I spent time in Baton Rouge and Shreveport this week extending the reach of our institution to other communities. On Tuesday, Dean Chris Martin and his College of Business team held a recruiting event at the Community Coffee headquarters in Baton Rouge. Special thanks to Matt Saurage, Chairman of the Board, for hosting us. Matt has demonstrated remarkable leadership in expanding the reach of Community Coffee, and he did that despite being taught one of his engineering classes by an unnamed university president.

On Thursday, Kathy and I attended the North Louisiana Economic Partnership Annual Banquet in Shreveport. The event was well attended by business and community leaders from across north Louisiana. And I was proud to see another one of my former engineering students, Mike Causey, accept the gavel as NLEP Board Chair.

Tech was one of the institutions recognized by NLEP for the partnership that helped bring GDIT to Bossier City. While we were recognized for our contributions, I must acknowledge the great leadership of Craig Spohn and the Cyber Innovation Center Board in bringing GDIT to Bossier and enabling us and other institutions to be partners in workforce development.

I enjoyed meeting with several students, prospective students and alumni who visited the office this week. Some of the students we met at Community Coffee came to campus on Friday.

I wrapped up the week with a tour of our new Engineering and Science Building.  It was my first time to be inside the rotunda, and I could really get a sense at how grand that space will be when it is finished. The architectural and engineering design of that structure is complex and beautiful. And I am particularly proud that several of our architecture and engineering alumni, and former students of mine, led in the design and fabrication of this facility.

One of the most gratifying things for me has been to see our students develop their skills and then use their education to accomplish great things in their professions and their communities.

Hope you enjoy a few of my favorite pics for the week.