First Ever Cougar Homecoming Hits Big

We had a magnificent Homecoming Week! My sincere thanks to our terrific Logistics and Student Affairs teams for their extraordinary work on our first ever fall homecoming.  Parents Weekend was terrific, but matched by Cougar Lacrosse, Women's Soccer and Volleyball and the outdoor family movie, Finding Nemo in Woodruff Park. I was so very proud of our Club Football Team, coaches, and student-athletes for their victory at Doughboy Stadium. What a great evening. Major General Miller and his staff were so very gracious, and we had our largest attendance ever at the game. It was a grand event!

The Homecoming Parade was exceptional. This year, our Equestrian Team rode in the parade! How very proud I was of the number of floats, student participation and the great outpouring of support from the Columbus community. Mayor Tomlinson rode in the lead Mercedes, and we do so appreciate her support, attendance and advocacy.

Provost Hackett, AVP Spence Sealy, and I ran in the Cougar Madness ROTC 5K on Saturday morning. It was cold and fun. Kudos to our Cougar Battalion, Col. Feret, and cadets for a great event.

Our CSU Alumni Association dinner, dancing and fireworks in Uptown was spectacular. Dillingham Bridge was closed, and the fireworks provided a great exclamation mark on our Homecoming festivities. In all, a fantastic team effort. I am so proud of my colleagues.

USG Presidents Grace CSU's Campus

We have been so very fortunate to host so many terrific visitors from across the University System of Georgia (USG). Last week, the Board of Regents' Jim Hull and Sachin Shailendra spent the better part of a day on campus meeting with students, faculty and staff and touring our campuses. They were incredibly complimentary and engaged, and it was a wonderful opportunity to show off our many assets to these System leaders. Yesterday, Chancellor Hank Huckaby and Vice Chancellor Tom Daniel were on campus. They, too, visited with individual groups of students, faculty, staff, and our Cabinet. The meetings were interactive, filled with questions, and the Chancellor was very responsive to the various meetings. Last night, Lauren and I hosted the USG presidents and guests at our home for dinner. Today and tomorrow, the presidents are meeting at our university. I am so proud of our logistics, UITS, Cunningham Center and transportation teams for their support of this important meeting. We are honored to serve as host, and you should be very proud of the many kind things these colleagues are saying about Columbus State University.