This is the final day of the summer before we head into the Fall Quarter.  Where did the summer go?  We began the summer while still having legislative sessions and uncertain budgets, and the loss of my Mom. Since then, there have been summer projects, retreats, fall planning & budgeting, and summer heat! Kathy and I took a couple of breaks away from campus. And now, I am re-energized as I look forward to having all of our students, faculty and staff return back to campus on Tuesday. We are optimistic for a very good year.

Our new head for higher education, Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed, made a trip to North Louisiana this week and I enjoyed visiting with her in Monroe late Monday, and on our campus Tuesday morning. I have known Kim for many years and am excited about the leadership that she will provide for the Regents and Higher Ed.  While visiting our campus, we talked to her about our capital outlay and facilities needs, and shared with her our innovative partnership & apprenticeship programs.

We also welcomed Governor Edwards and other to Ruston on Tuesday morning for the announcement of the new Louisiana Delta Community College campus in Ruston. This new facility announcement was enabled by strong leadership from Mayor Ronny Walker, Rep. Rob Shadoin, LCTCS head Monty Sullivan, and a generous alumnus, Judy Darby, who donated land to both LDCC and to Tech. This is another major step forward for our community, and I look forward to having a strong community college partner in Ruston.

Late Tuesday afternoon, I joined my Leadership Team and some young campus leaders in a strategic learning & planning retreat wherein we continued the process of developing Tech’s next strategic plan. I am very pleased with the enthusiastic spirit of this group, and we will include the involvement of others across campus in the coming weeks. Tuesday evening, I drove to Shreveport for the Commander’s Forum and to join community members in learning about our local military activities.

On Wednesday, we welcomed the senior leadership of Bossier Parish Community College to campus to continue building our partnership through the development of curricular articulation agreements and other processes that are necessary to enable students to easily matriculate between our programs. 

On Thursday, I enjoyed visits by several students, alumni and colleagues.  Now, I am getting ready for some football (Go Dogs!) and an exciting beginning to our 2018 Fall Quarter.  

Here are a few of my favorite pics for the week: