History
Built in 1958 with funding provided by Maxwell Aitken A.K.A. Lord Beaverbrook, Aitken house was the second residence to be built on the UNB Fredericton campus.
In the Winter of 2007 UNB Residential Life & Conferencing Services decided that due to a lack of enrollment in residence, they would close Aitken House and attempt to sell it to the University to be turned into an academic building. Although the residence community had seen many buildings come and go throughout its lifetime, the residents and alumni of Aitken House were not ready to let it go without a fight. The majority of the residence community showed their support to keep Aitken House alive through painting red A's in their windows, flying banners, and attending meetings. There were also those who supported reslife's position and the campus newspaper's letters to the editor section was filled with controversy every week. Throughout the remainder of that academic year the supporters of Aitken appealed at many meetings to stop the sale of the house. But to their dismay they were unable to stop it along the way. It progressed all the way through to the UNB Board of Governor's (BOG) meeting, a step that is usually just a formality. Traditionally only the members of the BOG are allowed to be present during a meeting but they allowed the house to make a presentation as to why the residence building should be spared. As the members of the BOG entered the Wu Center for their meeting they were greeted by Aitken House residents and supporters mainly from other residences at UNB; all lined up beside each entrance. The meeting went on for hours and everyone went to wait for the final word back at Aitken House. For the first time in UNB BOG's history, a decision was overturned and the House was saved.
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