On April 9, 2025 the University of New Brunswick announced that the UNB Renaissance College was changing its name to the School of Leadership Studies. Dean of Leadership Studies Carol Nemeroff explained that the founders of the Renaissance College wanted to follow the lead of universities with satellite colleges like Oxford. The founders also hoped that “Renaissance” would bring to mind the interdisciplinary focus of Italian Renaissance thinkers. However, the name generated confusion for a quarter of a century, with many assuming that leadership studies was a diploma or community college program rather than bachelor’s degree program from an accredited university. The term “Renaissance” also often confused prospective students who assumed courses focused on fifteenth century Italian art. Carol and the other administrators involved in the name change hope that the School of Leadership Studies will more accurately reflect the programs offered through UNB’s Leadership Studies programs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

CORRECTION: This article originally misspelt Tracy Austin’s name. We have corrected it.

On April 17, 2025, the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD) hosted its annual fashion show. Serving as an end of year celebration and final showcase for the students in NBCCD’s Fashion Design Studio, this year’s fashion show featured additional alumni and a guest appearance from the hosts of an upcoming Bell Fibe TV show called “That Kind of Worked.” Tracy Austin, the head of NBCCD’s Fashion Design Studio, explained that previous shows feature five alumni who showcase a full line of clothing. This year’s show featured nine alumni showcasing comparatively smaller lines. This change was to accommodate more alumni participation and encourage alumni who might not have time in the daily lives to produce a full line specifically for NBCCD. Another change this year was the addition of Samantha and Rebecca, twin sisters and hosts of an upcoming Bell Fibe TV show called “That Kind of Worked.” The show follows the sisters to various locations where they compete against each other, completing tasks they have no prior experience doing. At NBCCD the twins attempted to make a skirt in the Fashion Design Studio. According to Tracy, the hosts did not do well, and both walked the runway in inflatable shark costumes as a punishment.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

From April 13 to April 16, 2025, the University of New Brunswick Student Union and the UNB Student Union Building administrators hosted Elections Canada to provide early polls to students on campus. Unlike recent elections, this year’s early voting period fell in the middle of UNB’s exams. UNBSU President Drashtant Varma noted that the voter turnout at the advanced polls was much lower than the previous federal election in 2019 (which occurred in October, outside of the exam period).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

With the Canadian Federal Election coming up on Monday, April 28th, all sectors of society are pushing for increased voter turnout.

Warren Maddox, the Executive Director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc., explained the steps his shelters take to ensure that residents who might not have a traditional permanent address are still eligible to vote.

Warren and the other shelter staff believe it’s important to ensure that residents have all the support and options necessary to contribute to Canadian democracy.

Warren also explained how shelter resident’s priorities might differ from other voters, noting that many are focused on day-to-day living. A primary concern among shelter residents is stability.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

Several advocacy groups and not-for-profits that support low-income and homeless Frederictonians share common concerns going into the election. The most prominent concern shared by these groups was housing affordability and availability. Nichola Taylor, the Chair of ACORN NB, noted that leaving almost all housing in the city to private sector landlords causes higher rents and exploitative practices. Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick CEO Perry Kendall explained that the increasing cost of construction also restricts new affordable housing units. Finally, Warren Maddox, the Executive Director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc. predicted significant cuts to federal programming and emphasized that voters should pay attention to who will cut funding from which programs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

From March 20 to April 24, the Fredericton Public Library hosted its first “Cine-Kids Screenwriting Club” for children aged 10 to 13 years old. This six week program was the newest offering from the extremely popular “Cine-Kids Program” which started in April of 2024. Michelle Lovegrove-Thomson, the Children’s Librarian at the Fredericton Public Library, explained that the initial Cine-Kids program in 2024 was supported by a GLAM (Galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) Incubator grant out of the University of Toronto. The Cine-Kids program continued through the summer and fall of 2024 offering a foley (sound design) workshop and a Super 8 film workshop. After covering several topics in 2024, this newest workshop focuses on screenwriting specifically. Michelle noted that she chose screenwriting because of her own expertise, and because it meant she did not have to hire an outside expert—keeping the workshop free for families to enjoy. The workshop series was so successful that Michelle is now figuring out how to create a package to share the program with other libraries in New Brunswick and the rest of Canada.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

