UNB Associated Alumnae launches book commemorating centenary

Anniversaries are the perfect time to reflect on the highs and lows of years past.  So when the Associated Alumnae celebrated their centenary in 2010, it was natural for them to commission a history of the organization.

Living the Legacy: The UNB Associated Alumnae 1980-2010 picks up where Those Certain Women by Linda Squiers Hansen, published in 1982, leaves off.  The new history, written by long-time UNB staff member Susan Montague, is a detailed record of the 30 years leading up to the Association’s anniversary.  It was launched in November 2013.

The Associated Alumnae of UNB is one of only two organizations for women university graduates in Canada.  (The other is at McGill.)  Since its founding in 1910, its activities and advocacy have been aimed at supporting women students and keeping women’s issues on the University’s agenda.

The book devotes a chapter to each of the decades.  Advances of the 1980s included the establishment of the Women’s Studies Programme; the increasing enrolment of women students; the installation of Lady Aitken as UNB’s first woman chancellor; the creation of a Status of Women Committee, advisory to the President; the election of Jane Arnold, the first woman president of the Student Union; and the shocking culmination of the decade with the Montreal Massacre on December 6, 1989.

The 1990s saw the membership in the Associated Alumnae exceed 10,000, representing nearly half of all UNB graduates.  Other highlights of the decade included the publication of More Than Academic Interest: Women at UNB, a report by Wendy Robbins that tracked the progress of the previous decade; the appointment of an increasing number of women administrators; the selection of Elizabeth Parr-Johnston as UNB’s first woman president; a deep examination of the Association’s purpose and future; and a campaign to refurbish the Maggie Jean Chestnut House as a home for the new Renaissance College.

The first decade of the new millennium, leading up to the Association’s centenary, was marked by concerns over campus safety, leading to the establishment of a Women’s Centre at UNB Fredericton; participation in the Making A Significant Difference marketing campaign; activism in response to the Commission on Post-Secondary Education’s proposal to transform the Saint John campus into a polytechnic and the University’s decision to return varsity women’s ice hockey to club status; and intensive planning for the centennial celebrations.

Throughout the past 30 years, the Associated Alumnae have been stalwart supporters of the women of UNB, providing scholarships and bursaries, library acquisitions, and mentorship, and organizing special events.  It is a dedicated group, proud of its history and confident in its future.  The lows of the past have been far outweighed by the highs.

Living the Legacy can be found online at www.unb.ca/alumni.  Printed copies are available upon request at the Office of the Associated Alumni, 506-453-4847.