Much of my focus this week has been on communicating the national-scale impacts of Louisiana Tech on our region. Over the past five decades, Tech has focused on building high quality academic, research, and innovation programs and facilities, in areas of state and national needs and priorities. Over the past decade, we have shifted our institutional focus towards using our resources to have a significant impact across our region and state, creating greater opportunities for educational attainment and economic prosperity for our citizens. I had the opportunity to present this Louisiana Tech story to our regional legislative delegation and members of the Regents and ULS Board on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we convened many of Tech’s major benefactors at the DAC to discuss our future fundraising plans and goals.  These plans will further our ability to have a national-scale impact on our region. Thanks to all who participated! On Thursday, I was invited to speak to the Monroe Rotary organization, and took that opportunity to provide them with a presentation on Tech activities and accomplishments. I highlighted some of our unparalleled educational and research programs as well as the partnerships that we have with numerous companies and organizations across the region. I believe that it is crucial that we continue to communicate the message of Tech’s leadership role, in concert with our partners, in driving growth of our region and state. Amongst all these meetings and presentations, we had a special guest on campus this week, Ms. Natalie Doolittle. Natalie is Director of Animation at High Impact & Syntropy Studios, and is a medical illustrator, managing the content and production of animations and 3-D illustrations for litigation, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies.  She serves as a member of the external advisory board for VISTA (Visual Integration of Science Through Art) at Louisiana Tech and its developing concentration in pre-medical illustration that will be offered to students in biology, biomedical engineering, and art beginning in fall 2017. An interesting side-note: Natalie’s grandfather was Disney animator Frank Armitage who led background paintings and animations for Disney films such as Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, among others. Thanks to Jamie Newman, Mary Caldorera-Moore and Nick Bustamante for their leadership in this exciting initiative that creates unparalleled educational opportunities for our students! Here are a few of my favorite pics for the week: