This week began with the honor of giving the welcoming remarks for the Martin Luther King Day Ecumenical Observance at the Ruston Civic Center on Monday. Thomas Keys, the brother of one of our student leaders, provided several moving musical selections, and my friend and colleague, President Rick Gallot of Grambling State University, served as the keynote speaker. It was great to have our community and our two institutions to come together to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, and to rededicate ourselves to advancing all the values for which he stood including freedom, justice, human rights, equality, liberty, peace and harmony.   I had several meetings with my administrative team on Tuesday. For lunch, I headed to CenturyLink in Monroe for a meeting with Louisiana House Speaker Taylor Barras and Appropriations Committee Chair Neil Abramson. Several other members of the northeast Louisiana delegation of senators and representatives were present as were local business, political and community leaders. I deeply appreciate the leadership of Glen Post and his team at CenturyLink for bringing these important state leaders together to let them learn more about the opportunities, goals and needs of northeast Louisiana and the I-20 corridor. It is always impactful for those in south Louisiana to see first-hand what our region contributes to the overall economic prosperity of the state. After a couple of meetings in the office on Wednesday morning, I headed to Monroe again to catch a flight to Nashville for the NCAA Convention and the Conference USA Board Meeting. It was good for me to attend part of the convention and make connections with a few of the NCAA staff and other university administrators and staff, who were in attendance. President Rick Gallot and I reconnected with other presidents on Thursday morning for a breakfast meeting on Presidential Engagement in Athletics. Athletics is a valuable asset and crucial component of all institutions, and is one of the most important areas of presidential responsibility and oversight. Friday morning, AD Tommy McClelland and I caught the same return flight home and were able to take advantage of the time to discuss numerous things about the advancement of our athletics program and institution. Tommy and I also caught parts of the inauguration day activities on television monitors in the airport. I am grateful for the excellent leadership that I have in our athletics program. A few more of my favorite pics of the week: