Message from the President: Transitioning from Winter to Spring at UPEI
The following message was distributed to faculty, staff, and students via their @upei.ca email address.
Dear Members of the University Community,
The month of April is one of transition, including the change of seasons from winter to spring. It’s also a time to celebrate the achievements from what has been a challenging semester as well as to look forward to better days ahead.
First, I would like to acknowledge the Department of Athletics and Recreation for staging successful winter sport seasons despite the pandemic, which delayed a return to regular season play. Congratulations to the UPEI Cheer team and the UPEI Women’s Basketball and UPEI Women’s Hockey varsity squads for competing on the national stage at their respective national championships, the latter which was held at UPEI. Thank you to everyone who contributed to hosting the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship from March 24–27.
As we enter a period of warmer weather, we also see operational activities change on campus. We will begin to see regular maintenance of the grounds begin in anticipation of welcoming families and friends to celebrate our Class of 2022 at Convocation, May 10–13, when we will host our first in-person ceremonies since the pandemic began.
While we have seen continued progress on the new residence and performing arts centre throughout the winter, spring is traditionally when construction begins again. I am pleased to report that UPEI has identified a site location on the north campus for a new facility to house the new UPEI Faculty of Medicine and to accommodate the expanded UPEI Health and Wellness Centre and UPEI Psychology clinics. The site location was chosen with accessibility for the public in mind. Ground is expected to be broken this summer.
We begin a new fiscal year in May, and it marks a time to reflect not only on our financial situation but also our procedures and policies from both an academic and administrative viewpoint. Recently, you received an invitation from Rubin Thomlinson to participate in a confidential survey as part of an independent third-party review of practices and processes at UPEI with respect to harassment, discrimination, and fair treatment. I encourage you to participate in the survey as we endeavour to ensure that UPEI offers a safe, respectful, and positive learning and working environment.
The UPEI Board of Governors approved a balanced budget at their last meeting for the 2022–23 fiscal year. The annual operating budget outlines how UPEI funds important campus resources like student and ancillary services, faculties and schools, academic support, administration, and property maintenance.
UPEI’s budget plan is based on revenue generated by two principal sources—the annual provincial operating grant and student tuition. The provincial government increased UPEI’s operating grant by two per cent for 2022–23 (one per cent for the Atlantic Veterinary College), which is why the budget includes a tuition increase of two per cent, keeping it among the lowest in the Maritimes. The operating budget will be posted soon to the University website.
With classes now ending and exams about to begin, I recognize that this has been a challenging semester given the ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions. I congratulate you—faculty, staff, and students—for your resiliency and for your dedication to teaching and learning. I wish all of you every success as the semester draws to a close.
As we observe the important festivals and traditions of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter and approach celebrations like Convocation, I am grateful that we are able to mark these together in shared spaces once again. As we look forward to better days ahead at UPEI, let’s hope that spring will also bring peace to Ukraine and to other areas of conflict around the world.
Regards,
Greg
GREG KEEFE, DVM, MSc, MBA (he/him)
President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim)
