, and content creators from around the world.

Check out Diego's work on The Light of Versa

He also composed a piece with parts for over thirty musicians which was then performed virtually by young musicians in the Karanet's Army network. Portions of this performance have been mixed and combined into the recording linked below. Campos cooperated with fourteen other composers to create a unique collaborative song. Each composer was

given four bars of the previous composer's work and was asked to continue the composition with an appropriate musical response. The result is a continuously unfolding piece combining an unexpected continuity with new and fresh ideas. Diego's music provided the inspirational opening for this piece.

Diego hopes to continue to compose, but also to expand into producing and directing video projects. Given the creativity which he has demonstrated so far he has a bright future!

Congratulations, Mr. Campos!

Diego speaking on compositon performed by Karanet's Army

Diego's collaborative piece

Pictured: Diego Campos, Sophomore

Hispanic Heritage Month

Celebrated

The Ballet Foklórico performance group from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley performed at the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month.

The office of Diversity, Inclusion & International Programs invited the Ballet Folklórico to highlight the Mexican and Mexican-American experiences. The performance was made possible by the Lance Zimmerman Department of Student Involvement, Traditions, Spirit, & Family Relations, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion & International programs, and Residential Life.

Theatre Kicks Off Performances with a Murder Mystery

The Tarleton Theatre program opened their season with Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express.' The night was filled with twists, turns, and mischievous manner as detective, Hercule Poirot, played by John David Dvorak, interrogated passengers aboard the Orient Express before the killer could strike again.

Former Director of Bands Premiers Composition at Wind Ensemble Concert

Retired Director of Bands, Mr. Johnathan Hooper, premiered his composition, Clyde Wells Suite for Band. Hooper was the Director of Bands for 25 years at Tarleton State University. He has been a guest clinician, conductor, and adjudicator throughout Texas and the United States. He has also toured Europe on both trombone and brass. Hooper remains active as a musical arranger and composer, with over 200 titles for concert band, marching band, jazz band, solos, and ensembles.

A reception was held after the performance honoring Mr. Hooper and his commitment to Tarleton State University.

Symphonic Band Hosts Season Opener

The Tarleton Symphonic Band, under the direction of Dr. Gary Westbrook, presented their first concert of the 2022-23 season on September 27th. Scan the QR code for more upcoming performances by the Symphonic Band. Scan here for full schedule!

Picker and Poets

Dr. Craig Clifford continues his popular Picker and Poets Songswap Series. Here are photos from a recent installment of that series!

Associate Professor of Philosophy Honored

This summer Dr. Matthew Hallgarth was installed as Post Commander of American Legion Post #240Turnbow-Higgs. Congratulations, Dr. Hallgarth!

Dr. Aho and Student Present at Online Conference

Earlier this October, Dr. Karl Aho co-presented with senior psychology major and philosophy minor Kirsten Denney in an online teaching discussion offered by the American Association of Philosophy Teachers. One topic was critical thinking across the curriculum.

Dr. Liles and Students Pay Respects at Local Cemetary

Dr. Liles and students are working with the City of Stephenville and the Cross Timbers Fine Arts Council to properly acknowledge each unmarked burial with a headstone inscribed "unknown" in the Mount Olive Cemetery located just before the railroad tracks on College Farm Road. Located in the Mount Olive Cemetery are 250 known African American graves and another 90 unmarked.

Pictured from left to right: James Gray, Leandra McKinney, Karla Ruiz, Justin Siemering, Jillian Tyler, and Dr. Liles

GGIS Intern Spotlight: Alexander Young

Alex is a GIS Intern working in the GIS and Data Solutions team in the Transportation Department of the North Central Council of Governments (NCTCOG). The wider task of his team is to make GIS data and provide it to all the departments of NCTCOG. “Most of the time I’m either digitizing features onto a map or correcting the placement of old ones though sometimes I go to big council meetings where I get to see the happenings of city planning. The Tarleton GGIS program has prepared me for this position by giving me an understanding in the fundamentals of Geography and practical hands-on experience with actual GIS software, which have both proven invaluable in my position.”

Read more about the cemetery project here!

Celebrating Geospatial Technology

Tarleton Geography and GIS Program Cohosts the annual GIS Day with Tarrant County College this November

This November, Tarleton Geography and GIS Program will cohost an annual Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day with Tarrant County College (TCC) GIS program at TCC Trinity River Campus. Both programs continue to foster a collaborative platform to celebrate the advancement of geospatial technology to students and community in this event and beyond. Come and join us at the event!

Mapping Crimes: Students and Faculty Partner in Research

GGIS student Dillon McAuliffe and other three Tarleton students were working with Dr. Dinulescu (MIS), Dr. Korotchenko (Criminal Justice), Dr. Semukhina (Criminal Justice), and Dr. Tsang (GGIS) on a PERS grant research this summer that conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of crime incident data from the city of Arlington over a 10-year period. Dillon combined his geographic knowledge with the application of the cutting-edge Business Analysis tool in GIS software to construct risk factor maps. The goal of this faculty-led research is to assist local law enforcement in developing new crime reduction strategies to build safer communities. Preparations for academic journal publication are also underway.

Dobbie Dichos, TFS Honor

Fabled Storyteller

J. Frank Dobie, the “Storyteller of the Southwest,” served as secretary-editor of the Texas Folklore Society from 1923–1943. In honor of his two-decades-long leadership, the Texas Folklore Society (TFS) proudly sponsors Dobie Dichos — an annual event founded in 2011 to celebrate Dobie’s contributions to folklore, literature, and storytelling. TFS members, the Tarleton family, and friends are invited to join in the celebration on Friday, Nov. 4.

During the open air, evening event, Texas writers/authors and storytellers read from, discuss, debate, and tell stories from Dobie’s works. The grounds of the Historic Oakville Jail, located in Oakville on IH37 in Live Oak County, Texas — between Three Rivers and George West — serves as the backdrop for the event.

TFS past president Mary Margaret Campbell has served as the executive director of the event since its inception; throughout its history, many TFS members have been invited to share their interpretations of Dobie's works. This year, 2022 TFS Fellow Jean Schnitz, storyteller and musician, is on the participant list.

Learn more about Dobie Dichos and get your tickets online at www.dobiedichos.com

Texas Folklore Society Unveils New Cover for Publication

The Texas Folklore Society recently unveiled the cover art for its 2022 publication, Fiestas in Laredo: Matachines, Quinceañeras, and George Washington's Birthday, by Dr. Norma E. Cantú. The book is a collection of rich cultural celebrations and traditions collected by Dr. Cantú, a native of the Laredo area.

Members who have joined or renewed in 2022 will receive a copy of the book, which will be sent out later this year. It’s not too late to join and receive a copy — individual, student, family, and organization memberships are available on an annual or lifetime basis. Join online at www.bit.ly/JoinTxFolklore or email TexasFolkloreSociety@gmail.com for more information.