The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses, located in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North America. UNB was founded by a group of seven Loyalists who left the United States after the American Revolution.
UNB has two main campuses: the original campus, founded in 1785 in Fredericton, and a smaller campus which opened in Saint John in 1964. In addition, there are two small satellite health sciences campuses located in Moncton and Bathurst, New Brunswick, and two offices in the Caribbean and in Beijing. UNB offers over 75 degrees in fourteen faculties at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a total student enrollment of approximately 11,400 between the two principal campuses. UNB was named the most entrepreneurial university in Canada at the 2014 Startup Canada Awards.
Video University of New Brunswick
History
Founding and charters
In 1783, Loyalist settlers began to build upon the ruins of a former Acadian village called Ste-Anne-des-Pays-Bas. The new settlement was named Frederick's Town in honour of Prince Frederick, son of King George III and uncle of Queen Victoria.
Initially modelled on the Anglican ideals of older, European institutions, the University of New Brunswick was founded in 1785 as the Academy of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The petition requesting the establishment of the school, titled "The Founders' Petition of 1785," was addressed to Governor Thomas Carleton and was signed by seven Loyalist men: William Paine, William Wanton, George Sproule, Zephaniah Kingsley, Sr., John Coffin, Ward Chipman, and Adino Paddock.
To his Excellency Thomas Carleton Esquire Governor Captain General, and Commander in Chief, of the Province of New Brunswick, and the territories thereunto belonging, Vice Admiral Chancellor &c &c &c: --
- Your memorialists whose names are hereunto subscribed, beg leave to represent, and state to your consideration the Necessity and expediency of an early attention to the Establishment in this Infant Province of an Academy, or School of liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Your Excellency need not be reminded of the many Peculiarities attending the Settlement of this Country The Settlement of other Provinces has generally originated in the voluntary Exertions of a few enterprising Individuals, unincumbered, and prosecuting their Labor at their Leisure, and as they found it convenient, and most for their Advantage - Far different is the Situation in which the loyal Adventurers here find themselves - Many of them upon removing had Sons, whose Time of life, and former Hopes, call for an immediate attention to their Education - Many publick advantages, and many Conveniences would result to Individuals could this be affected within this Province, the Particulars of which it is unnecessary to ennumerate - Your Memorialists do therefore most earnestly request your Excellency will be pleased to grant a Charter for the establishing, and founding such an Academy . . .
By an 1800 provincial charter, signed by Jonathan Odell, the Academy of Liberal Arts and Sciences became the College of New Brunswick. The College was succeeded by King's College, which was granted by royal charter in December 1827. King's College operated under the control of the Church of England until 1859, when it was made non-sectarian by an act of the provincial legislature that transformed the College into the University of New Brunswick. In 1866, Mary Kingsley Tibbits became the first regularly admitted female student of UNB.
20th/21st centuries
In 1906, UNB established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors exercising exclusive control over financial policy and other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the two bodies and to provide institutional leadership. By 1867, the University of New Brunswick had two faculties: Arts and Applied Science. It awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Science. The latter was awarded only in the fields of civil engineering, electrical engineering, and forestry. At this time, the university had 156 male students, 21 female students, and only eleven academic staff, who were all male.
In the 1960s, University policies changed in response to social pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and for society. In 1964, a second, smaller campus was established in Saint John, New Brunswick. The growth of the UNBSJ campus is particularly notable, for the campus began with only 96 students spread throughout various buildings in Saint John's central business district. In 1968, UNBSJ moved to its new home at Tucker Park.
The Association of University of New Brunswick Teachers (AUNBT) was established in 1954; in 1979, this association became the bargaining agent for all full-time academic staff, and in 2008, it achieved certification for contract academic staff.
Relocation of the Faculty of Law
In 1959, the Faculty of Law moved from Saint John to Fredericton following a report on the status of legal education in Canada by Professor Maxwell Cohen from McGill University. In his report, Cohen stated that the Saint John Law School was only "nominally a faculty of UNB". This prompted Lord Beaverbrook, as Chancellor, and UNB President Colin B. Mackay, to permanently move the Saint John Law School to the UNB Fredericton campus, despite the Dean's objections.
Polytechnic controversy
In the fall of 2007, a report commissioned by the provincial government recommended that UNBSJ and the New Brunswick Community College be reformed and consolidated into a new polytechnic post-secondary institute. The proposal immediately came under heavy criticism and led to the several organized protests. Under heavy fire from the public, the Graham government eventually announced that it would set aside the possibility of UNB Saint John losing its status as a university and would refer the report to a working group for further study. The government would go on to announce in January that UNBSJ would retain its liberal arts program and its association with UNB and the working group reported back to government in May, with its findings and government's response being made public in June.
Maps University of New Brunswick
Campuses
Currently UNBF has approximately 9,000 students while UNBSJ has 3,000, although UNBSJ is growing at a faster rate. Both campuses have undergone significant expansion over the years, and many University buildings have received funding from Lord Beaverbrook and other prominent industrialists and philanthropists. UNB's largest expansion coincided with the baby boom, when its Fredericton campus tripled in size.
Fredericton
The UNB Fredericton campus is located on a hill overlooking the Saint John River. The campus is well known for its colourful fall foliage, Georgian style red-brick buildings, and a very steep hill. UNB Fredericton has shared the "College Hill" with St. Thomas University (STU) since 1964, when the former St. Thomas College moved from Chatham, NB (now Miramichi). While the universities share some infrastructure, they remain separate institutions.
Architecture
Architect G. Ernest Fairweather designed several of the campus buildings, including the Old Civil Engineering Building (1900) and the Gymnasium (1906). In addition, several of the stained glass windows in the Convocation Hall were created by Robert McCausland Limited.
UNBF's War Memorial Hall (usually referred to as Memorial Hall), originally built as a science building in 1924, honours the 35 UNB Alumni who died in World War I.
UNBF's Brigadier Milton F. Gregg, V.C., Centre for the Study of War and Society (usually referred to as The Gregg Centre) was created in 2006.
The Richard J. Currie Center, a five-storey 139,000-square-foot building, was constructed in 2013.
National Historic Sites
Two buildings on the Fredericton campus have been designated National Historic Sites of Canada: the 1827 Sir Howard Douglas Hall (the Old Arts Building), and the 1851 William Brydone Jack Observatory.
Saint John
The UNB Saint John campus (UNBSJ) is located in Tucker Park in the Millidgeville neighbourhood, several kilometres north of the city's central business district, and has views of the Kennebecasis River and Grand Bay. New Brunswick's largest health care facility, Saint John Regional Hospital, is located adjacent to the UNBSJ campus. Since 2010, the UNBSJ campus has been home to Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, a medical school that operates as a partnership between the Government of New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick and Dalhousie's Faculty of Medicine.
The Saint John campus has undergone expansion over the years and is the fastest growing component of the UNB system with many new buildings constructed between the 1970s and the first decade of the 21st century. A trend in recent years has been a growth in the number of international students.
Notable differences from its parent campus in Fredericton lay in the campus culture. While UNB Fredericton has a substantial number of students living in its on-campus residences, this is not the case for UNBSJ. The majority of students do not live within walking distance of the campus due to its remote location, so unlike Fredericton, Saint John is predominantly a "commuter campus".
Architecture
On April 1, 2010, construction began on the Hans W. Klohn Commons, one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in Atlantic Canada. The building features an electric elevator that produces power for the commons. The building is part of the Tucker Park enhancement project, which will include the refurbishment of the Canada Games Stadium, the new Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick facility, and the New Brunswick Community College's Allied Health building.
