University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. The university has two main campuses: the principal 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. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and was the first public university in North America. 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.

Location
UNB Fredericton is located on the banks of 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 (UNBF) 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 financially and academically.

The UNB Saint John (UNBSJ) campus 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.

University growth
Both campuses have undergone significant expansion over the years with many prominent buildings at UNBF and UNBSJ being the recipient of 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.

The growth of the UNBSJ campus is particularly notable, considering it began in 1964 with only 96 students, spread around buildings in Saint John's central business district. By the late 1960s, the Saint John Law School was moved to UNBF to become UNB's Faculty of Law, and in 1968 UNBSJ moved into its new campus at Tucker Park. Currently UNBF has approximately 9,000 students while UNBSJ has 3,000 although UNBSJ is currently growing at a faster rate.

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.

Building history
Sir Howard Douglas Hall, which is commonly known as the 'Old Arts' building on the Fredericton campus, is the oldest university building still in use in Canada.

The first astronomical observatory in Canada, the Brydone-Jack observatory lies adjacent to Sir Howard Douglas Hall and was first operational in 1851. The observatory was named after William Brydone-Jack, a professor of mathematics and later president of the university. Due to the work done by Brydone-Jack at this observatory, Fredericton was the first location in Canada that had its longitude accurately determined.

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.

Notable scholarships
According to different sources, UNB gives away somewhere in the range of 2.2 and 4 million dollars worth of scholarships each year. The most prestigious of these are the Blake-Kirkpatrick, Beaverbrook, and President's scholarships.

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, 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.

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 two University Cups (Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey championships), one in 1998 and one in 2007.

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.

Aitken House Club Med
Aitken house's Club Med is one of the more well known UNB residence traditions. It is a beach party held during the first week in November. It consists of every single resident within the house forming a production line, where 20 - 25 Tonnes of sand is brought into the house basement. The sand is left to dry for several days, and decorations are put into place. Then a Massive beach party takes place, where in previous years anywhere from 150 to 300 people have shown up to party in this 53 room residence.

Neville/Jones House Bed Push
The annual Neville/Jones House Bed Push is a marathon event used to raise money for Women in Transition House, Inc. (WITH), a local shelter for abused women and children. After a door-to-door fundraising campaign, the Norsemen of Neville and Gentlement of Jones travel to Saint John, NB where they construct a bed on wheels and set off on provincial highways to push the bed 100 km to Fredericton, overnight - a 12 hour running journey. Since its inception, the Bed Push has grown to become the largest student-run fundraiser at UNB, having donated over $130,000 to the transition house. Although began in 1993 as a Neville tradition, the event continues following the 2006 combining of Neville and Jones Houses.

Harrison House Pumpkin Sacrifice
The Great Pumpkin Sacrifice is a unique tradition that has been in existence since 1973 at Harrison House, a now co-ed dormitory located at the centre of the campus. As part of the ceremony, a large pumpkin is carried around campus, lit and then thrown off the residence roof in a fiery explosion. The pumpkin itself is carved with a unique three-eyed face that is simultaneously frowning and smiling on the onlooker. The sacrifice is made in the hopes for a good academic harvest.

The tradition began on Halloween 1973, when a small group of students threw pumpkins off the roof of the residence.

Bridges Polar Bear Dip
The Bridges Polar Bear dip is an annual fund raising event in which residents of Bridges House gather pledges with the promise that they will jump into a pool of ice cold water outside in the middle of winter. As there are many people that perform this dip, in recent years the entertainment value of this event has been elevated by the individuals dressing up in various costumes ranging from super heroes such as Batman and Captain Planet, Greek togas, and full scuba gear.

Trivia

 * 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 President John F. Kennedy an Honorary Doctorate in his own lifetime.


 * UNB owns 7,700 acres of real property in several sites, including an extensive wood lot adjacent to the Maritime Forestry Complex,formerly used for forestry education and research, but is now being leased off for big box development and parking lots.


 * 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
 * Elizabeth Winifred Brewster - poet and academic
 * Bliss Carman - 19th-century Canadian poet
 * Richard Currie - businessman, Chancellor of UNB
 * Gururaj Deshpande - Co-founder and Chair of Sycamore Networks, Inc.
 * Fredrik Stefan Eaton - department store executive
 * J. Bruce Elliot - former CEO of Labatt Breweries and present CEO of Second Cup
 * Geoffrey Horsman - businessman with Cargill Inc. the world's largest private company
 * David Ganong - President of Ganong Brothers Limited
 * William Francis Ganong - botanist, historian, cartographer
 * M. Patrick Gillin - President and CEO, Gillin Engineering and Construction Limited
 * Ed Kavanagh - writer, musician, and teacher
 * 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
 * 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 - Politician
 * Edward Ludlow Wetmore, jurist, politician
 * Mary Matilda Winslow - The University's first black female graduate

UNB Fredericton

 * Arts
 * Anthropology
 * Classics and Ancient History
 * Culture and Language Studies
 * Economics
 * English
 * French
 * Fine Arts
 * History
 * Philosophy
 * Political Science
 * Psychology
 * Sociology
 * Business Administration
 * Computer Science
 * Education
 * Engineering
 * Chemical Engineering
 * Civil and Geological Engineering
 * Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering
 * Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering
 * Mechanical Engineering
 * Forestry and Environmental Management
 * Kinesiology
 * Law
 * Nursing
 * Science
 * Biology
 * Chemistry
 * Geology
 * Mathematics and Statistics
 * Physics
 * Renaissance College
 * College of Extended Learning

UNB Saint John

 * Arts
 * Department of History and Politics
 * Department of Humanities and Languages
 * Department of Psychology
 * Department of Social Sciences
 * Business
 * Science, Applied Science and Engineering
 * Biology
 * Department of Computer Science and Applied Statistics
 * Engineering
 * Health Sciences
 * Mathematics
 * Nursing
 * Physical Sciences