From March 22-24, 2011, I visited New York and Washington on behalf of our university. While I was there, I attended alumni events in both cities. It had been two years since my last visit with alumni in these cities, so it was great to renew friendships and acquaintances and to let our alumni know what we're up to.

In New York, I met with 50 alumni - mostly graduates of the Faculty of Law and Telfer School of Management. In Washington, 35 alumni from social sciences, arts, law and public administration attended our cocktail reception. Our alumni are like walking ambassadors for uOttawa. When I meet them, I look forward to their feedback and feel real pride in their accomplishments.

Among the many alumni who joined us were Gilles Rivard of the Faculty of Arts, and Hugh Verrier of the Faculty of Law, who attended our reception in New York. Gilles is currently Canada's ambassador to the United Nations in New York; prior to this appointment he was Canada's ambassador to Haiti. He earned his master's in 1985. Hugh is chairman of White & Case LLP, one of the United States' leading law firms; he directs its operations and practices around the world. In 2010, he received our Meritas-Tabaret Award for Alumni Achievement at the University's Distinguished Canadian Leadership Awards ceremony. He earned his LLB in 1982.

I really enjoyed catching up with Gilles, Hugh and all of our alumni. It reminded me of why we put in the work to make this a great university, seeing how our people are making their mark in the U.S., and around the world.