Sustainability
The University of New Brunswick has attempted to reduce its environmental impact through installing a natural gas burning microturbine at the Central Heating Plant that produces 100 kW of electricity for the university. Heat energy, a result of this process, is used to contribute to the overall heating of the campus to increase its overall energy efficiency. In addition, all produce and dairy products used within its dining services are obtained from local farmers and local producers; the campus offers grass-fed beef, fair trade coffee, and dining locations offer biodegradable to-go containers. UNB recycles electronics in addition to traditional materials and operates a move-out materials collection program. The university adheres to a green purchasing policy and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent since 1990; they have also decreased water consumption since 2005 through the adoption of new technologies. With these efforts to create a more sustainable campus, the University of New Brunswick received an overall "B+" grade in the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card put out by the Sustainable Endowment's Institute.
Programs
There are over 75 undergraduate programs to choose from, the school of Graduate Studies offers course and research-based programs in over 30 fields and UNB has a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
Program Highlights
- UNB Saint John is of only a few campuses in Canada designed to offer a complete marine biology program, from Bachelor of Science to PhD. Its ideal location on the Saint John-Kennebecasis River estuarine complex means students can easily get hands-on experience.
- UNB's faculty of arts in Fredericton is home to a nationally renowned creative writing program, producing award-winning authors and poets every year.
- Eastern Canada's only bachelor of arts program with courses in game design in the department of culture and language studies on UNB's Fredericton campus.
- UNB business students manage $8 million of real assets in a Student Investment Fund program that is one-of-a-kind in Canada. As of July 2015, the fund is worth nearly $8 million, making it the largest undergraduate-run fund of its kind in the country.
- The Bachelor of Applied Management (BAM) degree through the faculty of business on UNB's Saint John campus offers a unique program for college graduates to turn their two-year diploma - in any field - into a university degree.
- UNB is home to Canada's only computer science faculty with a dedicated entrepreneurship and innovation centre.
- UNB also has the only software engineering program in Atlantic Canada, offered through the faculty of computer science and faculty of engineering in Fredericton.
- The faculty of business on both UNB's Fredericton and Saint John campuses are home to accredited co-op programs. The Activator program in UNB's faculty of business administration (Fredericton) was created in 2007 to help business students launch startups, and since the program began, students have live-launched at least one New Brunswick business every year.
- Students majoring in political science on UNB's Saint John campus work on local community issues and present policy recommendations to local municipal council, including a revitalization plan for a stretch of land in Saint John's south end.
- Students majoring in English on UNB's Saint John campus can register for theatre production courses held in partnership with the Saint John Theatre Company.
- UNB is home to "Canada's Great Small Law School," one of the strongest practice-oriented juris doctor (JD) programs in the country and a student to faculty ratio of 14:1.
- UNB's nursing faculties in Fredericton and Saint John provide hands-on training for students, with both offering clinical practice in first year.
- The Bachelor of Recreation and Sports Studies program is the only degree of its kind in Canada that combines recreation and sport in one degree.
- The Centre for Criminal Justice Studies (CCJS) on the Saint John campus gives students the chance to engage with issues surrounding criminal justice.
Research and academics
UNB is the seat of 11 Canada Research Chairs and is home to more than 60 research centres and institutes. It conducts about 75 per cent of all university research in the province. UNB's annual research spending (2013-14) generated $32.2 million in added provincial income for the New Brunswick economy. Between 2004 and 2009, the university's research revenue increased by 77 per cent: the highest increase among Canadian comprehensive universities.
UNB has developed technology used by Google, is a research partner with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is a global leader in powered prosthetic research and developing MRI technology, and is home to one of the most cutting-edge motion analysis labs in North America as well as the world's first research centre in dermoskeletics.
Reputation
In 2014, UNB was awarded the most entrepreneurial university in Canada by Startup Canada. The university has also supported in launching 23 new startup companies as of 2015.
In 2013, Maclean's magazine ranked UNB 4th nationally in its evaluation of the top fifteen comprehensive universities in Canada. For several years running, UNB's libraries have been ranked in the top spot nationally in terms of the percentage of the overall budget devoted to libraries and in terms of holdings per student.
In 2012, UNB's law school was ranked 2nd nationally in elite firm hiring by Maclean's. According to Canadian Lawyer Magazine, the law school ranks among the top five in Canada.
