UNB News
News and stories from one of Canada’s top universities

Second World War veteran, forest ranger and public servant Joseph Flanagan left a bequest of $1.34 million to the University of New Brunswick. The gift will support the Joseph A. and Kathleen A. Flanagan Memorial Scholarships for students from New Brunswick in science or engineering programs at UNB. Valued at $5,000, seven scholarships have been awarded for the upcoming academic year. Hillary Johnston, from Campobello Island, N.B., was one of the first recipients of the award. "I wasn't expecting to get a scholarship going into my last year so I was very thankful," said Ms. Johnston. "I think that it was very kind and thoughtful of them to do this for students like me." Both Mr. and Mrs. Flanagan were from Jacquet River, N.B. Mr. Flanagan served in the Princess Patricia Regiment in the Second World War and graduated from the Maritime Forest Ranger School. He spent his career in forestry and with the federal Fisheries Department in Grand Bay-Westfield. Mrs. Flanagan worked in the banking industry. The Flanagans' nephew, Mark Flanagan, describes his uncle as sharp and knowledgeable about politics and world events and his aunt as a very kind, gentle person. "They were very smart with their money," he added. UNB president Eddy Campbell says that the university has been built by people like Joe: hard working, determined citizens of this province who want to help the next generation. "These scholarships are going to be a huge benefit to our students," he said. Established in 1785, UNB is one of the oldest public universities in North America. With more than 12,500 full- and part-time students from more than 100 countries, UNB has the best student-to-faculty ratio of Canada's comprehensive universities, according to Maclean's magazine. As the largest research institution in New Brunswick, UNB conducts over 75 per cent of the province's university research. UNB has more than 60 research centres, institutes, groups and major projects.