University’s fundraising campaign aims to make school ‘accessible as possible’

FREDERICTON — The University of New Brunswick has launched a major fundraising campaign that includes $55 million for financial support for students, describing it as a social justice initiative in a province with a poverty problem.

“I have this very strong belief that education is the only form of social justice that really matters. I think everything else is kind of tinkering around the margins,” Eddy Campbell, UNB president and vice-chancellor, said Friday.

“I want to make sure that our institution is as accessible as possible. We have a very significant number of our students who are first in their family to go to university, and in my world that’s code for students that need extra financial help.”

The $110-million “It Begins Here” campaign was launched in simultaneous events at campuses in Fredericton and Saint John.

Campbell said as many as half of UNB’s 11,000 students were the first in their families to attend university.

Week-in-review: Federal Budget, water agreements and success for tourism industry

Apr 20, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

He said he hopes to reach students with the intellectual ability to go to university but who come from poor backgrounds and don’t even think about higher education because of the perceived cost.

“My hope is that (it) will really allow us to talk to those students in ways that we haven’t been able to before,” he said. 

In April, Premier Brian Gallant announced New Brunswick would provide upfront financial assistance to cover tuition for students from families with an annual income of $60,000 or less when they attend a publicly funded university or college in the province.

Campbell said the government’s plan ends some tax credits, leaving him worried for middle-class students whose families earn $60,000 to $90,000 a year, but he has confidence the government will “tweak this thing and make it better.”

The Canadian Press