The Alterna Do It For Dad! Family Run and Walk is Sunday, June 19, 2011. This dynamic annual event draws over 1,700 participants, raising both awareness and funds for research into men's cancers. Once again, I'm Honourary Chair. But this year is very special: for the first time, the University of Ottawa has its own team. So, run or walk with me and Team uOttawa. OR sponsor the team through an online donation. Visit our web page to find out how.

Team uOttawa's goal is to raise $20,000 in support of a DaVinci Robotics Surgery System for the Ottawa Hospital. This surgical guidance system will permit doctors to operate with enhanced dexterity and more acute visualization. The technology will ultimately mean shorter and more accurate surgeries, more reassurance for family members and quicker recovery times for patients.  Its impact on the university will be immeasurable, as it will be an invaluable teaching and training tool for our medical residents and nursing students.

By participating, you will be publicizing a worthy cause, supporting a key fundraising campaign and having a great time outdoors. My running shoes and I are ready! Are you?

See more pictures from the 2009 edition.

As the session comes to an end, I would like to congratulate you all on your hard work throughout this academic year, and to offer you my best wishes on your final exams and projects. The upcoming days will be challenging but exhilarating as you apply the knowledge you've learned in your courses. I encourage you to take a few minutes to reflect upon your many achievements from this past year.

If you are feeling anxious or worried about exams, don't forget about the many valuable and free services and programs available to you through the Student Academic Success Service (SASS). Located at 100 Marie-Curie, SASS has an incredible team of professionals waiting to provide you with assistance, from for academic writing help to confidential personal counselling.

For those students who are graduating this year, I wish you all the best as you move on to new adventures and your career. I hope to see you at graduation! I also hope you will look back fondly on your years at the University of Ottawa and feel that you are leaving campus with the knowledge and skills you need to reach your full potential. The future is yours! I look forward to seeing the rest of you back on campus in the fall.

Last but not least, I invite all students to provide feedback on our most recent draft version of the new strategic plan, Vision 2020, before it goes to the Senate and Board of Governors for final approval. Please submit your comments and suggestions before May 15, 2011. Your opinion is important to us and will help ensure a stronger long-term plan for the University. Let us know if we are on the right track or if there are any missing elements that should be included.

Last week, the 10 winners of the 2011 Good Ideas contest were revealed. Congratulations to Mary Aglipay, Natasha Chaykowski, Nicholas Zorn, Véronique Fraser, Ned-Divin Nadima, Zohra Kassam, Mobolaji Laflamme-Lagoke, Imeyen Akai, Miguel Angel Sanchez Navarro and Colette Joubarne, whose ideas were selected as the 10 best. Thanks to the more than 400 students who submitted creative ideas on how to improve the student experience at uOttawa.

As you know, improving the student experience is my key objective as president of the University of Ottawa. Hearing directly from students is the best way to learn how to reach our goal of creating a stronger sense of community on campus-something that is not always easy given our location in the middle of an urban area. Your input and ideas are invaluable.

I would also like to thank the contest judges for the time and energy they committed to evaluating all the ideas submitted. Their participation is extremely important and is what makes Good Ideas truly a contest for and about students. And with all the great ideas submitted, I am sure choosing only 10 winners was no easy task!

uOttawa president Allan Rock supports mob vote!

On Friday, April 1, I attended the official opening of Gallery 115: Annex, the new student art exhibit space in the Graduate Student Reading Room at the Morisset Library.

The inaugural exhibit, (nouveau) flâneur, features the photography of Richard Jansen, a fourth-year visual arts student in the Faculty of Arts, and was curated by history and art theory student Natasha Chaykowski. The opening was a resounding success, with more than 75 people in attendance.

The impetus for this initiative came from Faculty of Law student Eric Shalom, who made the suggestion to hang student art in the 6th floor Graduate Student Reading Room. He thought it would be a great opportunity for the Department of Visual Arts to highlight the skill and talent of its students, while making the Library more inviting. The current exhibit will be on display until June 17, and is the first in what we hope will be an expanding program using the work of visual arts students to beautify public spaces on campus.