In 2008, the National Post and the Ottawa Citizen recognized UNB as being among the top three comprehensive research universities in Canada for the highest percentage growth of research income across a five-year period.
Poets' Corner
Because so many of UNB's students, alumni, and professors have produced celebrated poetry, the city of Fredericton has earned the nickname "Poets' Corner." Two of Canada's four Confederation Poets - Sir Charles G.D. Roberts and Bliss Carman - were educated at UNB, as was Francis Joseph Sherman, along with a number of notable 20th- and 21st-century Canadian writers. In 1947, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled a "Poet's Corner" monument in honour of Carman, Roberts, and Sherman.
Institute of Biomedical Engineering
The Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME) on the Fredericton campus is one of the leading research institutes in biomedical engineering in Canada. It was founded in 1965 as the Bio-Engineering Institute, making it one of the oldest research institutes to be solely dedicated to the field of biomedical engineering. The institute is also the region's prosthetic fitting centre where amputees are fitted with state-of-the-art intelligent artificial limbs. The institute also carries out research in the field of myoelectric signal processing, biomedical instrumentation and human motion analysis. The IBME also developed the UNB Test of Prosthetic Function which is used by researchers all over the world. Although the institute does not offer degrees in biomedical engineering, students at UNB usually enroll in one of the other faculties of engineering such as electrical or mechanical and pursue their research in biomedical engineering at the IBME.
Canadian Rivers Institute
The Canadian Rivers Institute was founded in 2000 and is a leading site of river sciences research. The mandate of the CRI is to conduct both multi-disciplinary basic and applied research focusing on rivers from their headwaters to their estuaries, to promote the conservation, protection and sustainable use of water, and to educate professionals, graduate students and the public on water sciences. Members of the CRI conduct research on regional, national and international issues related to rivers and their land-water linkages.
With researchers from both UNB campuses, the CRI develops the aquatic science needed to understand, protect and sustain water resources. Since 2013, the CRI and its partners have been working with NB Power to research the potential environmental impacts of the future options being considered for the Mactaquac Generating Station. The Mactaquac Dam on the Saint John River will reach the end of its lifespan by 2030, and CRI has been evaluating key environmental challenges such as river health, fish passage and flow management. In 2015, CRI was given an additional $2.8 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to conduct an aquatic ecosystem study on the Saint John River.
Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Institute
UNB created its BEd program for First Nations students in 1977 in an effort to help First Nations communities take control of their own schools. In 1981, the Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Institute opened its doors with an expanded mandate to train professionals and improve First Nations access to First Nations education. The Institute provides a variety of services, including research, curriculum development, language education, policy development, children's literacy, and more. In addition, the Institute funds the Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Resource Collection, which contains materials that are immensely valuable to knowledge of First Nations culture, history, and perspective in the region.
Scholarships
UNB awards over five million dollars in scholarships each year. These include the Blake-Kirkpatrick, Beaverbrook, and President's scholarships. With $7.2 million available in undergraduate scholarships, one in two students entering UNB from high school received a scholarship as of 2015. UNB has a scholarship guarantee in which any admitted student with an average of 80% or higher will receive a guaranteed amount of five hundred dollars.
As a member of the Loran Scholars university consortium, UNB offers a matching tuition waiver as part of a $100,000 undergraduate scholarship to recognize incoming students who demonstrate exemplary character, service and leadership. Five Loran Scholars have studied at UNB over the years. Additionally, it is part of the Schulich Leader Scholarships program, awarding an $80,000 STEM scholarship to an incoming engineering student and a $60,000 scholarship to a science, technology, or mathematics student each year.
Student life
UNB has approximately 10,000 students from over 100 countries. The small class sizes and low student-to-professor ratio (16:1) mean professors get to know their students by name. Students have over 125 clubs and societies to choose from between the Fredericton and Saint John campuses and there are 13 residences available to students in Fredericton and two in Saint John. Students on both campuses have access to UNB's world-class facilities, fitness classes and outdoor activities such as snowshoeing and kayaking. There are exchanges available in more than 35 countries around the world with over 89 university partners.
