University of New Brunswick



The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in Fredericton and a smaller campus which was 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 60 degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a total student enrollment of approximately 12,000 between the two principal campuses. The university presses, The Baron and The Brunswickan, are members of CUP.

History
The University of New Brunswick was founded in 1785 in Fredericton as the Academy of Arts and Science, a non-denominational institution modeled on the democratic ideals of the older Scottish universities. In 1800, the Provincial Academy of Arts and Science became the College of New Brunswick (Anglican). King's College was established at Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1828 under the control of the Church of England.

King's College offered the first engineering course taught at a Canadian university in 1854. In 1858 it was made non-sectarian under the designation of the University of New Brunswick. In 1859, it became the non-denominational University of New Brunswick (UNB).

The governance of UNB was modeled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty) responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the two bodies and to provide institutional leadership. In the early part of this century, professional education expanded beyond the traditional fields of theology, law, and medicine. Graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced.

By 1920, the University of New Brunswick had two faculties: Arts, and Applied Science. It awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Master of Arts (MA), and Doctor of Science (DSc). The latter was awarded only in civil engineering, electrical engineering and forestry. It had 156 male students and 21 female students, and only eleven academic staff, all male.

The War Memorial Hall (more generally known as Memorial Hall) is a landmark building on the campus of the University of New Brunswick. Originally built as a science building in 1924, the Memorial Hall honours the 35 UNB Alumni who died in the First World War.

Several stained glass windows in the Convocation Hall at the University of New Brunswick were created by Robert McCausland Limited: Robert Burns medallion (1928), "Sir Galahad" (1925), "Long fellow" (1930), Lt. Thomas Carleton; Sir Howard Douglas; and emblems (1942).

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, considering it began in 1964 with only 96 students spread throughout various buildings in Saint John's central business district. By the late 1960s, the Saint John Law School was moved to UNBF to become the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law, and in 1968 UNBSJ moved into its new campus at Tucker Park. The Association of University of New Brunswick Teachers (AUNBT) was established in 1954; in 1979 it became the bargaining agent for full-time academic staff and in 2008 achieved certification for contract academic staff. In 1980, the university offered the first Elderhostel program in Canada.

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, and its Fredericton campus tripled in size. In 1973 the New Brunswick Teachers' College (now the Faculty of Education) was absorbed into UNB. Originally a department in the Arts faculty, the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Business Administration was formed in 1980 and is a major supplier of management education. In 1989, University of New Brunswick established undergraduate degrees in adult education.

Currently UNBF has approximately 9,000 students while UNBSJ has 3,000, although UNBSJ is growing at a faster rate.

Location
UNB Fredericton is located on the banks of the St. 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). They share some infrastructure but remain separate institutions.

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 offers spectacular 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. In 2010, a new medical school, a joint project between Dalhousie University, UNBSJ, and the Regional Hospital, will take in its first class.

Sustainability
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. With these efforts to create a more sustainable campus, University of New Brunswick received an overall "C" grade in the 2009 College Sustainability Report Card put out by the Sustainable Endowment’s Institute.

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.

Scholarships
UNB gives away four million dollars worth of scholarships each year. The most prestigious of these are the Blake-Kirkpatrick, Beaverbrook, and President's scholarships. 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, or more depending on their marks.

Athletics
UNB Fredericton is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the UNB Varsity Reds while UNBSJ is represented by UNBSJ Seawolves. UNBF used to have 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.

A variety of sports teams are organized as "club" teams, supported financially by the Student Union as well as by individual members of the team. These club teams do not use the Varsity Reds name, and continue the tradition of different nicknames for each sport. Sports at the club level include rugby, field hockey "Redsticks" baseball, cheer leading, Cross Country Running, and the Woodsmen (among others). The UNB men's rugby team is known as the Ironmen, and boast numerous New Brunswick and Maritime championships at the 'A' and 'B' levels of competition. UNB has recently decided to only invest in eight of varsity teams and move the others to competitive sport club status within the Campus Recreation program. This reorganization took effect in the 2008-09 academic year. This means that some current national athletes will no longer be able to compete for UNB.

