Winter Quarter is gearing up this week with classes, meetings, basketball games, holiday parties and other campus activities. And just as we get up to full speed, we will start grinding down early next week as the Christmas holidays arrive. Those of us who have been around for a while are used to it though and enjoy this special time of year. Monday morning, we were pleased to welcome to campus Guidance Counselors from around the region. It was a great opportunity to let them see our campus and help them better understand our program offerings and career opportunities so they can be more effective in advising their students. Thanks to our Admissions staff, Deans and others for making this a productive day!     Kathy and I also hosted a Christmas Gumbo Party on Monday for all of our faculty and staff. We always enjoy getting together and thanking them for their efforts. We have an extraordinary faculty and staff who are not only highly talented but are very committed to our students and the institution. The rest of the week was filled with meetings with my administrative team and faculty. I also had quite a few students come by the office for a visit. The engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi, requires new pledges to get the signatures of Tau Beta Pi faculty and I have taken advantage of that opportunity to get to know some of these students better. I enjoyed a meeting with Mayor Ronny Walker on Thursday to discuss some of our joint projects and collaborative efforts to enhance the community. There are a lot of construction projects going on across our campus and more will be coming. And it is a little bittersweet to see the Joe Aillet pressbox come down this week as a big crane with a grinder/cruncher takes it down one bite at a time. But in a few months, we will have a wonderful new pressbox and suites facility that will greatly enhance the gameday experience at The Joe. I hope you enjoy a few of my favorite pics for the week: