The Don and Marion McDougall Hall reserved parking lot and the perimeter road from the University Avenue entrance to the McDougall Hall reserved parking lot will be open Friday, August 25, 2017. The contractor will be on site during the early evening of Friday, August 25 to place a skim coat of asphalt over the entrance and exit areas of the parking lot gate. This will not have any impact on users of the parking lot.

The seven (7) new parking stalls in the Small Animal Hospital parking lot will also be open on Friday, August 25.

The contractor is currently working on repairing and patching several areas of existing asphalt around campus.

This schedule is weather dependent and could change; updates will be provided if changes occur. While the contractor has been instructed that the work should be executed with the least possible disruption to the campus community, a certain amount is inevitable. Your patience and understanding is appreciated as we proceed with these projects.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jackie MacPhail at 902-566-6034 or jmacphail@upei.ca.

Join us August 30, from 10:00 am to noon in the Faculty Lounge of SDU Main Building for the launch of UPEI's Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture program.

The Applied Communication, Leadership and Culture program explicitly connects the communication skills and leadership training of a Liberal Arts education to successful post-graduation employment. This program is defined by its focus on the transferability of the written, oral and visual communication skills, the critical thinking, and the cultural awareness acquired during a Liberal Arts education to the world beyond academia. Technical skills, work-integrated learning (internships, cooperatives, workplace-generated projects), and career- related mentoring are key components of its design.

All are welcome!

The Faculty Development Office invites you to UPEI's annual Let’s Talk Teaching Day on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 in the Heath Sciences Building Rm. 104 at 11:30.

This year's topics examine the rapidly changing student body at UPEI, and how classrooms are more diverse than they were 10 years ago. Do we have a responsibility to know that — and address it: in short, to "size up our classrooms?" If so, how do we take those changes into consideration in our classes? In curriculum and content? In delivery and classroom practices? In assessment and evaluation exercises? In classroom discussions and expectations of student and faculty behaviours?

We will discuss these topics in large and small groups, with the goal of ending the day with a wider conception of what an “inclusive classroom” might look like and how we might work toward it. Please come at 11:30 for pizza; after lunch, we will get down to work and aim to finish somewhere around 4:00. We look forward to seeing you – all faculty and staff are welcome!

Questions my be directed to Gerald Wandio at fdo@upei.ca or (902) 620-5217.

Dr. Leo Dana, Candidate for a Canada 150 Research Chair, will present and take questions on a documentary film he produced for the Greenland Film Festival entitled, "Sustainable Self-Employment Among the Sami: Why do they Stay in Low-Profit Enterprise?" This film tells the story of the economic struggles of the self-employed indigenous Sami reindeer herders from Norway.

All are welcome to attend on August 31, from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon, in Rm. 246 McDougall Hall, admission is free!

The Faculty Development Office invites you to UPEI's annual Let’s Talk Teaching Day on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 in the Heath Sciences Building Rm. 104 at 11:30.

This year's topics examine the rapidly changing student body at UPEI, and how classrooms are more diverse than they were 10 years ago. Do we have a responsibility to know that — and address it: in short, to "size up our classrooms?" If so, how do we take those changes into consideration in our classes? In curriculum and content? In delivery and classroom practices? In assessment and evaluation exercises? In classroom discussions and expectations of student and faculty behaviours?

We will discuss these topics in large and small groups, with the goal of ending the day with a wider conception of what an “inclusive classroom” might look like and how we might work toward it. Please come at 11:30 for pizza; after lunch, we will get down to work and aim to finish somewhere around 4:00. We look forward to seeing you – all faculty and staff are welcome!

Questions my be directed to Gerald Wandio at fdo@upei.ca or (902) 620-5217.

There will be a total water shutdown of the domestic hot and cold water in Memorial Hall and the Chaplaincy Centre on Saturday, August 26, beginning at 7:30 am. This shutdown is necessary as part of the Memorial Hall Level One renovations. The work is expected to take approximately 9 hours to complete.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience.

If you have questions or concerns please contact Jackie MacPhail at jmacphail@upei.ca or 902-566-6034.

The Human Resource Department is requesting that all outstanding Tuition Waiver forms for the Fall 2017 Semester (September – December) be submitted immediately, as the deadline has passed.

When completing the form, please include all of the required information in Section 1 (Course name, time, start and end date, cost and the number of semester hours). This will avoid any delays in processing the waiver. Please submit original forms, only, directly to Human Resources in the lower level Kelley building, Rm 143.

If you have any questions please contact Jolene Sturge at: (902) 566-0514 or jsturge@upei.ca.

As of the morning of Thursday, August 24, we will have completed the migration of the file systems from Novell to Microsoft. Below is a summary of some of the items that may apply to faculty and staff:

File systems (aka H, P, Q etc. drives) -  Most of your drive letters will remain unchanged (P, G, H, J and K drives will not change). However, if you are using a Q drive this will now appear as a new L drive. If you notice any problems with these drives, please reboot your computer before calling ITSS, as this clears up most issues. If you are still experiencing any difficulty, contact the ITSS Help Desk at helpdesk@upei.ca

Net Storage (aka web-based access to H and other drives) - At this time there is no direct replacement for Net Storage. There are a number of other options to access your files including VPN (for off-campus access), regular mapping of drives, Google Docs, and myUPEI. Please contact ITSS and we will help you to choose the best option that suits your needs.

Printing -  The printing migration will be relatively seamless; departmental printers will continue to function normally. We will provide more details as we migrate each department.

There will be a total water shutdown of the domestic hot and cold water in Memorial Hall and the Chaplaincy Centre on Saturday, August 26, beginning at 7:30 am. This shutdown is necessary as part of the Memorial Hall Level One renovations. The work is expected to take approximately 9 hours to complete.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience.

