Establishment of a Centre for Best Practices - ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù and the Office of the Child, Youth, and Seniors’ Advocate Launch Public Policy and Outreach Partnership
²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù President Dr. Nauman Farooqi and  Kelly Lamrock announced a new partnership to establish a Centre for Best Practices at St. Thomas University.
The Centre will focus on advancing policy and advocacy work on critical issues faced by children, seniors, and vulnerable adults in the province, and build New Brunswick's capacity for sound public administration of social programs.
"St. Thomas University constantly seeks to foster greater societal engagement based on the scholarly work of our faculty and the contributions of well-educated and engaged students and graduates. With this new partnership agreement, we can contribute more to areas related to children, youth, and seniors," said Dr. Farooqi.
The agreement will engage faculty and other experts in steering committees for systemic reviews, contributions to public policy, information forums, and the development of Challenge and Call to Action Papers for the Centre for Best Practices. Additionally, the partnership will organize public events such as policy symposiums, public lectures, issue forums, and policy training sessions.
"This is the result of years of hard work in the Advocate's Office with the idea that we want to be a partner in government in finding better ways to serve children, seniors, and vulnerable adults. This is an opportunity to not only be proactive, it also, I hope, will become a beacon for students at St. Thomas that aspire to public service," said Lamrock.
The new collaboration, facilitated through ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù's Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy, will leverage the university’s academic expertise, outreach capabilities, and experiential learning opportunities to align with the policy priorities and the Centre for Best Practices' "Three Challenges" initiative.
"²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù has been an innovative leader in ensuring that there are work experience programs and courses that inspire students to think not only about what's in their books but how it affects the world around them. I cannot think of a better time than under a president whose leadership has been about entrepreneurial education to marry the idea of entrepreneurial public service," added Lamrock.
The new Centre for Best Practices will offer training and workshops on issues affecting vulnerable populations in NB and will provide resources and support for individuals involved in policy development and implementation.
Opening of the Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy 
The Honorable Frank McKenna attended the announcement, which coincided with the official opening of the new space on campus housing The Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy.  It was made possible by the generous gift of Frank McKenna and his wife, Julie McKenna. The $1-million endowment established in 2014 also provides student scholarships and funding for activities that engage ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù members and wider communities. 
“Having a Centre created in my honour is something I’m proud to be associated with. It was the first investment our family made in public policy, and it’s one that I will always continue to support because of the integrity that we felt was brought to its mission,” said McKenna.