Several dozen guests were welcomed by Croatia's Ambassador to the United States, Neven Jurica, and Duquesne University president Charles Dougherty, who recalled the cultural contribution of the Croat community to Pittsburgh and its university.
The delegation of the Pittsburgh University alumni included a senior US official, General Michael Hayden, director of the National Security Agency, the intelligence service of the Department of Defence.
Hayden will soon become the second most important person in the US intelligence community after the Senate confirms his nomination as deputy to the Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte.
The Croatian Embassy and Duquesne University have good relations, which has resulted in several students from Croatia studying at the university. Several more students are expected to be granted scholarships for Duquesne University soon.
Pittsburgh has a large Croat community and many members of that community have studied at Duquesne and contributed to its development.
In September last year Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader visited the university, where he received a letter of recognition for Croatia's integration with Euro-Atlantic associations and efforts in the reform of his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.