Athletics
UNB Fredericton is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the UNB Varsity Reds while UNBSJ is represented by the UNBSJ Seawolves. The Varsity Reds compete in the following sports: men's and women's basketball, men's hockey, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's volleyball, and swimming. Men's and women's track & field and cross country have been added as a varsity sport for 2010/2011; this is a joint Fredericton/Saint John Campus program.
In the past, UNBF used different names for each individual sport's team; for instance, the men's swim team was the Beavers, and the hockey team was the Red Devils. The university club teams, which are supported financially by the Student Union as well as by individual members of the teams, do not use the Varsity Reds name and thus continue the tradition of using different nicknames for each sport.
Songs
Traditional among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various times such as commencement, convocation, and athletic events are: Carmina Universitatis Novi Brunsvici; 'Alma Mater' (1904); and 'UNB Anthem' with words by A.G. Bailey and music by D.V. Start. Colloquial songs included: "Bombers Away" to celebrate the football team: Bombers away, my boys Bombers away, 'Cause when you fight red bombers. Fight you Bombers, Fight you Bombers, Fight, Fight, Fight.
Notable facts and milestones
- UNB was the first English-language university in Canada, established in 1785.
- As of 2015, the university has helped launch 23 new startup companies.
- UNB is home to the first graduate program in biomedical engineering in Canada.
- Renaissance College at UNB Fredericton is home to Canada's first accelerated degree in interdisciplinary leadership.
- The Faculty of Computer Science in Fredericton was the first computer science faculty in Canada, and it went on to develop the first software engineering degree program in Atlantic Canada.
- UNB Saint John was the first university in Canada to offer an e-business program with its bachelor of business administration in electronic commerce. The university has since been ranked by Canadian Business Magazine as first in e-business.
- UNB offered Canada's first university-level engineering program, established in 1855. The first engineers graduated in 1857.
- The university has the longest running undergraduate forestry program in Canada, and its forest engineering program is the only accredited program of its kind in Canada.
- UNB's Planetary Space Science Centre is the only NASA-supported planetary imaging facility in Canada.
- UNB's Centre for Coastal Studies and Aquaculture does work in Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean, South America, Australia and Antarctica.
- UNB's Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society is one of the few research institutes in Canada and the U.S. studying the role of climate change in current and future conflicts.
- UNB was the only institution to grant both President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy Honorary Doctorates in their lifetimes.
- UNB owns 7,700 acres (3,100 ha) of real property in several sites, including an extensive wood lot adjacent to the Maritime Forestry Complex, formerly used for forestry education and research. Until 1968, the university had the power to expropriate land "it may deem necessary for the purpose of the university" without approval from the government.
Notable alumni
As of 2012, the University of New Brunswick reports 64,000 living alumni, half of whom live in New Brunswick.
