The summer is flying by and this week made me feel like I was getting on the on-ramp for the Fall Quarter. Thank goodness that I still have some more time to prepare! This week was book-ended by a couple of trips to Bossier City. On Monday, I went to the CSRA offices to do an interview for a television special by KTBS on the growth of the technology sector in Northwest Louisiana. I returned to the Cyber Innovation Center facility on Friday for a Board meeting of our Louisiana Tech Research Institute, a university-affiliated 501c3 that was developed to support contracted projects with defense and corporate entities. I also stopped by our new Academic Success Center to get an update on construction progress.     Tuesday was largely filled by a retreat with my Leadership Team to do some evaluation of progress of our strategic plan and to engage our new team members in our plans for the future. I feel very good about the new Leadership Team that we have assembled and am confident that our new young leaders will contribute a lot in their new roles. During lunch, I took a short break to go to the Tonk to welcome our Dual Enrollment teachers to campus.       On Wednesday, our final orientation session for the summer initiated as students and parents began to come to campus. On Wednesday evening, Kathy and I went to the Civic Center for the Mayor’s Orientation Parent Dinner. As always, Mayor Ronny Walker did a great job in making our new parents feel at home in Ruston. That event was followed by a scavenger hunt in the shops of downtown Ruston and a pep rally in Railroad Park. This event has been a great addition to our Orientation program. Thursday morning, I participated in the Big Tech Welcome and spent some time walking around campus to talk to students and parents. Thursday evening, Kathy and I attended the final “Presents” program at Howard Auditorium. Our student leaders did a fantastic job with the program and made me even more proud of how these students represent their university. Here are a few of my favorite pics for the week: