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Associated Alumni

It Begins Here. UNB launches largest fundraising campaign ever.

UNB alumni and friends have contributed $77 million towards the $110-million goal

On Nov. 18, UNB launched It Begins Here the Campaign for the University of New Brunswick at simultaneous events in Fredericton and Saint John. Campaign co-chairs David Ganong (BBA’65, LLD’12), executive vice-chair, Ganong Brothers Limited, and Robert Quartermain (BSc’77, DSc’09), chairman and CEO, Pretivm Resources Inc., emceed the ceremonies, which were linked using videoconferencing.

With a goal of $110 million, this fundraising campaign is the largest in UNB’s history. Half of the goal – $55 million – will be dedicated to financial support for undergraduate and graduate students in the form of scholarships and bursaries. The other half will be used to strengthen UNB’s faculties and academic programs. New support for internships, co-op placements and study abroad will create additional opportunities for students to engage in experiential learning.

There was deafening applause when the co-chairs announced that $77 million has already been committed to the campaign by alumni, friends, corporations and foundations. UNB intends to raise the remaining $35 million over the next 18 months. Dr. Quartermain kicked off the public phase of the campaign by announcing that he is making a personal donation of $500,000. His gift will be used to fund scholarships and support the development of UNB’s Centre for Healthy Living.

“Our experience at university sets the stage for the continual learning that is essential to a successful life. It teaches us independent thought and the discipline of how to learn, analyze, formulate opinions and ‎communicate,” Dr. Quartermain said. “UNB provides its students with a foundational experience. I want to support that, and I encourage alumni to join me in making this campaign for UNB an outstanding success.

“It begins here!”

Allison McCain, chancellor of UNB, put the campaign’s trajectory in perspective. “A decade ago, I chaired UNB’s last major fundraising campaign, Forging Our Futures. Our initial goal was $60 million. UNB has already passed that threshold in the quiet phase of this campaign, and our friends and alumni are on track to make a record-breaking investment in the students, faculty and resources of this great institution.”

As campaign co-chair Dr. Ganong, himself a longtime lead donor to UNB scholarships, explained, It Begins Here has five distinct objectives. “We want to give our students a great start by improving access to quality education, supporting excellence and creating new opportunities to apply what they learn. We want to invest in our faculties, because a great university requires great researchers and instructors. We want to build on our academic strengths, because we are better at what we do, in key areas, than any university in Canada. We want to lead Canada’s next wave of innovation, because for more than 230 years, UNB has been a force for change. And, we want to prepare our students to succeed in the world, because they will be the architects of New Brunswick’s future.”

Eddy Campbell, president and vice-chancellor, applauded the commitment of UNB’s Board of Governors and campaign cabinet, who have taken on leadership roles in helping the university raise money.

“UNB has a long and proud history of rising to the challenges in Canadian society. We launched the first school of engineering in Canada and the first faculty of computer science. We’re home to Canada’s longest continuously publishing literary journal, The Fiddlehead. We’ve been identified as Canada’s most entrepreneurial university, and we’ve pioneered technology that is at the leading edge of what human beings can accomplish, from contributing to the exploration of Mars to building bionic arms that respond to the same nerve impulses as muscles."

“The future begins here. It begins with you and me, and I firmly believe that UNB can accomplish anything with the support of our alumni, friends and community partners.”

To learn more about It Begins Here and to support this historic campaign for UNB, visit unb.ca/itbeginshere.