Cyber continued to be a focus of many of my activities this week. I enjoyed a Sunday evening dinner and Monday morning meeting with Dr. Scott Barrows, director of simulation programming at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and a world-renowned medical artist with illustrations in more than 55 medical books and more than 350 journal articles. Scott serves on the advisory board for our Visual Integration of Science Through Art (VISTA) program and he inspired our faculty and students during his interactions with us on Monday. I am thrilled with our faculty who have created this focus on digital medical and scientific illustration. Late Monday, Kathy and I hosted faculty & staff from the institutions that were participating in the ULS Leadership Institute. I also had the opportunity to speak to the group about Tech and my leadership experiences on Tuesday morning. Following that, I went to Baton Rouge for the inaugural Louisiana Cyber Commission meeting. Governor John Bel Edwards welcomed the Commission and charged us with his expectations for advancing the State’s cyber ecosystem to position Louisiana as a national leader and preferred location for cyber business, education, and research. The Commission represents leaders from Louisiana’s public sector, private industry, academia, and law enforcement. Wednesday, I drove to Bossier City to meet with the Cyber Innovation Center Board. I also visited with our CSRA partners and stopped by our new Bossier Academic Success Center to visit with Assistant VP Donna Johnson to discuss plans for rolling out academic programs there this Fall. Excellent progress is being made in building out the fourth floor of the Bossier Center with classrooms and a Veterans Resource Center. Thursday morning, I welcomed VP Jim Kowalksi from Northrop Grumman to campus to get an overview of our academic, research and partnership programs. Gen. Kowalski retired from the USAF after 35 years of distinguished service including Commanding AFGSC and STRATCOM. Northrop’s presence in Bossier and their role in developing the B-21 bomber will offer great opportunities for the region. Thursday afternoon, I drove to CenturyLink for the press conference introducing the initial hires for CTL’s new Small Business Sales Center. CTL continues to be an excellent partner for us and provides great job opportunities for our graduates.  Late Thursday, I drove back over to Shreveport to meet with some leaders for the Healthcare industry. Friday morning, I met with some members of our local community to discuss plans for our next multi-tenant facility to support the growth of technology-related businesses in our community. We are excited about those companies that are looking to grow in Ruston and along the I-20 corridor, offering great internships and jobs for our students and opportunities for economic prosperity in our region. Here are a few favorite pics for the week: