The largest single accomplishment both immediately before my presidency, during my presidency and immediately after my presidency, was the resolution of the conflict between the People’s Republic of China and the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, and their member institutions regarding giant pandas. We came to a logical and fruitful end point where the Chinese were happy with what their benefits were for Panda loans and North American institutions, both from a financial standpoint, as well as an education and conservation standpoint, were happy with the resolution. And it allowed the importation of a significant number of giant pandas and subsequently many baby giant pandas that were born in the United States to occur. And up until that point, it was a stalemate. It was no, no, no. So that’s a highlight for me and to go to China and to go to China and to see a different and to interact with people at the highest governmental level, and to have no idea of what the thought process was, how they reached the conclusions that they reached, when they reached them. And to see giant pandas in the wild, to be with panda biologist, Chinese panda biologists, running around the Qinling Mountains, looking for giant panda signs or radio tracking them, and actually seeing them in the wild, that’s got a rank right up there. You were involved in the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
