The Faculty of Science Graduate Studies Committee invites the campus community to the next presentation of the 2023-24 Environmental Sciences and Human Biology seminar series on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. in Kelley Memorial Building, Room 237. Dr. Jay Penney, Department of Biomedical Sciences, AVC, will present “Understanding microglial contributions to neuro-degenerative disease using stem cell models.”

All are welcome.

The UPEI Jazz and Popular Music Ensemble is looking forward to sharing an exciting program of music on Tuesday, December 5, at 7:30 pm, on the SDU Stage in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall. This 26-member ensemble is a hybrid of a jazz big band, including several vocalists, with a mixture of jazz, soul, funk, pop, and everything in between. 

In addition to the full set, there will also be a variety of solo and small group performances curated by members of the ensemble. From Stevie Wonder to Weather Report, Dusty Springfield, Amy Winehouse, Peter Gabriel, singer-songwriters, and Latin fusion, there's something for everyone! 

On November 30 at 7:30 pm, the UPEI Wind Symphony will have its inaugural performance in the new Performing Arts Centre at the UPEI Campus.

The performance, entitled “Flashes and Apparitions,” will be led by conductors Nicole Strum and Dale Sorensen. The performance will feature works by Pulitzer Prize winner Augusta Read Thomas, Irish composer Amanda Feery, Juno award-winning Canadian composer Jordan Nobles, and the Atlantic Canadian premiere of Nerve and Verve by PEI’s own Evan Hammell.

This is a 45-minute drop-in session where we will look at some basic slide design principles and then spend time redesigning one of your own slide decks.  

What to bring: A set of slides and a device to work on

Schedule:  

• 10-minute presentation on slide design 

• 30 minutes to work individually on your own slides; the host is present for questions 

• 5 minutes to reflect on how it went and ask more questions 

Contact Kristy at kmckinney@upei.ca if you have any questions.

The search committee for the Dean of the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering has arranged for the online viewing of the video presentations for Dr. Ali Akgunduz, Dr. Regina Lee, and Dr. Yudong (David) Yao.

Dr. Ali Akgunduz's presentation can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rYS6Dat8obGZN9xnIzkod_AVO7WdPL2X/view

Dr. Regina Lee's presentation can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pd4axSlMbp9wbbxFT-MNl4pQ5X5X-pgy/view

Dr. Yudong (David) Yao's presentation can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ps-QR-r0FJMEt5YFrwPDvEAEBHF99zm/view

The committee welcomes your feedback on the candidates. Please send feedback by email to vpar@upei.ca by 4:00 pm on Thursday, November 30, 2023. Thank you for your input into this search process. All feedback remains confidential.  

The UPEI Faculty of Nursing invites you to attend our Simulator Demonstration Open House on Friday, December 1,  from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Health Sciences Building 203. Advanced Obstetric "Victoria" S2200 and Newborn "Tor" S2210 will be on display during this informative and interactive event. 

The UPEI Faculty of Nursing invites you to attend our Simulator Demonstration Open House on Wednesday, November 29, from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Health Sciences Building 103. Adult "Hal" S5301 and Advanced Pediatric "Hal" S2225 will be on display during this informative and interactive event. 

Are you still deciding what to gift your loved ones for Christmas? Discover unique gifts, treats, and festive delights sold by small businesses owned by students and alums at the UPEISU's Holiday Fair! 

Approximately 20 vendors will be offering a variety of items, including clothing, jewelry, and more.

Explore the talents of our student entrepreneurs!

Location: McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre

Date: Friday, November 30, 2023

Time: 12:00 to 2:30 pm

The title of her talk is: “Noticing power in the mundane: creating critical environmental narratives".

November 29, 2023

Time: 1:00-2:00 pm

Location: Health Science Building 106

Dr. Joshua MacFadyen will launch a new book that offers an aerial view of PEI’s changing landscapes on November 29, 2023, at 7:30 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, University of Prince Edward Island.

Published by Island Studies Press, Time Flies: A History of Prince Edward Island from the Air offers an unprecedented view of one island province’s journey into modernity through a unique blend of aerial photography and historical synthesis. The book presents images of iconic landscapes on Prince Edward Island and traces how those communities and natural ecosystems have changed over 85 years (1935–2020). Each site history illustrates and reflects on the nature of modern land use and land cover change in one of four chapters organized around primary resource economies, rural communities, urban development, and islands and coastal change. Time Flies offers a visually rich discussion of one island as the world and offers lessons that we can learn from the social and ecological transformation of PEI.

