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Three academics with distinguished careers at the University of New Brunswick will receive honorary designations for their contributions to the university community during the 184th Encaenia ceremonies in Fredericton.

Outgoing chancellor, Dr. Richard J. Currie, will also be granted the rare designation of chancellor emeritus.

The professor emeritus distinction is awarded only to faculty members. Criteria for the honorary rank include: teaching performance of exceptional merit; extensive research and publication of unusually high quality; creative contributions to the administration and development of the university; and a record of professional conduct that indicates fair and ethical treatment of students and other members of the academic community.

The Fredericton campus will celebrate its 184th Encaenia with four ceremonies at the Richard J. CURRIE CENTER on May 29-30. For media interview requests, contact Natasha Ashfield.

The emeritus recipients

At Ceremony B on Wednesday, May 29, at 2:30 p.m. Dr. Terry Haggerty will be named professor emeritus in the faculty of kinesiology.  Dr. Haggerty served as dean for more than 16 years in two different faculties—kinesiology and Renaissance College.  He guided the development of the Richard J. CURRIE CENTER and was instrumental in establishing a joint MBA program with the faculty of business administration focusing on sport and recreation management.  He is also a founding member of both the North American Society of Sport Management and Leadership Fredericton.

At Ceremony C on Thursday, May 30, at 10 a.m., Dr. Vaughan Dickson will be named professor emeritus in the department of economics.  In his 37 years at UNB, Dr. Dickson contributed to UNB as a professor, supervisor and academic leader.  He’s also given significantly to his area of research by contributing to many highly respected national and international journals.  He was always known to take on a full course load year after year, which showed his strong sense of responsibility and passion for teaching. He served on many committees and in many leadership positions throughout his career including seven years as chair of his department and 22 years as director of undergraduate studies.

At Ceremony D on Thursday, May 30, at 2:30 p.m., Prof. Barry Bisson will be named professor emeritus in the faculty of engineering.  During Prof. Bisson's lengthy career at UNB's department of civil engineering he assumed several positions and served on many committees including coordinator of the department's Transportation Engineering Group and the J. Hebert Smith Chair in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (TME).  He served as an active member of UNB's Renewal Task Force and Renewal Process Design Team and the Renaissance College Steering Committee.  He's always been an active ambassador of UNB with the United Way Campaign, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists for the Province of New Brunswick and he is the president of Shad International.

Also at Ceremony D, on Thursday, May 30, at 2:30, the university will grant Dr. Richard J. Currie the honorary designation of chancellor emeritus. He is only the second chancellor to receive such a distinction, which speaks to the profound impact he has had on UNB and the lives of many of its students.