President George W. Bush has made it a good year for University graduates. In March, the president named E. Timothy Oppelt acting assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development. Oppelt, a 1976 grad, has been with the EPA for 34 years, most recently serving as director of the agency’s national risk management research laboratory.

Then, on June 22, 1971, graduate Richard J. Griffin’s long career in public service reached another high point when he was sworn in as assistant secretary of diplomatic security at the U.S. Department of State. The appointment makes Griffin director of diplomatic security’s office of foreign missions and elevates him to the rank of ambassador. In his new role, Griffin manages immunity and reciprocity issues for foreign diplomats in the U.S. Previous to this latest appointment, Griffin was inspector general at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 1997-2005, before which he spent 26 years with the U.S. Secret Service, becoming deputy director.

And most recently, the president tapped Patricia Herbold, a 1962 Edgecliff graduate, to serve as ambassador to Singapore. Before leaving the Queen City for Seattle a little more than 10 years ago, Herbold practiced law with the firm Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, and served as a city council member and mayor of Montgomery, Ohio. She was previously a member of the George W. Bush 2000 finance committee and part of the president’s 21st Century Workforce. After receiving a law degree in 1977, she worked as assistant prosecuting attorney in Clermont County, Ohio, and as vice president and general counsel for Bank One in Dayton, Ohio.