Established by petition as the
Academy of Liberal Arts and Sciences on December 13th, 1785, by 1829 the Academy had become known as
King's College, officially opening, by Royal Charter, on January 1st, 1829. On April 13th, 1859 King's College became the University of New Brunswick by an act of the Legislature of New Brunswick. The
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton (UNBF) remains the
First Public University in North America. The first public university in the United States, the
University of North Carolina, was chartered in 1789, four years after UNBF.
When built in 1826-1828, the building known today as the
University of New Brunswick Old Arts Building, AKA
Sir Howard Douglas Hall, comprised the entire campus of New Brunswick's King's College. Today the
oldest university building in Canada still in use, the
Old Arts Building is a
Canadian National Historic Site. It initially housed the
first school of engineering in Canada. Though no longer a
Hall of Learning, it remains an integral part of UNBF, primarily housing administrative offices. Through the years it has been joined on campus by many more buildings, including several historic brick & stone buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The
first English-language university in Canada UNBF is also home to Canada’s
first engineering program, forestry program and faculty of computer science.
Today UNBF is a major provincial and national institution, offering a wide range of graduate and undergraduate programs in arts, computer science, education, engineering, forestry and environmental management, kinesiology, law, management, nursing, Renaissance College, physical education and science. UNBF is also an active research facility, active in a diverse array of subjects ranging from social and government policy to the development of innovative technologies in many scientific fields. It is responsible for 70 per cent of all publicly funded research in the province of New Brunswick.
With 95,000 living alumni around the world, of which 41,715 live in New Brunswick, UNBF's current student population of 9,000 students come from more than 100 countries.
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
The University of New Brunswick is the first English-language university in Canada, but the first language spoken on this land is Wolastoqey latuwewakon. The first teachings on the land were the teachings of the Wolastoqiyik.
UNB began with a petition presented to Governor Thomas Carleton on Dec. 13, 1785. Headed by William Paine, the seven memorialists asked Carleton to grant a charter of incorporation for an "academy or school of liberal arts and sciences," which they maintained would result in many "public advantages and conveniences.”
By 1829, the academy had become King's College and the building now known as Sir Howard Douglas Hall was officially opened.
King's College spent several tumultuous periods in conflict with members of the New Brunswick Legislature. Ostensibly, they were arguing over the issues of curriculum and religion, but the real issue was probably the cost of higher education.
Fortunately, King's did have its defenders, in particular, the elegant debater William Needham who, in the face of threats to burn down the college or to turn it into an agricultural school, made an impassioned speech that saved the institution from such ignominious fates. Through the efforts of Needham, Lieutenant Governor Sir Edmund Head and a few others, the Legislature was persuaded to reform rather than destroy the college.
On April 13, 1859, the act creating the secular, provincial University of New Brunswick was passed.
The post-First World War era brought the first great expansion of the physical facilities of the campus. In 1920, UNB consisted of Sir Howard Douglas Hall, the Science Building, the small Observatory, a small gymnasium and the Dominion Entomological Laboratory. By 1931, Memorial Hall, a modern Library and the Forestry and Geology Building had been added.
The first university residence was a gift from Lord Beaverbrook who, growing up in New Brunswick as William Maxwell Aitken, studied law, and over the succeeding years developed an increasing interest in the welfare of the university.
From UNBF