Happy New Year! Every day, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve as your president. This is such a great institution with excellent faculty and staff, a superb student body, and supportive alumni and friends. Louisiana Tech has a great reputation and the brand identity of the institution continues to grow stronger. 2014 was a positive year for Tech, and some of the major achievements were highlighted in the following article released by our University Communications Department on Tuesday: http://news.latech.edu/2014/12/30/ten-stories-that-defined-leadership-achievement-at-louisiana-tech-in-2014/. There were many other great achievements of our faculty, staff and students that did not make that list but that resulted in significant impacts on our campus. Thanks to all who made these things happen. We were particularly grateful to have the support of the state legislature and administration who committed to re-investing in higher education during the 2014 session. Preserving our base budget and providing targeted support through the WISE program along with solid growth in our enrollments enabled us to fill crucial positions and provide a much deserved raise for our faculty and staff – their first since 2008. We know that Louisiana is facing some new budget challenges going forward and we are hoping that the legislature will find a way to protect and invest in higher education in 2015. We have spent quite a bit of time this past year in executing our strategic plan, Tech 2020, while continuing to focus on the future. We have continued to review and enhance our processes for growing our student body and providing them with unparalleled educational opportunities and experiences. We have completed a campus master plan that will lay the foundation for further campus improvements. We have developed plans for strengthening our research and outreach programs, particularly in conjunction with our partnerships in Shreveport and Bossier City. And we have initiated planning for a more robust fund-raising program that will complement our plans for growth in our student body as well as our academic and athletics programs. We will share more with you about our plans as we seize the opportunities before us during 2015. Our success will depend upon the strong support of our Tech alumni, friends and partners. Kathy and I have enjoyed taking some time during the holidays to rest and relax. Much of the first week of the Christmas break was spent in Dallas along with others in the Tech Family who were there to support the Bulldogs in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. Kathy and I were joined on Christmas Eve in Dallas by our two oldest sons and their wives. We all celebrated in the Bulldogs’ victory over the University of Illinois. This bowl game also put an exclamation point on our efforts to establish Dallas as Bulldog Country!     I am optimistic that 2015 will be a great year for Louisiana Tech University, and I thank each and every one of you for your loyalty and commitment to this institution!