Micha�lle Jean, the former governor general, has been named as the University of Ottawa's new chancellor.

"All students, professors and staff at the University of Ottawa are very happy and proud to welcome the Right Honourable Micha�lle Jean as a member of our extended family,"� university President Allan Rock said in a statement Monday evening announcing the appointment.

Jean, who is currently a UNESCO special envoy for Haiti, replaces Huguette Labelle, who has held the chancellor's post for 17 years.

"I'm very excited about this appointment,"� Jean said in thanking Rock, the university's Board of Governors and Senate "for the trust they have placed in me."�

The Chancellor, as titular head of the university, is appointed by the Board of Governors with the concurrence of the Senate, and holds office for four years, although the post is eligible for re-appointment.

"The unifying values championed by Ms. Jean fully match our university's desire for a healthy academic environment, open to the world and looking towards the future,"� said Robert Giroux, president of the Board of Governors.

Jean, who was born in Haiti, came to Canada in 1968 with her family. She studied comparative literature at the Universit� de Montr�al, and later taught in the university's department of modern languages and literatures. Along with her studies, Jean worked in shelters for female victims of domestic violence and helped establish a network of emergency shelters in Quebec and across Canada.

She later became a television journalist, serving as an anchor and host of news programs on CBC Newsworld and Radio-Canada.

In 2005, Jean was appointed the 27th Governor General of Canada by then Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin. That appointment ended in 2010.

Jean, who will take up her new position on Feb. 1, 2012, sent her "greetings"� to the university's faculty and students, saying I'm thrilled to be to reflect their goals and achievements."�

In announcing Jean's appointment, university officials also applauded Labelle for her "extraordinary devotion"� to the institution. They noted that when Labelle took up the post in 1994 the university's student population was about 18,000. Today it is more than 40,000.

"Huguette Labelle has overseen this evolution, full of challenges and possibilities, with professionalism and distinction."