The UPEI Biology Department invites the campus community to a research seminar on Thursday, August 31, 2023.  Dr. Emma Ladouceur, Postdoctoral Researcher, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, will present “Disturbance, regeneration, and the restoration of ecological communities.” Dr. Ladouceur is a candidate for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Biology.

Fall fitness programming including specialty fitness classes and small group training is now open for registrations at recreation.upei.ca. Available are small group training (six in a class),  barre fitness, kettlebell circuit, mat pilates with props, and yoga. 

Membership fitness classes for those who have purchased a Sports Centre membership will begin the week of September 11. Classes include Abs&Glutes, Circuit Training, Just Dance, Pilates Yoga Fusion, and Zumba.

For information about pricing (specialty and small group training) and registration instructions, please visit https://www.upei.ca/ar/fitness-classes

The UPEI Fitness Centre will be closed on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm for staff training. Go to https://www.upei.ca/ar/athletic-facilities/chi-wan-young-sports-centre/hours for holiday and closure hours as well as semester hours.

Dr. Greg Keefe, interim president and vice-chancellor invites all employees to the "Welcome Back Appreciation Barbeque" for Faculty and Staff on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, from 11:30 am–1:30 pm in the quad in front of SDU Main Building. All are welcome to gather and get recharged for the fall semester! There will be door prizes and swag giveaways! Hope to see you there!

The McCall MacBain Scholarships bring together exceptional students who strive to engage in positive change by taking on meaningful leadership roles. McCall MacBain Scholars connect with mentors and participate in an interdisciplinary leadership program while pursuing a fully funded master’s or professional degree at McGill University. Applications are now open for September 2024 admission, and students have until September 27, 2023, to submit their applications. Information sessions for interested applicants can be found at https://apply.mccallmacbainscholars.org/register/?id=9c425f80-1d39-4d15-a7fe-db306e2888b9.

Up to 30 full scholarships as well as 100 entrance awards from $5,000 and $10,000 will be granted for 2024 to candidates who demonstrate exceptional character, community engagement, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, academic strength, and intellectual curiosity. Two-thirds of these scholarships are for Canadian students, and one-third for international students. Interested students are encouraged to visit the webpage for more information: https://mccallmacbainscholars.org/.

The next deadline for submitting biosafety applications, including new applications, renewals, and/or amendments, is Friday, September 1, 2023. These applications will be reviewed at the September 21 meeting.

All research compliance applications, including biosafety application forms, must be submitted through the UPEI  Researcher Portal. Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Research Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal, or about the biosafety application, review, and approval process.

Research Ethics Board (REB) applications involving "more than minimal risk" must be reviewed by the full UPEI REB. The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday, September 1, 2023, for review at the September meeting.

Other ethics protocol submissions, including new applications that do not involve more than minimal risk, renewals, and amendments, may be submitted at any time. They will be sent for delegated review as soon as all necessary materials are received.

All research compliance applications, including for REB, must be submitted through the UPEI Researcher Portal (https://upei.researchservicesoffice.com/Romeo.Researcher/). Instructions for using the site are available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca for more information about the Researcher Portal, or the REB application, review, and approval process.

Dr. Shannon Murray, professor of English, has been awarded the 2022 Christopher Knapper Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STHLE). This is one of the highest honours awarded in Canada recognizing superior contributions to teaching and learning in higher education. Dr. Murray is well-known to our campus community as a phenomenal teacher, generous mentor, and much-valued colleague. We want to celebrate her achievement by naming an annual lecture after her, and reflecting a theme central to her published work, teaching, and character: hope. And the time is right to remind ourselves, as an academic community, of the essential role that hope must play in our collective future.

Please join us on the final day of NSO and the afternoon before the first classes of the semester to listen and reflect on the importance of hope and the academy, focus our minds on the year ahead, and honour Dr. Murray's remarkable achievement.

https://www.upei.ca/communications/news/2022/07/upei-faculty-member-awarded-christopher-knapper-lifetime-achievement

https://www.stlhe.ca/award_winners/2022-christopher-knapper-awardee-2/

The SSHRC Exchange Publication Awards support the publication of manuscripts, written or edited by UPEI faculty, by Island Studies Press (ISP). These awards are being funded by a SSHRC Institutional Grant; therefore, the subject matter of the publication must be compatible with SSHRC’s mandate (see http://science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_FEE7261A.html for more information). One (1) award is available for 2023.

