Carl Fraser (BBA’74) was part of the very first graduating class from UNB Saint John, and his connection to the Saint John campus endures to this day.

Carl is supporting UNB’s transformative Integrated Health Initiative (IHI) with a gift of $100,000 to the Health and Social Innovation Centre (HSIC). In doing so, he honours a lifelong friendship with Professor Emeritus Wayne Jollineau.

The Jollineau-Fraser Classroom, to be located on level one of the HSIC, will be a 40-seat classroom with enhanced technology to support undergraduate health programs.  

Carl says that when he was a student, the Jollineau family took care of him “like a second son.” He had dinner with Wayne and Wayne’s wife Marilyn every Sunday, and Wayne helped Carl land his first job after graduation, in marketing at NB Tel. 

After NB Tel, Carl spent 10 years as a banker before he decided to try something new. He went into portfolio management and has been helping people with their financial planning for 45 years. “It’s still fun. There isn’t a day that goes by that I mind coming into the office.” 

This isn’t Carl’s first time sponsoring a room at UNB Saint John – his name also adorns a study room in the Hans W. Klohn Commons, which opened in 2011. His generosity extends beyond the financial; he has given many hours to coordinating projects that benefit his community. One such endeavour was the building of an artificial skating surface in his home city of Dundas, ON, which involved not just fundraising but contributing his labour as needed. “Kids should be able to go skating for free.”  

Carl is impressed by the interdisciplinary approach of the IHI. “That is a great, great way to give people a step up in the workforce when they graduate, while also providing for needs in the community.”  

“If you have a little bit and you can give, it’s a way to give an opportunity to the younger people who are the future of Canada. And luckily, I also get a chance to recognize a family that is very, very close to me.”