Dog Haul.  The campus came to life this week as our students began to arrive in mass on Monday for the “Dog Haul” with about 600+ student leaders helping our new students get checked in to their residence halls. I was so impressed with our student body and our student advancement staff for their commitment to support the transition of these new students to campus.

Faculty & Staff Convocation.  The first official activity of the academic year is always the Faculty & Staff Convocation. It provides an opportunity for me to welcome and update our folks about campus activities. We also presented awards to several of our faculty & staff and introduced those faculty and staff who are new to our campus.

Freshmen Convocation. One of the highlights of the week was Freshmen Convocation on Wednesday evening. This is a brief but meaningful ceremony where freshmen can pause to reflect on this next big step in their life. SGA President Matt Flynn talked about his feelings while transitioning to Tech as a freshman, and Young Alumnus of the Year Ryan Kilpatrick inspired our students with a message about two of Tech’s Tenets, Respect and Loyalty. Following that ceremony, our students were led by alums Kyle and Tisdale McDonald in the ceremonial parade from Howard Auditorium and depositing of Tenet Medallions in the Lady of the Mist fountain.  This freshman class should be the largest in Tech’s history.

First class day. I always like to be in the Quad on the first day of classes to welcome our students, to chat with them, and to help some of them find their classrooms. It helps to remind me about what an important responsibility that we have to ensure that they have a great educational experience and success here. Later Thursday, I drove to Bossier to discuss some recent developments and plans with our Louisiana Tech Research Institute staff.

LA STEM Summit. I drove down to Baton Rouge late Thursday for a state-wide STEM Summit focusing on STEM education on Friday.  Governor Edwards and Senator Hewitt committed to enhance STEM education across the state, and I was glad to be there to support our North Louisiana regional efforts to advance educational advancement and economic growth in STEM-related areas.

Hope you enjoy a few of my favorite images from this week: