President's Address

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT (21 May 1981 - UA RG 285, Box 1, File 2)

In one of the most beautiful and familiar passages in the Old Testament, the author of Ecclesiastes writes:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The past year at UNB has known many seasons. One of them was, in the long history of this University, uniquely tragic. The sudden, shocking deaths of five of our students in three separate accidents at the end of term have cast a sorrowful solemnity over these past few weeks. It has been a time to mourn, to weep, and to keep silence. Richard Fray, Janet Taylor, Paul Graham, Nels Anderson, and James Armstrong were all young and full of rich promise. It is fitting I believe, and in the spirit of Ecclesiastes, that we should observe a moment's silence to honour their memory.

Amen.

Today, however, is a new season and, again in the spirit of Ecclesiastes, we should enter into it. It is a time to be born, to laugh, to dance, to embrace, a time to speak, to love, and for peace. It is a season of celebration.

But what, you may feel inclined to ask, is there to celebrate in our universities just now? In this time of galloping inflation (incidentally, have you noticed that inflation never trots or canters, but always 'gallops'?), of emaciated budgets, of aging professoriats, of alleged declining standards of literacy and numeracy, and of diminished job opportunities for graduates, what is there to celebrate? Is this not properly a season for gnashing and fuming or, at least, for some muted, tasteful despair? For anyone given to poring over the entrails of rumour and gossip for portents of doom, this would seem to be a fruitful season.

Far be it from me to disturb anyone's hard-earned pessimism. I know from personal experience what a splendid antidote against disappointment a little, controlled paranoia can be. I know too that we live in a world in which, for many, there is much to be endured and little to be enjoyed. Nor should we ever allow ourselves to forget them or our moral obligation to minister as best we can to their distress.

But neither ought we to allow the disillusionment of our age to obscure or distort the reality that surrounds us. Do we have reason enough to celebrate? You bet we do. Let me share with you a few of the things at UNB that I am prepared to celebrate today and you can then decide whether you're prepared to join me. (Ah, if all my tasks were this easy!)

There is so much to celebrate I hardly know where to start or what to choose. There's our fine faculty whose individual achievements and dedicated professionalism continue to bring many honours and much esteem to UNB. Indicative and exemplary of those individual achievements during the past year were the distinctions conferred on Philip Buckner in the Department of History and Robert Scott in the Bio-Engineering  Institute. Professor Buckner was chosen to be the recipient of the prestigious Jules and Gabrielle Leger Prize in History, while Professor Scott was awarded the Order of Canada and an honorary doctorate from Acadia University for his work and that of the Institute he directs on myoelectric control of artificial limbs. In classroom, committee room, workshop, studio, and laboratory, creative scholarship and teaching are going on throughout UNB. And the proof is to be found in the articles and books published, in the grants and contracts received, in the service being rendered to the community, in the new programs being designed, and -- above all -- in the quality and achievements of our students. In universities excellence is transmitted through and by individuals. Nothing is therefore so essential to the academic enterprise as the quality and well-being of the faculty. UNB is fortunate, I believe, in the quality and dedication of its faculty. It is a cause for celebration.

But, of course, faculty do not have, nor would they claim to have, a monopoly on professionalism and dedication. At UNB, I have discovered, dedicated professionalism is standard issue among our support staff as well.

Things have changed a great deal since 1854 when King's College (as UNB then was) had four professors, five students, and four servants.

A modern university, which UNB assuredly has become, is a complex social organization and depends upon the skilled and specialized labour of many workers. Indeed, our programs of instruction and research could not be carried out without them. These programs depend, for example, upon our libraries, laboratories, computing centre, health and counselling and awards services, upon security and cleaning, upon our business, personnel, and registrar's offices, upon graphic services and the audio visual department, and many more. These services, in turn, depend upon the special talents, knowledge, training, and commitment of almost seven hundred people.

Among the people who are instrumental in the efficient and effective operations of UNB are the maintenance workers, the grounds-people, the tradesmen, and shopkeepers who belong to CUPE Local 1326. In January of this year, CUPE 1326 celebrated ten years of good management-labour relations at UNB. It was altogether typical of them, and of support staff generally at UNB, that they chose to mark the occasion by presenting a scholarship to the University. Such enlightened dedication is itself worth celebrating.

No less dedicated and loyal than faculty and support staff are the friends of UNB, many of whom are our own graduates. It is, I think, true to say that most of what we've accomplished at UNB over the years has been accomplished with the help of friends -- sometimes corporate, sometimes governmental, sometimes -- and most often -- individual.

Through the generosity of such friends this past year our scholarships and student assistance programs have been improved, an important professorship in tree genetics has been created in the Faculty of Forestry, a splendidly equipped marine research vessel in Saint John has been fully paid for, a new, magnificent athletics floor for the Aitken Centre has been acquired, and much else.

Encouraged by such support, and especially by the example of our graduates, our faculty, and our staff who, through their annual funds, generously support scholarships and other student-oriented projects, we have created a University Development Committee to devise a fund-raising strategy for the 1980s and beyond. The desire, the energy, the need, and the imagination are all here, I believe, to launch a major fund-raising effort in the next year or so.

The people and the spirit responsible for this confidence are also a cause for celebration.

On this day, however, the strongest impulse for celebration must be directed towards our students who have earned graduation. (Incidentally, I include in this our honorary graduands as well. Anyone who even glances at their outstanding achievements in their several fields will have no doubt that Arthur Bourns, Adrian Gilbert, Partick Gillin, and Ellen MacGillivray have all earned the honorary doctorates they will presently receive.)

The questions are sometimes asked at UNB: Are we getting our fair share o the best students? How do our graduates stack up against graduates of other universities? What about our standards -- are they higher or lower than they used to be? These are good questions and reveal, among other things, a genuine concern for the quality of the education we give. They are devilishly hard questions to answer: there are no reliable empirical measurements one can apply. Occasionally, however, in competition with other universities, in various fields, we get an indication of how good we are.

In Science and Engineering perhaps the best indicator of quality is the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council postgraduate scholarships competition. This is a national scholarship program and the quality of applicants is high. The scholarships are valued at more than $9,000 per year and are awarded to students in science, engineering, forestry, mathematics, and certain areas of psychology. They are usually awarded for three years, but can be renewed for up to five years. No wonder the competition is keen.

Well, how did we do in 1981? In a word -- outstandingly. Forty-six UNB students received NSERC postgraduate scholarships, twenty-three of whom will graduate today or tomorrow. This is a ninety percent success rate. The number of scholarships awarded to UNB students is at least one and a half times the number awarded to students of any other Atlantic university and puts us well ahead of many universities across the country which are more than twice our size. Of fifty eligible universities in Canada, UNB ranks twelfth in the number of NSERC scholarships received by its students. And when you consider our relative size on the national scene, if that isn't outstanding then I'm Colin Mckay's uncle!

As if that weren't kudos enough for one year, three of our Spring graduands have been awarded the most prestigious and lucrative scholarships the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council sponsors. These are the '1967 Science Scholarships' and are worth $14,000 per year to students about to begin postgraduate studies in science or applied science. The students are: biologist Lois Margaret Mulligan, physicist Michael J. Hogan, and geologist Douglas E. McNulty. All three are from Saint John and began their programs of study at UNBSJ. Only two universities in Canada, Manitoba and Toronto, had more successful candidates than UNB in this competition.

I am assured that in these competitions 1981 has not been an unusual year for UNB.

There isn't time here and now to draw attention to the many palpable signs of outstanding student effort and achievement in this University. I could, swell at some length upon the great success this past year of our varsity student athletes, where we won a national title in soccer, and four regional championships. I could describe the fine and very professional effort it took on the part of a group of students to launch CHSR as an FM radio station broadcasting to the Fredericton area. I could refer to Andrew Bartlett's achievement in being one of only four students to win the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee ... Second Official Language Award. I could describe the continuing success of our Kenyan students and speak of the pride I felt for UNB as I presided over a graduation ceremony in Nairobi last December. These things I could descant on and more, much more.

Mindful of the length of this ceremony, however, I shall make particular reference to only one more group of students whose presence here today is cause for an unusual kind of celebration. I speak of the Native Indian students.

An innovative program in the Division of Curriculum & Instruction of the Faculty of Education is enabling Indian students from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to qualify for the Bachelor of Education degree and teaching certificate. Today, seventeen students will receive their degrees. This is the first time in the history of this region that a large number of Indian students will have graduated in education. Approximately sixty other Indian students are continuing in this program of full-time studies.

In this context, I am pleased to announce that, with the help of a $150,000 grant from Donner Canadian Foundation, a Micmac-Malecite Educational Development Institute is to be established at the University of New Brunswick.

The purpose of the Institute is to assist Micmac and Malecite teachers in the development of their own instructional and curriculum resources in light of the particular cultural, social, and linguistic needs of Native Indian children.

The Institute will serve primarily the Native teachers and non-Native teachers of Native children at reserves in New Brunswick, Cape Breton and the Gaspe peninsula in Quebec, as well as Native teachers in provincial schools attended by Native children.

The effect of the Indian Studies program and the new Institute upon education of future generations of Indian children can scarcely be estimated, nor their value in the preservation and enhancement of their culture.

May I end on a personal note. My first year at UNB has been the most interesting and stimulating of my professional life. I have marvelled at the diversity and complexity of this institution. Most and best of all, however, I've been impressed and at times touched by the consummate hospitality of nearly everyone I have met and worked with.

Only once during the year did I feel a complete failure. One stormy, snowy, miserable day in March I was standing inside the main door to the Old Arts Building. A lady I had not met came in, brushed the snow off her hair, stamped her feet, looked at me reprovingly and said: 'We never had winters like this when Dr. Anderson was President.'

I hope to do better next year.