US Congress to visit University
The University is to host a visit from members of United States Congress.
A delegation of six members of the US Congress, representing both Democratic and Republican parties will visit the Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies on 22nd August.
The states they represent are California, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The delegates will be accompanied by Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop and senior civil servants from the Scottish Government.
Along with my fellow Caucus members, I am very much looking forward to visiting the University’s Centre for Diaspora Studies to hear from Professor Devine and to exchange views on the indelible contribution of Scots in shaping the United States.
Focus on transatlantic relations
The delegation will join members of the Centre for a lecture from the Director, Professor Tom Devine on 'Scotland and the Making of the USA', contributions from Congressmen Duncan and McIntyre.
This will be followed by a joint discussion on American-Scottish relations past, present, and future.
It is an honour for the Centre that this distinguished delegation wishes to hold discussions with my colleagues as part of their trip to Scotland. I hope that both they and us will gain from our deliberations.
University and North America
The University has very strong historical and research connections with North America. Two signatories of the Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush, were Edinburgh graduates.
Our alumni today include physicians, academics, lawyers, Congressmen, the co-founder of TiVo, a Vice-President of Chevron, an Emmy award-winning actor, a Group Vice President of Unilever and many more.
Recent University honorary degree recipients include businessman Bill Gates, economist Alan Greenspan and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.
The University welcomes over 1,000 North American students each year, one of the largest concentrations in the United Kingdom.
It has an established alumni network in North America, with active Alumni Clubs in New York City, Washington DC, Toronto and Atlanta.
Informal alumni groups also exist in Boston, Vancouver, Colorado, Texas, Florida and the San Francisco Bay Area.