Kathy and I took a few days last week and this week to go to Orlando to meet up with Bret, Christy and their kids. LEGOLAND was tops on Christopher’s list of activities, and we also spent some time at Universal Studios and Epcot. It had been a long time since we had been able to spend some quality time with our family, and we certainly enjoyed that special time together. The theme parks were secondary attractions for us.

I returned to the office on Tuesday and Carrie had my calendar full of budget meetings. After lunch, Sumeet Dua, Davy Norris and I drove to Monroe to present Michelle Vasquez of CenturyLink with her graduate certificate in Communications Systems that she earned through courses that we offered there. It was great to visit with her and others as we looked at ways to expand our partnership.

After some more catchup work in the office on Wednesday, I walked across campus to meet with our faculty who are building a dynamic interdisciplinary program called Visualizing Integration of Science through Art (VISTA). They are having a significant impact on campus and have established strong collaborations nationally and internationally.

Later Wednesday, I went to the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier to meet with leaders in the Air Force to discuss some new programs that we are planning to develop with them through our Louisiana Tech Research Institute. I appreciate the efforts of Sumeet Dua, Curtis McGiffin and others who are organizing important activities that respond to the needs of our nation.

On Thursday, I had an early morning visit with the staff of University Advancement who were kicking off a planning and team-building retreat. Then, Dean Don Schillinger and I drove to Camp Minden to visit with Colonel Michael Borrel and several staff of the Louisiana National Guard ‘s Youth Challenge Program. We heard an overview presentation and greatly enjoyed interacting with some of the staff and students who are involved in the program. It was very clear to us that this program is having a huge impact on many students across our state who are at risk of missing the opportunity for education and jobs. What a difference that program is making in the lives of these young people and our state!

Later Thursday, Don and I drove to our Bossier Center for a retreat between the leadership of Tech and Bossier Parish Community College. We spent much of the afternoon explore academic, workforce and other programs that we could work on together. I look for some very good things to come out of that meeting.

This morning, I had a Conference USA conference call and followed that with some members of my team as we plan for a leadership team retreat next week. It’s a long way from LEGOLAND to an administrative retreat….