- Alfred Bailey - educator, poet, anthropologist, ethnohistorian
- Sandra Barr - president of the Geological Association of Canada
- Francesco Bellini - scientist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of BioChem Pharma
- George Best - first president of University of King's College
- Elizabeth Brewster - poet and academic
- George F. B. Bridges - jurist and Chief Justice of New Brunswick
- Rod Bryden - business executive
- Bliss Carman - 19th-century Canadian poet
- Richard Currie - business executive, Chancellor Emeritus of UNB
- Joseph Z. Daigle - politician, jurist and Chief Justice of New Brunswick
- Kwame Dawes - artist and academic
- Julie Dickson - civil servant
- J. Ernest Drapeau - jurist and Chief Justice of New Brunswick
- Darrell Duffie - economist and Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business
- Fredrik Stefan Eaton - former business executive and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
- J. Bruce Elliot - former CEO of Labatt Brewing Company and present CEO of Second Cup
- Sir George Eulas Foster - politician, academic, and Minister of Finance
- David A. Ganong - President of Ganong Bros. Limited
- William Francis Ganong - botanist, historian, cartographer
- James Gitau - UNICEF India
- Shawn Graham - former Premier of New Brunswick
- Sir John Douglas Hazen - politician and jurist, former Premier of New Brunswick and Chief Justice of New Brunswick
- Loyola Hearn - former politician and Ambassador to Ireland
- Sam Hinds - former Prime Minister of Guyana
- Charles J. A. Hughes - former Chief Justice of New Brunswick
- Gérard La Forest - former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
- Kelly Lamrock - former politician, cabinet minister and Attorney General of New Brunswick
- Walter Learning - theatre director and founder of Theatre New Brunswick
- Alaina Lockhart - Member of Parliament
- Wade MacLauchlan - Premier of Prince Edward Island
- Alistair MacLeod - author
- Mike MacSween - business executive
- Allison McCain - business executive, philanthropist, and Chairman of the Board of McCain Foods Limited
- Frank McKenna - former Premier of New Brunswick, Ambassador to the United States, and banker
- John B. McNair - former Premier of New Brunswick, Chief Justice of New Brunswick, and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
- Gerald Merrithew - educator, politician
- Gerard Mitchell - jurist and former Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island
- James Mitchell - Premier of New Brunswick
- Shawn Murphy - lawyer and politician
- Anne Murray - Grammy Award-winning singer
- Graydon Nicholas - jurist and first aboriginal Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, first aboriginal man in Atlantic Canada to earn a law degree
- Robert Nielsen - journalist
- Penny Park - science journalist
- Tony Proudfoot - all-star CFL (Montreal Alouettes and BC Lions) player
- William Pugsley - politician, Premier of New Brunswick, and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
- Lalith J. Rao - Indian classical singer and a representative of the Agra gharana
- Charles D. Richards - former Premier of New Brunswick, Chief Justice of New Brunswick
- Sir Charles G. D. Roberts - 19th-century Canadian poet and author
- Andy Scott - politician
- Dr. Chris Simpson - physician, 147th President of the Canadian Medical Association
- Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley - politician and former Premier of New Brunswick
- Clark Todd - journalist, killed on assignment in Lebanon
- R. M. Vaughan - Canadian poet, novelist and playwright
- Edward Ludlow Wetmore - politician, jurist and Chief Justice of Saskatchewan
- Raymond P. Whalen - jurist and Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Mary Matilda Winslow - The University of New Brunswick's first black female graduate
- Doug Young - lawyer and politician, former Minister of National Defence, and Leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick
Media
The university presses, The Baron and The Brunswickan, are members of Canadian University Press. Publishing since 1867, The Brunswickan is the oldest official student publication in Canada.
UNB is also home to several notable magazines and journals, such as The Fiddlehead and Studies in Canadian Literature.
Radio
- 107.3FM CFMH-FM (Saint John)
- 97.9FM CHSR-FM (Fredericton)
Newspapers
- The Baron (Saint John campus)
- The Brunswickan (Fredericton campus)
- The Pillar (Engineering Newspaper) (Fredericton Campus)
Magazines and journals
- The Fiddlehead
- Studies in Canadian Literature
- Acadiensis
See also
- List of oldest universities in continuous operation
- Higher education in New Brunswick
- List of universities and colleges in New Brunswick
- List of historic places in New Brunswick
- Maritime College of Forest Technology
- Atlantic University Sport
- Canadian Interuniversity Sport
- Canadian government scientific research organizations
- Canadian university scientific research organizations
- Canadian industrial research and development organizations
- University of New Brunswick College, Singapore
Further reading
- Bailey, Alfred G., ed. The University of New Brunswick: Memorial Volume. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, 1950.
- McGahan, Peter. The Quiet Campus: A History of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, 1959-1969. Fredericton: New Ireland Press, 1998.
- Montague, Susan. A Pictorial History of the University of New Brunswick. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, 1992.
References
External links
- Arts Building, UNB, National Historic Site of Canada
- William Brydone Jack Observatory, UNB, National Historic Site of Canada
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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