Dr. MacFadyen is the Canada Research Chair in Geospatial Humanities and an associate professor in the Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture program at UPEI. His previous books include Flax Americana: A History of the Fibre and Oil That Covered a Continent and Time and a Place: An Environmental History of Prince Edward Island.

This book was published with the support of a Scholarly Book Award from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and a SSHRC Exchange Publication Award from the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research at UPEI. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the launch. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the book or the launch, please contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.

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

Confidential third-party personal counselling:

The UPEI Health and Wellness Centre has engaged a psychologist to meet individually with faculty and staff, by appointment. Employees may email Caylin Jenkins at cbjenkins@upei.ca, indicating “Appointment required” in the subject line. Caylin will coordinate with the psychologist and confirm the time and location of the appointment with the employee. 

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. 

For more information, go to https://www.upei.ca/response-to-independent-review/community-support

Regularly clean up and optimize your device’s storage by uninstalling unused apps, deleting old files, and clearing cache and temporary data. This can improve your device’s performance and help you avoid storage-related issues. Also, regularly backing up important data to a secure location protects you if your device is stolen or you delete something accidentally.

The Mawi’omi Indigenous Student Centre's full moon gathering, which was planned for November 27 but delayed due to weather, will take place today outdoors between Kelley Memorial Building and the W.A. Murphy Student Centre where the tipi stood. An open fire will be lit at 4:30 pm, and the event will begin at 5:00 pm. The designated firekeeper is Elder Dr. Patrick Augustine. 

Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have followed the 13 Moons or moon cycles to ground themselves in their teachings and ensure balance. This is captured in their turtle's back teachings, which capture the different moon phases (13 different moons and 28 days in each moon cycle). Life on Earth is connected to and regulated by Grandmother Moon, through the tides and waters, which stabilizes our Earth's position and determines the cycle of women and the birth of new life. Grandmother Moon helps us with healing and is strongly connected to human life, especially women. Every phase of Grandmother Moon has a different focus, and this month, we focus on the strength and beauty of slowing down as Mother Earth begins her time of rest (freezing moon). All are welcome to join and share.

For information, please contact Jasmine Pauze, coordinator, Mawi’omi Indigenous Student Centre, at 902-620-5125 or jpauze@upei.ca.

The Healthy Campus Committee is launching a new fitness subsidy for one-on-one personal training. The intention of the program is for a UPEI staff/faculty member who isn’t active and/or hasn’t participated in small group training and/or fitness programming (i.e., fitness subsidies).  

We are arranging two 30–minute information sessions with Derek Smith, UPEI personal trainer, and Angela Marchbank, UPEI Fitness and Wellness Coordinator who will provide a tour of the sports centre and the private personal training studio, discuss what personal training is, and answer questions.

For those attending the orientation session, an offer of an Introductory personal training package will be provided. The package includes a 45-minute consultation and assessment, three 45-minute personal training sessions, and one program design at a cost of $50 (+HST). The regular cost is $230 plus applicable taxes.

Those who are currently active and have accessed fitness programming will be placed on a waitlist as we have a limited number of subsidies for this program.  

Please contact Angela Marchbank, amarchbank@upei.ca, for more information and/or to register for the information sessions and/or to be placed on the waitlist. 

On November 30 at 7:30 pm, the UPEI Wind Symphony will have its inaugural performance in the new Performing Arts Centre at the UPEI Campus.

The performance, entitled “Flashes and Apparitions,” will be led by conductors Nicole Strum and Dale Sorensen. The performance will feature works by Pulitzer Prize winner Augusta Read Thomas, Irish composer Amanda Feery, Juno award-winning Canadian composer Jordan Nobles, and the Atlantic Canadian premiere of Nerve and Verve by PEI’s own Evan Hammell.

The search committee for the Dean of the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering has arranged for the online viewing of the video presentations for Dr. Ali Akgunduz, Dr. Regina Lee, and Dr. Yudong (David) Yao.