The UNB wrestling team is known as the Black Bears, and has produced several CIAU/CIS medals, as well as a record 15 consecutive AUAA titles from 1987-2002.

St. Thomas and UNBF have a fierce rivalry in men's ice hockey and a growing one in women's ice hockey. These "Battle of the Hill" games are among the most attended. UNBF has won three University Cups (Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey championships), one in 1998, one in 2007 and one in 2009, making them the current champions.

In 2005, the UNB Cricket Club organized the initial UNB Cricket Cup, which took place in October. Featuring teams from several Residences on campus, it is believed that it is the first of its kind to take place at UNB. The tournament was won by Harrison House who chased a target of over 150 to beat McLeod by a margin of 1 wicket. All games, of innings comprising 10 overs, took place at Queen's Square Ball Field in Fredericton. The trophy is proudly displayed in the Harrison lounge. In 2007, UNBCC grew to almost 40 members making it arguably the biggest cricket club in the Atlantic Provinces.

Songs
Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement and convocation, and athletic games are: Carmina Universitatis Novi Brunsvici; 'Alma Mater' (1904); and 'UNB Anthem' with words by A.G. Bailey and music by D.V. Start.

Milestones

 * The Faculty of Computer Science (FCS), UNBF, was the first computer science faculty in Canada.


 * UNB offered Canada's first university-level engineering program, established in 1855 and the first engineers graduating in 1857.


 * The University was the only institution to grant both President John F. Kennedy and his brother (Robert F. Kennedy) an Honorary Doctorate in their lifetime.


 * UNB owns 7700 acre 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.


 * UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada, established in 1785.

Notable students and alumni

 * Alfred Bailey - educator, poet, anthropologist, ethno-historian
 * Sandra Barr - UNB's female athlete of the year in 1968, president of the Geological Association of Canada
 * Bliss Carman - 19th-century Canadian poet
 * Richard Currie - businessman, Chancellor of UNB
 * Julie Dickson - civil servant
 * Fredrik Stefan Eaton - department store executive
 * J. Bruce Elliot - former CEO of Labatt Breweries and present CEO of Second Cup
 * David A. Ganong - President of Ganong Bros. Limited
 * William Francis Ganong - botanist, historian, cartographer
 * Drew Josselyn - MTV Canada Star
 * Ed Kavanagh - writer, musician, and teacher
 * Gérard La Forest - former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
 * Walter Learning - noted theatre director and founder of Theatre New Brunswick
 * Allison McCain - Chair of the Board of McCain Foods Limited
 * Frank McKenna - lawyer, politician, diplomat, banker
 * Gerald Merrithew - educator, politician
 * Anne Murray - Grammy-winning singer
 * Robert Nielsen - Journalist
 * Troy Parfitt, travel writer and cultural critic
 * Tony Proudfoot - all star CFL (Montreal Alouettes and B.C. Lions) player
 * Sir Charles G.D. Roberts - 19th-century Canadian poet
 * A. Edison Stairs - businessman, politician
 * Andy Scott - Former politician
 * Clark Todd - award-winning journalist, killed on assignment in Lebanon
 * Edward Ludlow Wetmore, jurist, politician
 * Mary Matilda Winslow - The University's first black female graduate
 * Sam Hinds - The Prime Minister of Guyana
 * Hal Fredericks - author and management consultant
 * Mike MacSween - Senior Vice President-Suncor Energy Inc.

Radio

 * FM 107.3 CFMH-FM (Saint John)
 * FM 97.9 CHSR-FM (Fredericton)

Newspapers

 * The Baron (Saint John campus)
 * The Brunswickan (Fredericton campus)
 * The Pillar (Engineering Newspaper) (Fredericton Campus)