February 25, 2005
UNB Fredericton News Release: D242
Sandra Howland, Manager, Ceremonies, Events and Community Outreach (506) 458-7968

The University of New Brunswick’s Community Health Clinic in Fredericton has received a $500,000 donation from the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation. The clinic is one of the only university teaching and research health clinics in Canada serving the homeless.

As part of the UNB Forging Our Futures campaign, the donation will ensure the university continues to be a leader in innovative education and research that benefits both students and the community.

“This generous donation by the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation to UNB’s Forging Our Futures campaign will allow us to continue our pioneering research into the health issues surrounding the homeless and to give our students a unique hands-on learning opportunity in community health,” said John McLaughlin, UNB president and vice-chancellor.

The Community Health Clinic is an initiative of the UNB Fredericton faculty of nursing. With the help of nationally recognized faculty — including Barbara Paterson, Canada Research Chair in Chronic Illness — the clinic is both a learning placement for students and a research centre in the areas of primary health care, health services delivery, and other health-related topics.

“We’re pleased to be the catalyst for the continued success of the Community Health Clinic’s inventive learning and research environment,” said Kelly Meighen, president of the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation. “Innovative approaches to these and other issues make the university a leader across Canada. That’s why we’re investing in UNB.”

Since the clinic opened in December 2002, hundreds of patients have benefited from its services. In addition, more than 100 students from eight different UNB faculties and partner educational organizations have had clinical placements at the facility. Every year student placements at the Community Health Clinic provide approximately 6,000 hours or 950 days of combined education and service.

“Thanks to this generous donation, our students will continue to learn about the health issues of populations living in poverty and at risk of homelessness,” said Cheryl Gibson, dean of nursing. “These issues include addiction, violence, mental illness and others. We’re proud of the work we’ve done to date and are looking forward to doing more in the future.”

Established in April 1969, the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation is a private charitable organization that supports community-based activities in the fields of education, health, social welfare, and cultural and environmental conservation, mostly in New Brunswick. The foundation has funded a number of worthy initiatives at UNB in the past, including the Meighen Molson Professorship in Atlantic Salmon Research and the Centre for Conflict Studies. The chairperson of the foundation is Senator Michael Meighen, Q.C.

“We thank the Meighen family for their long-standing support of UNB and for the vision that they bring to the many programs they support across New Brunswick through the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation,” said Dr. McLaughlin.

Forging Our Futures is the most important development campaign in UNB’s more-than-200-year history. It will make strategic investments in students, faculty, facilities and programs. The campaign will strengthen UNB’s position as a national university that is fundamentally important to the economic, social and cultural well-being of the province, the region and the country. Forging Our Futures is expected to be formally launched this spring. More information on the campaign can be found online at www.unbfutures.ca

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