Impact of Giving
ALUMNI NEWS MAGAZINE | Summer 2022
The late George Doherty was as passionate about New Brunswick as he was about growing its digital economy. So, when his family considered how best to honour his memory, a scholarship with the McKenna Institute was a perfect fit.
The George F. Doherty Scholarship, supported by a $75,000 endowment established by the family, will award $2,500 a year to a computer science student on the Fredericton campus. Selection is based on academic achievement, financial need, and demonstration of entrepreneurial spirit. Part of the newly established McKenna Scholars Program, the first award will be granted in fall 2022.
The McKenna Scholars Program is an integral part of the McKenna Institute’s mandate for a greatly expanded and even more engaged faculty of computer science. McKenna Scholars will form a community of students that acts as a catalyst for economic growth while accelerating talent and ideas in a digital New Brunswick.
George Doherty’s career began in the military, from which he retired in the early 1980s at the rank of lieutenant-colonel. It was after retirement that his love for entrepreneurship blossomed. Alongside his fellow advocates for New Brunswick’s potential, such as Frank McKenna (LLB’74, LLD’88), Francis McGuire (DLitt’17), and Gerry Pond (BA’66, DLitt ’04), he set about cultivating an ecosystem of entrepreneurialism and economic growth in his home province.
George was focused on building a budding digital sector in New Brunswick, establishing e-learning company Electronically Enhanced Education (E3) in the late 1980s, followed by Performx, which held contracts with major national clients including Air Canada and the Department of National Defence. At a time when New Brunswick’s economy was focused more on call centres than a digital future, George saw a potential few others did.
George’s son Joel Doherty (BBA’94) says that George and Frank McKenna were so similarly focused in their hopes for New Brunswick that when presented with the opportunity to establish this award, the family didn’t hesitate. “He and Frank hit it off famously because they both wanted to see new economic growth, they both had a penchant for new digital economies,” says Joel. “We wanted to memorialize the work he’d done and what was important to him. So, when the McKenna Institute was announced, the match was perfect.”
Photo: Denyse and Joel Doherty
IMPACT OF GIVING
Habib Dable (BBA’91, MBA’94) establishes prestigious scholarship to honour his father's entrepreneurial spirit.
IN MEMORIAM
Remembering two former UNB presidents and the legacies they left behind.
