Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations John McNee (BA '73) was just one of 100 alumni and guests who turned out March 1 for the first reception the Alumni Office has hosted exclusively for 91ÑÇÉ« grads in New 91ÑÇÉ« City.
Held at the elegant Café Gray in the Time Warner Center overlooking Central Park, the event was hosted by 91ÑÇÉ« President & Vice-Chancellor Lorna R. Marsden and Naguib Gouda (MBA '84), executive director, alumni & advancement services.
Left: from left, John McNee (BA '73), Linan Wang and Michelle Ha (both BDes '05), and Anatoly Veltman (BBA '85)
There are over 600 alumni living and working in the New 91ÑÇÉ« City area, one of the University’s biggest concentrations of grads outside Canada.
"It was a pleasure to see alumni turn out from almost all of 91ÑÇÉ«'s faculties," said Gouda. "The group clearly enjoyed the event and spent the evening building personal and professional connections with one another."
Special guests also included John McNab, deputy consul general at the Canadian Consulate in New 91ÑÇÉ« City, and Reg Foster (LLB '76), regional manager, IBM Corporate Community Relations.
Right: from left, Reg Foster (LLB '76) and Naguib Gouda (MBA '84)
The event coincided with the launch of IBM's World Community Grid (see story March 1). 91ÑÇÉ« is the first Canadian university to partner with IBM on this project, and Foster took the opportunity to share the latest news about the grid with the attendees.
Also present from 91ÑÇÉ« were Mickey Cohen (LLB '60, LLM '63), Chair of the University’s Board of Governors, Patrick Monahan (LLB '80), dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, and Susan Mullin, vice-president, development at the 91ÑÇÉ« Foundation.
Made possible with funding from 91ÑÇÉ«'s Alumni Perks Program providers, the reception proved to be a valuable opportunity for alumni to reconnect with their alma mater and to network with fellow alumni in New 91ÑÇÉ«. Guests expressed an interest in making the reception an annual event, and Marsden encouraged them to start a new branch of the 91ÑÇÉ« Alumni Association (YUAA).
Left: from left, Stephen Vander Stoep (LLB '04), and Neil Quartaro (BA '98)
The New 91ÑÇÉ« reception followed on the heels of another hosted by Marsden and Gouda at Cube2 in the Hotel St-Paul in Montreal Feb. 28.