Dr. Ali Akgunduz's presentation can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rYS6Dat8obGZN9xnIzkod_AVO7WdPL2X/view

Dr. Regina Lee's presentation can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pd4axSlMbp9wbbxFT-MNl4pQ5X5X-pgy/view

Dr. Yudong (David) Yao's presentation can be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ps-QR-r0FJMEt5YFrwPDvEAEBHF99zm/view

The committee welcomes your feedback on the candidates. Please send feedback by email to vpar@upei.ca by 4:00 pm on Thursday, November 30, 2023. Thank you for your input into this search process. All feedback remains confidential.  

Join Dr. Libby Osgood, Sr. Susan Kidd, and Inge Dorsey to hear about our experiences related to teaching and learning with UPEI students who participated in Global Brigades engineering and medical trips to Honduras and Guatemala in 2022 and 2023. We are happy to share our "Being Recruited by Students" stories.

Come and hear how rewarding (and easy) it was to be involved with this organization, support student-led projects, and provide meaningful learning opportunities that can include credit courses.

Join us online on Thursday, November 30, 2023, 12:00--12:30 pm.

https://upei.zoom.us/j/65607449102?pwd=TEx6aVRGMlc1U1BIbDJOTVQ5MFcrQT09

If you are not available to join but would like to follow up, contact Inge Dorsey at idorsey@upei.ca.

The Search Committee for Dean of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research and Applied Studies (IKERAS) announces upcoming Talking Circles and public presentations by each of the two finalist candidates. Since the search began in June, the committee has conducted a comprehensive search and selected the following finalists for a series of meetings on campus. 

Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pratt is an Associate Professor and a Research Excellence Chair at the University of Calgary. She traces her ancestral roots to Red River and more recently to Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in northern Alberta. As a Métis scholar, she has researched and published extensively in the areas of Indigenous education, digital media, social justice, Indigenous academic integrity, arts-based approaches, and Indigenous community development. Her 2020 book, Digital Storytelling in Indigenous Education: A Decolonizing Journey for a Métis Community, shares her decolonizing journey while working with members of the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in the reclamation of silenced Métis voices and stories. Dr. Poitras Pratt has received numerous awards including a Community Service Award from the UCalgary Faculty Association in 2023, Metis Nation of Alberta (Region 3) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, and several other teaching and community engagement awards. She received a BA (2002) in Canadian Studies, and an MA (2005) and PhD (2011) in Communication Studies, all from the University of Calgary.

Monday, November 27:

• Talking Circle, 10:00 am–12:00 pm, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, Room 142
• Public Presentation, 3:00–4:00 pm, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, Room 142

Dr. Angelina Weenie is Cree (nehiyaw) from Sweetgrass First Nation, Saskatchewan. She speaks Cree (y) dialect fluently. Dr. Weenie is an Associate Professor at the First Nations University of Canada, where she has served as a Department Head (2002 - 2012) and Program Coordinator of Indigenous Education (2016 - 2018). In these roles, she co-developed a Master of Indigenous Language Education (MILED) program in partnership with the University of Regina. Her research and teaching interests lie in Indigenous epistemology, culturally responsive pedagogy, approaches to Indigenous language reclamation, land-based pedagogy, and research methods with Indigenous peoples. Dr. Weenie has recently co-authored a book, Dance Your Style - Cree Pedagogy, to be released in February 2024. The book represents how Indigenous people can advance Indigenous Knowledge in education and research. She received a BEd (1979), BA (1989) in English, Postgraduate Diploma (1996) in Indian and Northern Education, and MEd (2002), all from the University of Saskatchewan, and PhD (2010) in Education from the University of Regina.

Tuesday, November 28: 

• Talking Circle, 10:00 am–12:00 pm, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, Room 142
• Public Presentation, 3:00–4:00 pm, AVC 201N

Paper copies of each candidate’s CV will be available for viewing in the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Research, Kelley 205. The University community is invited to provide feedback on each candidate’s suitability for the role to vpar@upei.ca. All feedback will be considered by the committee in its deliberations.

The UPEI Faculty of Nursing invites you to attend our Simulator Demonstration Open House on Friday, December 1,  from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Health Sciences Building 203. Advanced Obstetric "Victoria" S2200 and Newborn "Tor" S2210 will be on display during this informative and interactive event. 

The UPEI Faculty of Nursing invites you to attend our Simulator Demonstration Open House on Wednesday, November 29, from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Health Sciences Building 103. Adult "Hal" S5301 and Advanced Pediatric "Hal" S2225 will be on display during this informative and interactive event.