If you have questions or concerns please contact Jackie MacPhail at jmacphail@upei.ca or 902-566-6034.

UPEI’s Department of Human Resources has moved most of its information and resources on upei.ca to a site in the myUPEI portal. 

The portal site will create a more interactive and user-friendly environment for faculty and staff, with simplified content and easier access to the services offered by the HR department. Faculty and staff can login directly to myUPEI and the HR site through this link: https://portal.upei.ca/facultystaff/administrativeservices/HR/

Highlights of the HR portal site include:

• a comprehensive FAQ section
• an expanded service section
• easier access to HR forms

Employment opportunities, retirees’ information, and general information will remain on upei.ca/hr.

Parking Lot A will be closed beginning the evening of Thursday, August 24, the closure is necessary for line painting to take place on Friday, August 25. Please use an alternate parking lot during this time. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jackie MacPhail, Facilities Management at jmacphail@upei.ca or 902-566-6034.

UPEI's version of Moodle will be implementing a small update this week to add new features. These new features include a class photo roster, annotated PDF grading for assignments, the ability to create paper quizzes useing existing Moodle Question banks, a more accessible mobile view, and a new tool for managing course reading lists. A more detailed look at the update is available by clicking here.

The Human Resource Department is requesting that all outstanding Tuition Waiver forms for the Fall 2017 Semester (September – December) be submitted immediately, as the deadline has passed.

When completing the form, please include all of the required information in Section 1 (Course name, time, start and end date, cost and the number of semester hours). This will avoid any delays in processing the waiver. Please submit original forms, only, directly to Human Resources in the lower level Kelley building, Rm 143.

If you have any questions please contact Jolene Sturge at: (902) 566-0514 or jsturge@upei.ca.

The Human Resource Department is requesting that all outstanding Tuition Waiver forms for the Fall 2017 Semester (September – December) be submitted immediately, as the deadline has passed.

When completing the form, please include all of the required information in Section 1 (Course name, time, start and end date, cost and the number of semester hours). This will avoid any delays in processing the waiver. Please submit original forms, only, directly to Human Resources in the lower level Kelley building, Rm 143.

If you have any questions please contact Jolene Sturge at: (902) 566-0514 or jsturge@upei.ca.

Kerri Wheatley will be presenting and defending her MEd thesis, on Thursday, August 24 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm in AVC Rm 286A North.

UPEI offers a wide range of intensive Professional Development courses and Certificate Programs. Begining in Fall 2017:

• New Managers Series Certificate (Sept 15, 2017)
• Interpersonal and Workplace Conflict Resolution Certificate (Sept 28, 2017)
• Collaborative Leadership & Facilitation Certificate (Sept 28, 2017)
• Financial Management Certificate (Oct 2, 2017)
• Administrative Professionals Development Certificate (Oct 18, 2017)
• Project Management Essentials (Nov 1-3, 2017)
• Communication Fundamental Certificate (Nov 24, 2017)

Click here for a complete course calendar. For more information on any of our course offerings please contact Jennifer Hogan (902) 620-5216 or email sdl@upei.ca

The Karma Yoga class will continue to be held on Wednesdays from 12:10 pm - 12:55 pm outside in Quad area (rainy weather held at Chaplaincy Centre) for August 23 and 30.

Beginning September 5, the Yoga class will be held every Tuesday from 12:10 pm – 12:55 pm at the Quad area during nice weather and inside at UPEI Chaplaincy Centre when weather gets colder. Note: This class takes place all throughout the calendar year

This program provides a full body strength and flexibility workout which tones the body. Long stretches will melt away stress and create a feeling of deep relaxation. 

Please bring your own mat and/or towel and water. Fee for each class is a donation to the UPEI food bank - $5 - or food donation.

UPEI’s Department of Physics is hosting a viewing event for Monday’s partial solar eclipse to help you safely observe the eclipse—and learn a thing or two about astronomy!

The event begins at 2:30 pm outside the student entrance of UPEI’s School of Sustainable Design Engineering. There will be solar telescopes and viewing glasses to watch the eclipse, and activities for all ages to understand how eclipses work. A viewing screen will also be set up to monitor NASA’s live feed of the total eclipse as it is experienced across the United States. The Canadian Cancer Society will also be on hand to provide information about lifelong sun safety.

Can’t make the viewing event? Read this blog post with tips on how to watch from home, including tips on how to construct a device to help safely observe the sun.

The eclipse peaks at 3:50 pm, but the event will continue until 5:00 pm. For more information, visit projects.upei.ca/astronomy.

The AVC Café serves lunch specials Monday through Friday from 11:30 to 1:30pm. You can view this week's menu online by clicking here.

You can also follow us @ChartwellsUPEI on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for daily updates and ongoing promotions!

This week IT Systems and Services (ITSS) will complete the migration of the file systems and printers from Novell to Microsoft. Below is a summary of some of the items that may apply to faculty and staff:

File Systems (aka H, P, and Q drives) - As we migrate the filesystems, you will see very little change. While we will continue to use the H drive going forward, if you use the P or Q drives, these will now appear as a new L drive which will contain all of your files. If you notice any issues with these drives, please contact ITSS for assistance.

Net Storage (aka web-based access to H and other drives) - At this time, there is no direct replacement for Net Storage. There are a number of other options to access your files including VPN (for access off-campus), regular mapping of drives, Google Docs, and MyUPEI. Please contact ITSS and we will help you to choose the best option that suits your needs.

Printing - The printing migration will be relatively seamless; departmental printers will continue to function normally. We will provide more details as we migrate each department this week.