In January of 2025, the University of New Brunswick’s Radio and Space Physics Lab (RSPL) published ground breaking research that determined that low-cost global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers collected data comparable in quality to high-cost receivers. Dr. Anton Kashcheyev explained that GNSS receivers send and receive frequencies to satellites through the earth’s atmosphere that are most often used for global positioning systems (GPS). Scientists also use GNSS receivers to monitor changes in the ionosphere, which is a part of the atmosphere from 80 kilometers to 1000 kilometers above the earth’s surface. Changes in the ionosphere affect the accuracy of GPSs, so understanding and predicting the ionosphere makes GPSs and other devices that rely on GNSS more effective. Scientific grade GNSS receivers are expensive and inaccessible to scientists without large research budgets. Anton and scientists from the RSPL created a network of consumer grade, low-cost receivers by installing them on the roofs of public schools around New Brunswick. The RSPL then observed changes in the Ionosphere during the 2024 eclipse and compared that data to data collected by scientific grade equipment, finding that both had similar levels of accuracy. Anton hopes that this research will allow increased access to atmospheric science for scientists in countries and institutions with small research budgets.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

On Monday, March 31, 2025, roughly thirty people held up signs and yelled chants outside of the Capital Exhibition Centre in Fredericton. The protest was in response to Pierre Poilievre’s Canada First Rally, the first of its kind on the East Coast. After about forty-five minutes of protesting at the venue’s side entrance, the Fredericton Police Force closed the doors. Protesters and rally attendees moved to the front entrance, where a handful of people were admitted, until police closed the front doors as well. Confusion ensued over the reason for closing the doors, with rally attendees accusing protesters of blocking cars, something not witnessed by this reporter.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

On Thursday, March 27, 2025, La Fédération des jeunes francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick (FJFNB), an organization that advocates for youth francophone rights and culture in New Brunswick, delivered an open letter to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. The letter demanded that New Brunswick MLAs begin discussing the possibility of lowering the voting age in the province from 18 to 16. In a show of solidarity, several students from Fredericton’s Ecole Sainte Anne helped deliver the letter. Ecole Sainte Anne Student Council President, Romane Doucet said that students at her school held a meeting to discuss a lowered voting age, during which it was clear that the majority of students supported the potential change. The supporters of the open letter reason that sixteen and seventeen year old New Brunswickers already participate in most areas of public life (driving, paying taxes, joining the military, etc.) but cannot participate directly in politics. After starting the conversation with this open letter, FJFNB President Emma Raphaelle said the next step is to go into Fredericton’s Anglophone schools to continue giving high schoolers a voice in provincial politics.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

Earlier this month, Fredericton based historian and former president of the York-Sunbury Historical Society, Harold “Hal” Skaarup began distributing his newest book, Canadian Expeditionary Force and Military Cap Badges: York Sunbury Historical Society Fredericton Region Museum Collection.

This new release is over one-thousand pages and catalogues every cap (hat) badge worn by the Canadian military during the First World War, the majority of which were photographed from the Fredericton Region Museum’s collection.

Skaarup hopes that this book will serve as a resource for museums, archives, and enthusiasts to better understand and connect with the past. He also invited interested community members to visit the Fredericton Region Museum to take a look at its reference copy and potentially see the real badges in the Museum’s collection.

Hal Skaarup talked to CHSR News about the significance of cap badges and why he thought it important to create this book.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More

In March 2025, Employment and Social Development Canada announced that the Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) program would not be renewed after its five year pilot.

Starting in 2019, GSO was established to provide federal grants to Canadian university students participating in international study programs. The program was allotted a five year pilot, at which point the government would review and determine if it would continue. The end of the pilot came in December 2024, and in March 2025 the program was not renewed.

The University of New Brunswick utilized GSO funding to support short term study abroad programs—generally lasting several weeks in the summer (as opposed to long term study abroad semesters). St. Thomas University also used GSO funding to support students.

Esme Newling, STU’s Director of Experiential Learning and Career Development, noted that the end of GSO funding will significantly limit the number of students that participate in study abroad programs at STU—particularly low income students.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS | More