What a week! After a full Monday in the office, I headed to Shreveport on Tuesday and Wednesday to participate in the National Governors Association Cybersecurity Summit. It was quite a coup for Shreveport to host such an important meeting that brought Governors and representatives from all 50 states. Governor Edwards made an excellent presentation and then led a panel session that focused on cyber education and economic development. A lot of national attention was brought to our work along the I-20 Cyber Corridor. We joined with our cyber partners at the Cyber Innovation Center and GDIT to host an evening reception at The Stage at the SilverStar Restaurant.

On Thursday, I took a quick trip to Baton Rouge to discuss our tornado damage and disaster relief with senators and other elected officials. We have continued to assess damage, gather data, prioritize repairs and make plans for athletics venues.

Friday was a full day of activities related to Tech’s 125th birthday and Forever Loyal campaign. That morning, we had the inaugural President’s Leadership Colloquium featuring distinguished electrical engineering alumnus Charles Gandy. Charles was born in Homer and after graduating from Tech in 1955, became an intelligence officer. He is in NSA’s Hall of Honor and is widely recognized as one of the top intelligence officials in the history of that organization. Eric Haseltine, former Director of Research for NSA, joined Charles for the colloquium and led a discussion about Charles’ important mission in the Russian Embassy as told in Eric’s new book entitled “The Spy in Moscow Station.” 

The Colloquium was followed by meetings of the Louisiana Tech Research Corporation, the Louisiana Tech University Foundation and a luncheon with the leadership of our Forever Loyal Campaign. We also had a ceremony commemorating the Noble Trees campaign that resulted in planting approximately 100 trees in our Quad and around the core of our campus. Special thanks to my class mates Tim and Elaine Petrus for driving the Noble Trees project.

Friday evening, we hosted the Benefactors Dinner, an evening of gratitude and a celebration of leadership. We recognized Susan Roach with the University Foundation’s Professorship Award and gave a presentation highlighting the accomplishments of our faculty and students over the past year.  Another highlight of that evening was the presentation of a new ceremonial graduation mace carved and finished by Tech alumnus Mitch Mitton who had sculpted the original mace that has been used for decades. We will retire the old mace after the final commencement exercise in Tech’s first 125-year history next Saturday.

Saturday morning, the Alumni Association had the Senior Ring Ceremony that was preceded by a “Procession of the Rings” down the alumni walkway. This was a most special ceremony and a great way to wrap up a week of celebration.

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