The Blastoff begins tomorrow morning at 8:30 with registration and continental breakfast. All of the sessions (faculty and department chair) are being held in the Galloway Building. Spent some time this morning with five of the newest members of our faculty. Talking with them before the orientation session started, I found them to be very enthusiastic. LU is indeed lucky to have them and I hope they find our campus as welcoming as I did just over a year ago. For those of you have have spent your summer away from Beaumont and the LU campus, I want to invite you over for a visit to the CT+LE. We are settled into our new space on the sixth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library (MJGL). Come by for a tour and free coffee. While you are here, check out the recommended reading selections on the faculty development bookshelves located adjacent to the CT+LE. The Chronicle of Higher Education has a very interesting collection of articles centered on the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Sensing that many of you will use this event as a teaching opportunity in your course this fall, we recommend that you take a look at what a number of influential thinkers had to say about the upcoming memorial. Echoing the theme of retention mentioned in President Jimmy Simmons Convocation remarks this morning, Yorke and Thomas in their article Improving the Retention of Students from Lower Socio-economic Groups note that among other things, retention can be improved by: an emphasis on formative assessment in the early phase of programs; a recognition of the importance of the social dimension in learning activities; and recognition that the pattern of students’ engagement in higher education was changing, and a preparedness to respond positively to this in various ways; and, above all, a deep commitment running through the institution, which seeks to maximise the success of its students.