Conditions are hot and humid in the Kanawha Valley. There is not a hint of fall in the air yet there is a sense that the fall semester is imminent. Students have been on the campus periodically throughout the summer for orientation sessions. Most of the summer camps and programs have concluded. The Admissions Office is working hastily to process the influx of applications the we have received this year. The secretaries in the President's Office are switching out file cabinets because there will be no time to do that once the semester begins. Our new alumni affairs director is focused on Homecoming in October. The staff members at the Gus R. Douglass Institute are readying for their stint at the WV State Fair.

We received some last minute good news that the football team will be playing against Central State in the HBCU Football Classic in Chicago on September 6. The short turn- around necessitates much preparation to be done quickly. It is no secret that I am not a football fan but I am a Yellow Jacket fan and so am excited that "State" will be represented at this event.

In the public relations office, we are pulling together an advertising campaign to attract last minute students. I am also looking forward to a week's vacation in early August at Emerald Isle, NC.