<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/news/kennedy-to-lead-new-royomartin-forest-products-innovation-center.php" dsn="blogs"><pubDate>07/13/2026</pubDate><title>Kennedy to lead new RoyOMartin Forest Products Innovation Center</title><main-featured>true</main-featured><category-featured>true</category-featured><summary>After serving as dean in the College of Applied and Natural Sciences for the past 11 years, Dr. Gary Kennedy takes on a new role as director of the RoyOMartin Forest Products Innovation Center (FPIC), where he will lead the launch of one of Louisiana Tech University’s premier research initiatives.</summary><image><img src="/news/_images/gary-kennedy.jpg" alt="Dr. Gary Kennedy"/></image><tags><tag>Applied and Natural Sciences</tag><tag>FPIC</tag><tag>Faculty/Staff</tag></tags></item>