The award of $7,000 will be disbursed to Island Studies Press to cover publication costs, including editing, photo and other permissions, design, printing, marketing, and other costs associated with publishing a book. Authors will be offered ISP’s standard publication contract, which ensures authorial copyright and includes a royalty structure. Authors will also see their manuscripts reviewed through a peer-review process where appropriate.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Eligible applicants must be tenured, tenure-track, term, or sessional UPEI faculty, who are employed by UPEI at the time of application.
• Manuscripts may be single- or multi-authored results of academic research projects; textbooks; edited proceedings of a conference; or works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or drama that pertain to the author(s)' discipline.
• The subject matter of the manuscript must meet SSHRC’s mandate.
• Past recipients of the SSHRC Exchange Publication Award or UPEI Internal Publication Award cannot apply for support for the previously funded manuscript.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1, 2023

Submit documents electronically to Research Services, researchservices@upei.ca.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Applicants are to submit a package that includes

• book proposal/summary (maximum of one page)
• a completed or close-to-complete manuscript and a table of contents. Note: the manuscript must be completed no later than three months after winning the award
• a curriculum vitae that includes your credentials as author(s)/editor(s)
• two letters of support (e.g., from your department chair, dean, professional association)

Selection Committee: A selection committee comprised of the chair of the executive committee of the Institute of Island Studies, plus two members of the ISP publishing committee, will assess the proposals and make a recommendation to the Associate Vice-President Research. The managing editor of the ISP will be a member of the committee in a non-voting capacity.

To assist in making its recommendations, the selection committee will use a single-blind peer review of the submitted manuscript. Final decisions on publication remain with the Island Studies Press and the Institute of Island Studies.

Reporting: A copy of the book, along with a narrative outlining the publication process – prepared in collaboration with staff at Island Studies Press – must be submitted when the book is complete.

Previous recipients of the UPEI Internal Publication Awards include Lori Mayne, Department of English; Dr. Laurie Brinklow, Institute of Island Studies; Dr. Linyuan Guo-Brennan, Faculty of Education; and Dr. Josh MacFadyen, Faculty of Arts.

For more information on the publication awards program, contact Dr. Laurie Brinklow at brinklow@upei.ca or 902-894-2881.

As stated in a message issued to the campus community by the UPEI Presidential Search Committee on August 2, 2023, the presidential search is now in the consultation phase, which will run until September. 

Members of the UPEI community—faculty, staff, students, and the broader community—are invited to complete a confidential, anonymous online survey to provide input into the development of the candidate profile for the president and vice-chancellor role. The survey, which can be accessed at https://eu.surveymonkey.com/r/NXHSKRH, will be open until September 8, 2023. 

The survey is one option offered to the UPEI community by the search committee to provide their input during the consultation period. Other options will include written submissions, and virtual and/or in-person group meetings with some key stakeholder groups such as the University Senate, UPEI Student Union, support staff, union executives, and direct reports within the Office of the President. Please visit the Consultation Phase page on the Presidential Search website to learn more: https://www.upei.ca/presidentialsearch/consultation-phase

The UPEI office of Student Affairs (5th floor Dalton Hall) will close at 2:00 pm on Monday, August 28, for a staff meeting. The office will re-open on Tuesday, August 29, at 8:30 am.

To submit an inquiry or to book an appointment with Student Affairs, please email studentserv@upei.ca. Messages received during the closure will be replied to as soon as possible.

UPEI and ACENET are pleased to announce that Kaitlin Newson has joined the ACENET team as a research consultant.

Based at UPEI, Kaitlin will support researchers and their teams in the use of the digital research tools available through ACENET and its national partner, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. These include high-performance and cloud computing, large file storage and transfer, and research data management. Kaitlin will work with clients both new and experienced in using these tools throughout the lifecycle of their projects, helping with problems small and large. She will also deliver workshops that teach the skills necessary to use digital research tools effectively.

While based at UPEI, Kaitlin is also able to tap into ACENET’s other research consultants when needed, each with their own specialties, including cloud, big data, molecular dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, humanities and social sciences, cybersecurity, and machine learning.

Kaitlin joined ACENET from Scholars Portal, where. as the Digital Projects Librarian, she supported research data management, scholarly publishing, and web services for Canadian university libraries. She was also chair of the Public Knowledge Project’s Documentation Interest Group. Kaitlin has a Master of Information degree from the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Computer Coding from Toronto Metropolitan University, and she is a certified Carpentries instructor.

If you would like to discuss your digital research needs with Kaitlin, drop by her office at room 261 in Robertson Library, or email kaitlin.newson@ace-net.ca.

The next deadline for submitting biosafety applications, including new applications, renewals, and/or amendments, is Friday, September 1, 2023. These applications will be reviewed at the September 21 meeting.

All research compliance applications, including biosafety application forms, must be submitted through the UPEI  Researcher Portal. Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Research Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal, or about the biosafety application, review, and approval process.

Research Ethics Board (REB) applications involving "more than minimal risk" must be reviewed by the full UPEI REB. The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday, September 1, 2023, for review at the September meeting.

Other ethics protocol submissions, including new applications that do not involve more than minimal risk, renewals, and amendments, may be submitted at any time. They will be sent for delegated review as soon as all necessary materials are received.

All research compliance applications, including for REB, must be submitted through the UPEI Researcher Portal (https://upei.researchservicesoffice.com/Romeo.Researcher/). Instructions for using the site are available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca for more information about the Researcher Portal, or the REB application, review, and approval process.

The UPEI Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) department has moved to AVC 4th floor South (428S). When you come in the main entrance of AVC, head right toward ITSS and turn left to take the South stairs or elevator to the fourth floor. If you require elevator access, please give us a call at (902) 566-0901 or (902) 213-3183. This is a temporary measure. All contact information for HSE remains the same so you may continue to email hse@upei.ca or call the staff (check out the UPEI HSE website for individual contacts). You can also come see our new location.

The UPEI Department of Biology invites the campus community to a research seminar on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at 1:30 pm in the Duffy Science Centre, Room 204.  Dr. Catherine Ivy, NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, Western University, will present "Breathing and oxygen sensing in challenging environments." Dr. Ivy is a candidate for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Biology.

The SSHRC Exchange Publication Awards support the publication of manuscripts, written or edited by UPEI faculty, by Island Studies Press (ISP). These awards are being funded by a SSHRC Institutional Grant; therefore, the subject matter of the publication must be compatible with SSHRC’s mandate (see http://science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_FEE7261A.html for more information). One (1) award is available for 2023.

The award of $7,000 will be disbursed to Island Studies Press to cover publication costs, including editing, photo and other permissions, design, printing, marketing, and other costs associated with publishing a book. Authors will be offered ISP’s standard publication contract, which ensures authorial copyright and includes a royalty structure. Authors will also see their manuscripts reviewed through a peer-review process where appropriate.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Eligible applicants must be tenured, tenure-track, term, or sessional UPEI faculty, who are employed by UPEI at the time of application.
• Manuscripts may be single- or multi-authored results of academic research projects; textbooks; edited proceedings of a conference; or works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or drama that pertain to the author(s)' discipline.
• The subject matter of the manuscript must meet SSHRC’s mandate.
• Past recipients of the SSHRC Exchange Publication Award or UPEI Internal Publication Award cannot apply for support for the previously funded manuscript.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1, 2023

Submit documents electronically to Research Services, researchservices@upei.ca.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Applicants are to submit a package that includes

• book proposal/summary (maximum of one page)
• a completed or close-to-complete manuscript and a table of contents. Note: the manuscript must be completed no later than three months after winning the award
• a curriculum vitae that includes your credentials as author(s)/editor(s)
• two letters of support (e.g., from your department chair, dean, professional association)

Selection Committee: A selection committee comprised of the chair of the executive committee of the Institute of Island Studies, plus two members of the ISP publishing committee, will assess the proposals and make a recommendation to the Associate Vice-President Research. The managing editor of the ISP will be a member of the committee in a non-voting capacity.

To assist in making its recommendations, the selection committee will use a single-blind peer review of the submitted manuscript. Final decisions on publication remain with the Island Studies Press and the Institute of Island Studies.

Reporting: A copy of the book, along with a narrative outlining the publication process – prepared in collaboration with staff at Island Studies Press – must be submitted when the book is complete.

Previous recipients of the UPEI Internal Publication Awards include Lori Mayne, Department of English; Dr. Laurie Brinklow, Institute of Island Studies; Dr. Linyuan Guo-Brennan, Faculty of Education; and Dr. Josh MacFadyen, Faculty of Arts.

For more information on the publication awards program, contact Dr. Laurie Brinklow at brinklow@upei.ca or 902-894-2881.

New Student Orientation (NSO) is set to take place the first week of September!

NSO provides the opportunity for new students to get familiar with the campus through various events, activities and information sessions.

We hope to provide an eventful NSO that will leave lasting impressions on the new students and show them what it means to be a Panther!

With the recent release of the Rubin Thomlinson report, the University has coordinated two new confidential processes to support faculty and staff who have experienced harm from harassment, sexual violence, or discrimination at UPEI.

Confidential personal counselling

The UPEI Health and Wellness Centre has engaged a psychologist, who is bilingual (English and French), to meet individually with faculty and staff Tuesday and Wednesday mornings throughout the summer.

Employees may email Caylin Jenkins at cbjenkins@upei.ca, indicating “Appointment required” in the subject line. Caylin will coordinate their appointment with the psychologist and confirm the location of the appointment.

Making a confidential disclosure

People have asked about the process for making disclosures of incidents of harassment or discrimination by senior executive members of the University. The University has established an independent third-party process to address any such issues with Resonance Inc., a multidisciplinary human resources firm, based in Saint John, NB, that specializes in workplace assessments. The contact person at Resonance is Trisha Perry, who may be reached at tperry@resonanceinc.ca or (506)799-0412.

The Scholarships and Awards Office is accepting applications for the 1st Semester (Fall) Award Cycle!

Students can now access the Scholarship and Award Application portal by clicking the link provided here or in the UPEI Forms section of their MyUPEI account. Students are encouraged to review the four-step instructions and submit their electronic application through the portal by the October 1, 2023, deadline to be considered for over 100 scholarships and awards.

Not only can students apply to numerous awards through the Scholarship and Award Application portal, but there are also dozens of awards with a separate application process conveniently listed on the 1st Semester (Fall) Award Cycle webpage. Deadlines for the separate application awards vary across the Fall semester, and awards are listed beneath their deadline month. Be sure to click the links, review the award criteria, and submit in time for the deadline.

If you have questions about the application processes, award criteria, or deadlines, please contact scholarships@upei.ca or visit us in Dalton Hall, room 202. Best of luck to all who apply!