UPEI and the Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning recently signed a proclamation to honour this week, March 17-21, as National Co-operative Education Week. The national week is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Canadian co-op students.

UPEI's Co-operative Education Program will celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of its students during its annual awards ceremony on Thursday, March 20 from 11:30 am-1:00 pm in UPEI's Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall. The ceremony will recognize UPEI co-op students for their accomplishments during co-op work terms. Specific awards include 'Co-op Student of the Year' in business, physics, and computer science, as well as 'Employer Recognition' awards. Winners of the 'Co-op Student of the Year' awards will have demonstrated high academic achievement, a valued contribution to their employer and community, and displayed personal and professional development.

UPEI's Co-op Coordinators expressed their pride in the program. 'The UPEI co-op program motivates students, and encourages them to take a positive step beyond their comfort level,' said Ernie Doiron, business co-op coordinator.

'The program also supports students to take initiative to develop a relevant career path. It progresses learning, maturity, and ambition, while easing the transition from University to the true-life workplace,' added Heather MacMillan, science co-op coordinator.

UPEI is among 130 colleges and universities across Canada that is actively involved in developing their students into workplace professionals through co-operative education. UPEI's Co-operative Education Program fosters next generation's leaders, and gives students the opportunity to push themselves, while at the same time, giving back to the local community. Through real-life experience and guidance from employers and co-op coordinators, students gain valuable knowledge and skills that will be used throughout their career upon graduation.

For more information on UPEI's Co-op Program, visit upei.ca/co-op or email co-op@upei.ca.
For more information on the CAFCE's National Co-op Week, visit http://www.cafce.ca/en/co-op-week

The UPEI women's curling team is off to Regina this week to compete in the 2014 CIS/CCA University Curling Championships, March 19-23. The event, hosted by the University of Regina, will take place at Regina's Callie Curling Club.

The UPEI team consisting of skip Veronica Smith, lead Aleya Quilty, third Jane DiCarlo, and second Emily Gray. and coach Paul Smith will take on the University of Alberta and University of Toronto on Wednesday, March 19, the first day of national curling action.

The week's winning team will represent Canada at the 2015 FISU (International University Sports Federation) Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain.

Best of luck to our UPEI curlers! Go Panthers Go!

UPEI Women's Hockey Head Coach Bruce Donaldson is very pleased to announce that Kristen Gordon is joining the Panthers for the 2014-15.

Gordon, whose hometown is Liverpool, Nova Scotia, currently plays forward for the Metro Boston Pizza in the Nova Scotia Midget AAA league, and attends Liverpool Regional High School. Gordon finished the 2012-13 regular season with six goals, and three assists for a total of 12 points. Gordon describes herself as a hardworking, aggressive, and consistent two-way player who reads the play well. The Metro Boston Pizza team is the defending provincial champion, and is currently in the Nova Scotia final. Gordon represented Team Nova Scotia at the Atlantic Challenge Cup for four consecutive years from 2009-12.

After a recent visit to UPEI, Gordon commented, 'During my visit, everyone I met on campus was friendly, helpful, and encouraging. They made me feel right at home. UPEI gave me that hometown feeling and I knew it was the place for me. I can't wait to be a part of the Panthers.' Gordon is enrolled in the science program at UPEI.

'Kristen will bring a great work ethic and true grit to our program. It is always great to land a player from such a strong Atlantic Midget AAA program,' said Donaldson. 'With her experience level playing at four Atlantic Challenge Cups and Esso Cup Nationals, she will add depth up front as a strong two-way player.'

'I would like to welcome Kristen to the University of Prince Edward Island, she's a great addition to the Panther Family,' added UPEI Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman.

Go Panthers Go!

For information:
Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991
annear@upei.ca

Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) announced last night at the Men's Hockey Championship banquet in Saskatoon that UPEI defencemen Reggie Traccitto had been selected as a CIS Men's Hockey 2nd Team All-Canadian. Traccitto, who enjoyed a strong AUS season garnering 10 goals, and 19 assists for 29 points, was the 10th overall leader and second amongst AUS defencemen, and was also among the top three finalists for the 'CIS Defencemen of the Year Award.' Traccitto was recently selected to the AUS Men's Hockey 1st All-Star team.

To read the full CIS release for a full list of awards click here

Congratulations, Reggie! Go Panthers Go!

The annual reading by participants in UPEI's Creative Writing Master Class will take place on Monday, March 24, at 7:00 pm in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Some of the Island's most talented new writers will read excerpts from their fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and playscripts.

The featured writers are Damon Ansems, Chris Bailey, Keith Burgoyne, Michael Conway, Angela Deighan, Sarah Glassford, Ben Hartley, Ruby Madigan, Lori Mayne, Olivia Robinson, Justin Shaw, Toni Timmins, and Ken Williams.

The audience will encounter a circus with a purple giraffe named Vivian who speaks with a New York accent; a young female schoolteacher during the First World War whose brother is fighting in Europe's trenches; mating rituals in the age of sexting and social media; an Islander's journey from a Charlottetown boyhood to Army postings in the world's trouble-spots; and other samples from the literary world of wonders.

