Wrapping up the first couple of weeks of Year 5…..  Kathy and I took a few days after Independence Day to drive out to Jacksonville, Florida for a visit with Bret and his family. Christy was on a trip and Bret needed some help babysitting, so Kathy and I jumped at the opportunity to help out. Tending to three very active toddlers certainly was a change of pace for us! We decided to take them on a short excursion to historic St. Augustine, and that turned out to be a most enjoyable trip. I returned back to Ruston on Tuesday in time to visit with a cyber company executive who is considering locating offices in North Louisiana. The development of facilities and a highly skilled talent base on our campus is having a most positive impact on our ability to attract new companies to our region. We are beginning to see some synergistic effects of growth because of a critical mass of these companies, a skilled workforce, and a great community environment. On Wednesday, I had several meetings with my faculty and staff and took some time to walk around campus. Thursday morning, I welcomed our orientation students and parents to campus and then joined them later for lunch. It looks we have another outstanding freshman class shaping up. Thursday evening, Kathy and I went to a packed Howard Auditorium to see Tech Presents 2017 led by our terrific Orientation Student Leaders. After spending a short time in the office on Friday morning and a brief tour of our new pressbox and suites, Kathy and I headed over to Bossier City to get updates on our new facility that is being built at the National Cyber Research Park. I have been hinting about that facility in my blog over the past few weeks, and we are excited about the opportunities that Academic Success Center will offer Louisiana Tech in the future. You can read more about this in our press release. We will make another announcement about the Center next week. Here area  few of my favorite pics for the week: