After more than 40 years of fundraising, the Beaverbrook Scholars Award has reached $4 million in total donations.
The gift that pushed the fund over the $4-million mark was made by the family of the late Dr. James (Jim) King, who was a Beaverbrook Entrance Scholar in 1950 and a Postgraduate Overseas Scholar in 1957. Jim passed away in August 2023.
Jim came to UNB very sure of his future as a chemist, and here he found a world-class department of chemistry. After completing his bachelor of science and PhD at UNB, Jim went on to postdoctoral work with future Nobel laureates at both Imperial College London and Harvard University. He ultimately spent his career in the department of chemistry at Western University, continuing his work as professor emeritus after his retirement in 1999. “Chemistry was more than a job for Jim; it was really a vocation,” says his wife, Diane King.
The family’s $50,000 gift was made because it was always important to Jim to give back.
“When we met, we both realized we were each regularly giving money to our alma maters,” Diane says. They continued these gifts throughout their marriage because they believed in the transformative potential of education.
“Giving to UNB — I had always assumed we would do that in some way,” says Diane. “I think Jim would have approved.”
