The University of New Brunswick has been at the forefront of kinesiology, physical education and recreation since 1957.
Dr. John Meagher was a visionary when he came to UNB in 1957 to establish Atlantic Canada’s first degree program in physical education, but even he probably could not imagine then how the field would grow and develop.
From a department to a faculty, from recreation to sports studies and management, from teaching and coaching to medical research, from physical education to kinesiology, from undergraduate to graduate degrees — each succeeding dean has led the expansion of the program over the past 60 years. More than 4,000 graduates have pursued successful careers in teaching, coaching, personal training, physical therapy, sports science, recreation, chiropractic, medicine and more.
Only one thing has not kept pace: the Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium (LBG), home of the Faculty of Kinesiology. The largest and best equipped east of Montreal when it opened in 1940, the LBG has not been able to accommodate the number of students and faculty, or the diversity of teaching and research activities, for some time.
Dreams of a new, well-planned building date back almost 20 years.
Those dreams are now becoming reality. With the support of the Strategic Infrastructure Fund of the federal government and the Province of New Brunswick, a new Kinesiology Building is rising on the Fredericton campus just across the road from the LBG.
This 60,000-square-foot, three-storey, purpose-built facility, slated to open in September 2018, has been designed with user input. It will bring students and faculty together as never before. Instead of attending classes all around the campus, our 580 undergraduate and 60 graduate students will take their courses in a central “home,” with many more opportunities for collaboration and interaction.
We are aiming to build a culture of creativity and innovation through the “Kinovation” space, designed to foster entrepreneurial endeavours in fitness, exercise and wellness. Our service to the community will be strengthened through features such as a teaching kitchen. Students will have many more experiential learning opportunities.
Research laboratories focused on occupational performance, motor control and learning, cardiometabolic health, and a centre for recreation and sport in society will be clustered to maximize cross-disciplinary study. New partnerships with organizations and businesses interested in health and wellness will be possible.
The new Kinesiology Building will be linked to the Richard J. CURRIE CENTER, the state-of-the-art recreational and varsity sports facility that opened in 2011 and includes the Andrew and Marjorie McCain Human Performance Laboratory.
Constructing a great space for the Faculty of Kinesiology is vitally important, but so is the quality of the facility itself. We are building to a new standard not seen before on the Fredericton campus.
The building is designed and built to achieve a Gold certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which requires sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, appropriate materials selection and indoor environmental quality. The building is also aimed at achieving a Silver certification from the International WELL Building Institute which is based on eight concepts that include light, fitness, physical and psychological comfort, and a built environment that reflects the values of the Faculty.
The new Kinesiology Building is currently one of only five applicants in North America for the WELL certification.
And, lest history be forgotten, a time capsule containing various memorabilia old and new has been placed inside the building. It will be opened in 2067 on Canada’s bicentenary and the faculty’s 110th anniversary.
The Kinesiology Building honours UNB’s six decades of excellence in fitness education and research. You are part of our story, and we want you to play a leadership role in shaping the future of our Faculty.
As graduates of the first professional physical education program in Atlantic Canada, UNB’s kinesiology alumni have defined sport and physical fitness in this region and across Canada. The success of our programs has been driven by some of the top wellness researchers and educators in Canada, beginning with John Meagher.
The Kinesiology Building at UNB will expand on this foundation of excellence, honouring those who have come before us by carrying their legacy into the future and ensuring that our faculty can have an even larger impact on wellness at the community and provincial levels. Government funding will cover 2/3 of the new building’s $36-million cost. We are asking all physical education and kinesiology graduates, and friends of the faculty, to help us raise $3 million toward the construction of the building.
There are a number of ways to support the new Kinesiology Building:
Once the new Kinesiology Building is opened in the fall, the Lady Beaverbrook Gym will be decommissioned. We are sorry to see it disappear from the campus after nearly 80 years, but its condition, maintenance requirements and operating costs are beyond our means to address. Much of the wood and some of the decorative features from the LBG will be included in the new building — along with all the composite pictures of the grad classes, of course. The area will be converted to green space.
Many would call Dr. John Meagher a force of nature. Invited by UNB President Colin B. Mackay to establish the first physical education degree program in Atlantic Canada in 1957, Dr. John was dedicated, energetic, demanding, passionate and highly effective. In addition to founding a respected physical education program — on which today’s diverse Faculty of Kinesiology is built — he was a terrific teacher, whose lectures were spellbinding.
He was sometimes called “the builder of New Brunswick’s sports builders” because the infrastructure he created allowed coaches, teachers and administrators to build sport in the province. Even in retirement he kept in touch with many of the 2,500 students whose lives he touched. He was named to the Order of New Brunswick in 2006 and inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
At UNB he was also the prime mover behind the building of the Aitken University Centre, served as executive assistant to President John Anderson, and was chair of the management committee of the $10-million Third Century Fund Campaign.
With the support of alumni and friends, and to commemorate his many contributions, a prominent teaching space in the new Kinesiology Building will be named in his honour.
A gift of $500 to the new Kinesiology Building will be recognized by a named seat in the new teaching auditorium.
Your gift can be made by a one-time gift, or by making multiple installments over the next five years.
| Schedule | Payment amount | Annual total | Total # payments | Total donation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $100 | $100 | 5 | $500 |
| Semi-Annual | $50 | $100 | 10 | $500 |
| Quarterly | $25 | $100 | 20 | $500 |
| Monthly* | $8.33 | $100 | 60 | $500 |
You can call (506) 458-7594 to make a gift in support of the Kinesiology Building at UNB Fredericton, or donate online.
Join us as we lead the next stage in Canada’s wellness revolution.
More about the It Begins Here campaign.
