UNB alumni are innovators, connectors and mentors. Many of them dedicate their time and resources to making life easier for others. We’re taking our hats off to a few of them who have been honoured by their faculties, communities and the country.
As one of Canada’s highest civilian accreditations, the Order of Canada honours the outstanding achievement and contribution of individuals from various sectors whose dedication to the community and service to the nation has helped shaped our society. This year’s announcement included 103 appointments.
Roxanne Fairweather (DLitt’18) is the co-CEO and co-owner of Innovatia Inc., a knowledge management company, located in Saint John, NB. Fairweather was invested as a member of the order for her commitment to advancing research and innovation and for creating new and sustainable economic opportunities in Atlantic Canada.
In addition to the Order of Canada, Fairweather has been inducted to the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame and was selected as one of the Atlantic Region’s 50 most accomplished business executives three times by Atlantic Business Magazine. She was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Atlantic region by Ernst & Young in 2013 and was appointed to the Order of New Brunswick in 2014.
Francis Pang (DLitt’01) is the former chairman of the Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada and is the chairman of the Canadian International School of Hefei. Pang was named member of the order for his commitment to developing a co-operative education framework between Canadian and Chinese post-secondary institutions. In 2016, he was instrumental in assisting UNB in establishing its recruitment office in Beijing, China, housed at the Canadian International School of Beijing. It was the first Atlantic university recruitment office to open its doors in China.
Lyse Doucet (DLitt’06) is a world-renowned journalist and the chief international correspondent and contributing editor for BBC. She was invested as a member for her journalistic integrity and her achievements as an international broadcasting correspondent and presenter.
In 2010, the National Association of Broadcasters awarded Doucet the coveted Peabody Award. Doucet was appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2014 for her services to British journalism. In 2017, she was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award for her body of work that has led to better understanding and increased prospects for peace.
A graduate from UNB’s inaugural nurse practitioner program in 2003, Kelly Dunfield (MN'03, C-NP'03) is the first recipient of this the Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award, which recognizes “exceptional practice, professional advocacy and leadership.”
Dunfield has more than 28 years of health care experience as an emergency room nurse manager, occupational health nurse, and quality risk manager. She has a primary health care practice with more than 1,200 patients and is the founder of Be Ready Healthcare Inc., a company dedicated to making communities safer for those who suffer from anaphylaxis and opioid overdoses by educating the public on how to respond to these life-threatening conditions, while waiting for emergency personnel. Along with her husband John, it is her mission to make publicly available epinephrine auto-injectors and naloxone commonplace.
Dunfield has achieved various academic and community service awards including J&J Nursing Student Leadership for Canada, an award for leadership in health care innovation. She is past chair of the Suicide Prevention Committee, is a founding member and past-first president of the Nurse Practitioners of New Brunswick and served on the Sussex Area Community Foundation board.
At their annual awards dinners, the faculties of business administration and computer science on the Fredericton campus recognized alumni who are making an impact in their professions and in their communities. Brian Johnson and John Craig received certificates of achievement from the faculty of business administration; and Andrea Mills received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the faculty of computer science. The faculty of engineering added Gururaj ‘Desh’ Deshpande (MScEng’75, DSc’01) to its wall of fame during a ceremony in India.
John Craig (BBA’74) is the CEO of Craig Manufacturing Ltd., which manufactures heavy construction equipment and attachments. He has been at the helm of his family's business since becoming president in 1985. As president, he inspired the creation of an entirely new product line for Craig Manufacturing - excavator attachments. This new product line would eventually grow to become 40 per cent of the company’s business. Craig also created a new division, focused on advanced high tolerance machined component parts.
In May 2005, a fire destroyed the company and immediately Craig began rebuilding his family’s company. The new state of the art facility, comprising 71,000 sq. ft., opened later that year. Craig has also established branch locations in Cambridge, ON., and in Blackfalds, AB, with another under construction in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
During his career, Craig has supported the community in many areas especially those focused on youth and charities. He served on Hartland town council and was the president of the Hartland, NB, Business Association for many years and was a member on the board of directors of the Road Builders Association of New Brunswick, where he initiated the annual fundraising to benefit the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Brian Johnson (BBA’78) is president and owner of Kingswood Ventures Inc., Golfco Inc., Kingswood Hospitality Inc., CS Kingswood Limited Partnership Inc. His record of community service is extensive. He has served for 18 years as president of the UNB Reds men’s hockey team, is a major financial supporter of athletics at UNB and provides a full scholarship to a UNB hockey player. He established the Kingswood Turnaround Achievement Award, now in its 25th year, which honours students who have turned their lives around. This award has provided over $400,000 in scholarships to over 1,000 students in 22 schools in the Fredericton region.
Johnson has been recognized for his contributions to his community with several awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award for Unparalleled Community Service, a citation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Spirit of the Game Award from Hockey Canada. He was recognized by Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and is recipient of several other awards, including the Paul Harris Fellow Rotary International Award; the NB Foundation J.D. Irving Arts Award; the Canadian Museum Association of Canada Outstanding Achievement in Philanthropy Award; the Premiers Award for Disability Awareness, the Canadian University Hockey CIS Executive of the Year Award; the Fredericton Chamber Excellence Award; and the Brendon Oreto Award.
Andrea Mills (BScCS'85, BBA’86) began her education at UNB Saint John and moved to the Fredericton campus to finish her degree. She worked as a programmer and trainer with Reuters before joining EDS Canada in 1995. She held several positions with EDS, including a decade in business operations and resource practice leadership. HP purchased EDS in 2008 and Andrea witnessed several corporate evolutions, including the one that created DXC Technology in 2017.
Since 2007, Mills has played a pivotal role as a senior business analyst assigned to a Government of Canada program that modernized the systems paying pension benefits to retired members of the public service, RCMP and Canadian Armed Forces. Mills credits her former UNB professor Rodney Cooper with planting the seed that led to decades of supporting UNB.
Desh Deshpande (MScEng'75) is the president and chairman of Sparta Group LLC and chairman of Tejas Networks. He has also been involved either as the founder, a founding investor or chairman of several companies, including Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks, Coral Networks, Tejas Networks, Cimaron, Webdialogs, Airvana, Sandstone Capital, A123 Systems and Curata.
He is a trustee of the Deshpande Foundation, along with his wife Jaishree, with a mission to strengthen ecosystems that create significant social and economic impact through entrepreneurship and innovation. He serves as a life-member of the MIT Corporation, and his support has made possible MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation.
The Deshpande Foundation has supported the work of hundreds of emerging entrepreneurs by the setup of five other centers around the world, including the Pond-Deshpande Centre at UNB, which focuses on merging technological innovation and social innovation.
