UPEI’s Master of Arts in Island Studies recognizes teaching fellows
UPEI's Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) recently recognized two professors as Island Studies Teaching Fellows-Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan and Dr. Barry Bartmann. Both have been instrumental to the program in the public eye and behind the scenes.
'This honorific title [Island Studies Teaching Fellow] was created to recognize the long-term, high-quality teaching and mentorship provided to students by dedicated faculty. I can't think of anyone who is more deserving of this honour than Drs. Nagarajan and Bartmann,' said Dr. Jim Randall, Coordinator of the MAIS program.
Dr. Nagarajan has provided a reputable public face to the island studies program through regular and thought-provoking contributions to local media that assess what kind of society and economy we collectively envisage for our future. Nagarajan is a long-time member of the economics department at UPEI and is an emeritus professor. In his over 40 years of teaching at UPEI, and before that, at St. Dunstan's University, Nagarajan has taught courses in all major areas of economics, including graduate courses on public finance, advanced macroeconomics, and economic development strategies for small islands.
He maintains a regular interest in the transformations of the PEI economy and in the state of developing countries with a special focus on fiscal systems and trade. His more recent concerns have dealt with sustainability and sustainable development strategies from interdisciplinary perspectives and systems analysis, particularly for small islands economies. In this journey that spans almost half a century, he describes his transition and conversion to an ecological economist. He has been a vocal advocate of the island studies program, a member of its steering committee, and he has vocally championed the MAIS program and continues to support it through teaching and mentoring thesis students.
Dr. Bartmann is known for aiding in the development of the MAIS program over the past two decades as it was the academic entrepreneur and creative thinker in him who recognized three discrete but inter-related niches waiting to be tapped, and that UPEI was well-placed to seek and consolidate leadership in all three areas-the emergence of an optimistic school for the development prospects of small jurisdictions, the recognition of the North Atlantic as a region, and the birth of island studies as a legitimate area for academic research and teaching.
In 1999, during his role as chair of the political studies department at UPEI, an island studies minor was introduced, and in 2003, a master of arts and a dedicated Canada Research Chair in island studies was introduced. He is a recognized authority on sub-national island jurisdictions and the international relations of small (or micro) states. Bartmann has been pivotal to the MAIS program offering two courses annually, serving on the steering committee, and mentoring thesis students.
Congratulations to Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan and Dr. Barry Bartmann!
