Valedictory Address

“War, Post-War Period Put Their Marks on U.N.B., 1946” Daily Gleaner (16 May 1946). (UA Case 68, Box 2)

Class of 1946

Today you see grouped before you as a class we who have worked together four years. Throughout this year we have had the privilege of leading in undergraduate activities. We have occupied the front seats. Now that is finished. We have received from this university all that it can offer in Arts, Engineering, Forestry or Science. We have been taught and now we go forward to relearn through experience.

Being both sorry and glad we are filled with confused and mixed emotions. We are sorry to leave behind a life which we have enjoyed. We are sorry to part with friends with whom we have worked and played during these past four years. We are sorry to leave our youth to go into mature world of machines and mud pies At the same time we are glad. We are anxious to leave, to use our knowledge, and to make our homes.

When we first arrived here we were a heterogeneous group, mostly just out of high school. For a week we sang from the Post Office steps in our pajamas. For that week we believed that college was a succession of new and humiliating performances intermingled with short and simple lectures in physics, chemistry, mathematics, languages. Before our second week had finished we realized that college was not all play. We realized that four years of difficult problems and lengthy assignments lay ahead of us.

Today we are receiving the recognition which we have earned. We are proud to have reached this climax.

Realization Reached

In our four years we have come to realize that any institution of learning is far more than a calendar, advertisement or essay can ever describe. We have learned that within this University there is a band of men and women distinguished by their abilities, united in the task of giving to the world young men and women capable of seeking and e responsibilities. We know that the professors task is not easy. We want our professors to know that we shall do our best to reflect in our work the principles and practice they have taught us. We want them to know that of all the things we shall remember in our future recollections of college days our professors will have an honoured and important role.

Able Leaders

Throughout our four years we have seen that a university must have as its leader a man of foresight, ability and, above all, an inexhaustible supply of driving energy. We have had the good fortune to be here under two such able men. Each has given to us much sound counsel and each has shown in his work much that we have greatly admired.

Dr. MacKenzie

Dr. Norman MacKenzie was our first president and we soon learned that he was a man of keen foresight- but we also found that he was a man in national demand. We were not surprised when we learned that he had resigned his position here to accept a new post in British Columbia. We wondered who could adequately replace Dr. MacKenzie.

Dr. Gregg

We had known Dr. Gregg as a soldier at Camp Sussex where we spent two weeks in the summer of 1944. We had admired him then as an organizer and a leader of men. We were surprised that the army would let him come to us.

During these past two years we have found in Dr. Gregg a thorough and understanding guide. We know that this man who is nationally recognized as a soldier is rapidly becoming nationally known as an excellent College President.

We have had several opportunities of meting personally Dr. Gregg and his charming wife. We have had the privilege of visiting them in their home and we have been proud to have them visit us at several social functions.

Needs of Institution

We know that the improvement aspects of a university are its courses and the people who teach them. We have noted with interest that plans for the landscaping of this campus are being discussed. All the students would like to see campus improvements, but we hope that before this is done each and every department will be supplied with all its needs. It would be far better to walk through mud and receive a fine education than to travel over green grass to a lesser one.

Renovating Class-mate

We have been fortunate in having as one of our class first as a member and later as President, Alwyn Cameron. This unselfish student has done much toward the improvement of the University’s property. Outstanding among his achievements have been his repair and renovation of the ancient and historically important telescope in the observatory and his installation of the lights on the path behind the residence. We sincerely hope that the influence of Al Cameron’s service will be felt as a motivating power by succeeding classes.

Fredericton Was Kind

With our memories of this University we shall always connect the City of Fredericton. The view from our classroom windows of this city with its trees and the rolling hills beyond the river, we associate with some of the more pleasant aspects of our past four years.

When we arrived here many of us were away from our homes for the first time. The citizens of Fredericton were kind to us and welcomed us into their homes. We have constantly felt and appreciated their hospitality. The impressions they have left with us are pleasant and lasting. Our thanks will be demonstrated by our future visits. We look forward to seeing and improved and expanded Fredericton.

Fredericton has been our second home but we have never forgotten our real homes. Nor have we forgotten those people within them who have sacrificed so much that we may have a better chance to succeed in life. The degrees presented today are as much a product of our early training as they are of our collegiate endeavors. What you have given us we appreciate and we know that we shall never be able to repay the debts we owe to you.

The Shadow of War

In 1942, when we first came here, the war was at its height. Our class of 132 quickly shrank until in May last only 64 of the original number were left. We returned last fall to a U. N. B. crowded with strange faces. We have been happy and proud to study and live with the veteran students. We hope that we have aided their process of readjustment as much as they have broadened our education.

Through our first three years we tried to imagine a Post -War College. We visualized bands of commando –like students inhabiting our quarters and smashing our buildings. We expected killers but we found gentlemen. We discovered an attitude amongst them far more serious than any thing we had ever experienced. We came to know people of our own age who, mature beyond their years, were almost fanatically anxious to learn, anxious to know all that this university has to offer.

No Veteran Failed

Among the members of our graduating class there are 20 veteran students. Through our association with these men we have come to know and appreciate many of their problems. We wondered how they could pass their senior courses after having been away from college for several years. Many have shown us enterprise and ability beyond any expectations. Not one of our veterans has failed.

Improvements, Expansion

With the arrival of such great numbers of veterans long planned improvements and expansions have been forced into realities. During our first years here the old gymnasium was transformed into an Electrical Engineering Building and many lesser but important improvements were made in several of the other buildings. During the past year the University has expanded to include Alexander College. In almost every department there has been an increase in staff members. Within next year the Forestry and Geology Building and the Civil Engineering Building will be enlarged. A new and much needed Science building will be under construction.

Hope for Future

We are sorry to leave at such a progressive period. In the minds of only a few can there be doubt that this institution has reached its position among the greater Canadian universities.

May it continue to grow. May we hear of future progress in education and athletics. May the students of the University have greater success in their activities. May they unite and subdue once and for all that pseudo-terror from the Tantramar.

This is the last occasion when we shall be together as a class. The well worn path from the Arts building to this Gymnasium has carried us today from the old to the new. Although we shall now travel along separate paths of our own we will remain united through our common starting point - The University of New Brunswick.