President's Newsletter
Issue #7: December 2021
This video newsletter provides an update on our university’s strategic initiatives and calls attention to some of the countless successes that contribute to our global reach. We are excited to celebrate the incredible people and ground-breaking research making a difference in our community and beyond.
The December 2021 edition features achievements in research and teaching, our commitment to reconciliation, inspiring events and milestones, and how our university has transitioned back to in-person learning. We are also looking ahead to 2022 and the important work UNB continues to undertake.
Paul J. Mazerolle
President and Vice-Chancellor
Read more about the transformative work being done at UNB:
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
On Sept. 30 – which is both Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – the University of New Brunswick closed, and a commemorative ceremony was held on the Fredericton campus to honor the survivors of residential schools and to commemorate the children who did not return home.
The McKenna Institute
The McKenna Institute fuels economic growth and social progress by advancing the use of digital technologies in New Brunswick. The Institute collaborates to accelerate our talent pipeline, nurture ideas and enable all New Brunswick communities to thrive in a digital world.
Barry and Flora Beckett Residence
The Beckett Residence provides more opportunities for students to stay on campus after classes, connect with and learn from one another and further develop commitment to the community.
Integrated Health Initiative
The Integrated Health Initiative (IHI) is an innovative and ambitious new program aimed at contributing to health care reform and addressing some of society’s most pressing issues.
North Atlantic right whales
In an Oceanography cover article released on Sept. 1, researchers from UNB and two other universities, lay out how changing ocean conditions in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean are further complicating efforts to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale from fishing gear entanglements and ship strikes.
IoT Security Lab
The Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity at UNB Fredericton has opened a state-of-the art Internet of Things (IoT) laboratory through funding secured from Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Biometric security
Dr. Erik Scheme, Associate Director of UNB's Institute of Biomedical Engineering, partnered with Stepscan, who has developed the world's first modular pressure-sensitive flooring capable of capturing a sufficient number of footsteps of natural gait for a first-of-its-kind project to validate and improve this touchless biometric solution.
Effects of CLV in men
Little research has been done to understand the ways violence and other social determinants of health directly link to health issues in men over time, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. To further understand this phenomenon, researchers from the University of New Brunswick have received $776,476 in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to continue exploring how cumulative lifetime violence (CLV) affects men’s physical and mental health.
AAU Educational Leadership Award
Dr. Magdalen Normandeau of UNB Fredericton has been named the 2021 Anne Marie MacKinnon Educational Leadership Award recipient by the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU). The award recognizes an individual who significantly influences teaching practice and the quality and breadth of student learning experiences beyond their own teaching assignment and context.
Adaptive Rehabilitative Engineering
The new Centre for Adaptive Rehabilitation Engineering (CARE), within UNB’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, is a unique Canadian facility that provides state of the art equipment and facilities to research and provide clinical care for mobility rehabilitation.
Global Child
UNB is the home of GlobalChild, a comprehensive child rights monitoring platform. The project, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and grounded in the principles of human rights and child development, has been created under the auspices of the UN. Developed in collaboration with nine Canadian and 19 international universities and agencies, it will support the implementation and monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Harriet Irving Library Research Commons
Building on a longstanding reputation in leading research, entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of New Brunswick, the Harriet Irving Library Research Commons and Rose Garden are now officially open. With a $6.4-million gift from the Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation, these newly constructed spaces create interdisciplinary and multifunctional learning and gathering spaces on campus.
Shaping the Debate
The Shaping the Debate initiative serves the public good by convening important conversations to help build a more prosperous and just future for New Brunswick. Through public dialogue and roundtable discussions, Shaping the Debate provides a platform for critical exchange of views to ensure positive action that will benefit communities, the economy, and lives of New Brunswickers.
Transitioning international students into the Canadian workforce
The Office of Experiential Education at the University of New Brunswick and the Saint John Newcomers Centre (SJNC) recognize the value newcomers bring to our communities. Together, UNB and the SJNC, developed a pilot training program called Skill Up for Success to help international students transition into the Canadian workforce.
