Honora Shaughnessy wants to meet you. The new Executive Director of Alumni Relations is a woman with a mission. "I want to be able to meet as many of our alumni as possible. Travelling to branches and talking to people about McGill is one of the things that most attracted me to this job." Shaughnessy had to hit the ground running. She took up her new post last September, just before Homecoming Weekend, and found herself greeting hundreds of alumni. "I learned how exhausting these things can be because you're 'on' all the time. I also learned how intensely interested alumni are in what's happening at McGill.

"I hadn't anticipated the many questions, and I found myself at a loss for answers several times. I didn't know the exact enrolment of Canadian students, U.S. students and international students, for example. I felt I needed a mini-computer in my brain to remember all the things I should know!"

While all the facts and figures may not be at her fingertips just yet, Shaughnessy probably knows as much about the inner workings of the University as anyone. During her 18-year McGill career, she has worked in the library, as executive assistant to principals David Johnston and Bernard Shapiro, and as both Employment Equity Coordinator and Director of the Equity Office. She has served on countless committees including those dealing with student recruitment, educational equity, employment equity, admissions, race relations and academic policies.

Kate Williams, Director of University Relations, has seen Shaughnessy in action. They worked together on the Senate/Board Committee on Equity and, more recently, on the committee which organized last November's 175th Gala Concert for the Faculty of Music. According to Williams, her colleague possesses important, if paradoxical, skills for getting things done. "Honora is very energetic, almost to the point of being impatient. She is a take-charge kind of person, somebody who likes to find solutions . . ."

A Montreal native, Shaughnessy is one of six children. She completed a history degree at Loyola in 1971 before coming to McGill for a master's degree in library science. She worked in libraries at the University of Calgary and at the University of Ottawa, before returning to Montreal and McGill in 1978. Yet her McGill roots date back much further. Her grandfather, the legendary Frank Shaughnessy Sr., coached McGill football for 17 seasons (1912- 29), winning more games than any other football coach. The Shaughnessy Cup event is named for him. Her mother, Katherine Kelly, BA'37, is due to celebrate her 60th reunion this year.

Shaughnessy, 47, is married to McGill graduate Ian Chapman, BA'70, BCL'75, a lawyer with SNC Lavalin, and lives in Montreal West with her son Tyler, 6, daughter Katie, 8, and stepdaughter Isabelle, 15. Her new job has meant an adjustment for the family. "The younger children were not used to my travelling. The hours are longer here and there is more travel so it's been an adjustment for all of us. I don't often make it home in time for the kids' supper. Sometimes I think they're being brought up on synthetic everything - but they're healthy and we're all getting used to new schedules."

With a shrinking budget, Shaughnessy's job is larger than that of her predecessor, Gavin Ross, as she also has responsbility for communications and fundraising (her official title says "Alumni/Advancement"). The Alumni Association will work much more closely with fundraisers, and the Alumni Association and Annual Fund will begin to merge operations.

Shaughnessy says she recognizes that alumni may have some concerns. "It's a delicate balance between friend-raising and fundraising. What we're about is relationship building. Other things can - but may not - lead from there. We don't want to be seen only as a group of people who knock on the door and ask for money. We're there to encourage our alumni to enjoy association with other alumni and to participate in any events." Indeed, the McGill Alumni Association supports the efforts of 120 worldwide branches, and McGill alumni are exceedingly generous. They give at least $3 million a year to the Alma Mater Fund, plus millions more in bequests. In the recent capital campaign, McGill alumni gave $50 million and worked as volunteers to bring in donations from foundations and corporations.

Now, McGill will also ask alumni to encourage top students to come to McGill. "In key regions we want to develop a program where our alumni can phone students who've been accepted at McGill and say, 'I know you've received an acceptance. I think McGill is great. Is there some way I can help you make your decision?'" Shaughnessy notes. The initiative will help ensure a steady stream of top students to McGill - and, eventually, more top alumni for Shaughnessy to meet.

Diana Grier Ayton is editor of the McGill Reporter, the McGill faculty and staff newspaper on campus.