The public is invited and admission is free.

The PEI Urban Red Fox Research Project recently hit a major crowd-sourcing milestone when it received its 2500th fox sighting to its website upei.ca/redfox. Since the fall of 2012, Islanders have been logging on to upei.ca/redfox to report their sightings of red foxes. These reports provide researchers with an important source of data that helps them better understand the fox population and how it interacts with humans on Prince Edward Island.

With this data, the research team has discovered areas of high red fox activity in Charlottetown and has identified dozens of den sites and possible den sites for further research. More data would allow the PEI Urban Fox Research Team to discover even more about this species, including possible public health concerns.

If you spot a red fox on Prince Edward Island, visit upei.ca/redfox.

For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

The University of Prince Edward Jazz Ensemble will present its end of semester concert on Friday, March 28 at 7:30 pm in UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall. The "Big Band" sound of Count Basie will be featured on jazz standards including "Shiny Stockings," "April in Paris," and "The Spirit is Willing."

The Jazz Ensemble has again invited UPEI voice students from the studio of Sung Ha Shin-Bouey and Stephen Bouey to join the band on stage. Singers featured in this concert are: Lindsay Gillis ("Summertime"), Nadine Haddad ("Birdland"), Will Millington ("Our Love is Here to Stay"), Nicole Dupuis ("At Last"), Melissa MacKenzie ("The Best is Yet to Come"), and Olivia Barnes ("Cabaret").

The band is excited to present a "James Bond" theme segment. Bass Trombonist, Evan Hammell, has arranged the James Bond theme which will segue into "Live and Let Die" and "Skyfall."

First-year lead alto sax player Emily Proude will be featured on the funky-rock style ballad "Life without You" and Savannah Auld (tenor sax) will step out of the band and sing Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why."

Admission is $10 adults and $5 for students, and are available at the door, or in advance by calling 566-0507, or by email at music@upei.ca

The University of Prince Edward extends its condolences to the family and friends of Dr. David McKenna, member of the UPEI Board of Governors, alumnus, and well-respected Island optometrist, who passed away suddenly this week while travelling in New Zealand.

Dr. McKenna served as Chair of the Board of Governors Appeals Committee as well as on a number of other Board committees.

'On behalf of the entire University community, I send my heartfelt sympathies to Dr. McKenna's wife, Ann, their children, Monica, Emily, and Bridget, and to their extended family and friends,' said UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'UPEI has lost a valued member of our University community. His dedication to, and his passion for, his family, the Island, UPEI, and his many volunteer activities were always evident.'

'On a personal note, over the past year, I have enjoyed working with David. He was a great role model and I'll miss him very much,' added Abd-El-Aziz. 'We are all so saddened to hear of his sudden passing.'

The University has lowered its flags to a half-mast position in honour of Dr. McKenna.

The UPEI Wind Symphony will perform its final recital of the academic year on Thursday, March 27 at 7:30 pm at UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall. This has been a particularly busy and musically rewarding year for the Wind Symphony with highly successful performances throughout the fall and winter.

This recital will feature contemporary works for the modern wind band, the centerpiece of which is the programmatic work Rumpelstilzchen by American composer Jess Turner. Rumpelstiltzchen is an impish creature with the power to spin straw into gold. He deceives a young maiden into giving up her firstborn son in exchange for saving her life with her power, but is eventually foiled when she exploits his weakness and guesses his name. This piece is a highly descriptive tone poem depicting the story of this classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. With movements titled 'Spinning Straw into Gold,' 'The Maiden's Lament,' and 'Rumpelstilzchen's Fury,' Turner's composition is an engaging symphonic work.

The Wind Symphony will also premier its performance of Two-Lane Blacktop, a work for which the Wind Symphony joined a consortium to commission American composer James M. David to write. It plays homage to the open road and the distant horizon with gestures conveying gearshifts and the timeless feeling of driving through the Utah desert. Frank Ticheli's Blue Shades will conclude the program. It is a virtuosic work that is a tribute to the Big Band Era, heavily influenced by the Blues, Burlesques, and other clichés from the golden era of jazz.

This recital will be the final Wind Symphony performance for nine of its graduating students-Branden Kelly, percussion; Nik Dragatakis, guitar; Laura McLeod, trumpet; Nadine Haddad, euphonium; Isaac Williams, string bass; Justin Fitzsimmons, horn; Cora Wong, flute; Sarah Chace, piccolo; and Kate Thompson, clarinet. All nine, most of whom are principals, have made significant contributions to UPEI, and the Wind Symphony in particular, throughout their undergraduate careers.

The UPEI Wind Symphony received the ‘2014 Music PEI award for Achievement in Classical Music.' Under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, the Wind Symphony has had a progressive approach to its programming, and in reaching a wider audience. With performances throughout PEI and beyond each year, partnerships with PEI school music programs, and utilizing unique performance spaces, the Wind Symphony is among PEI's most respected large ensembles. Commissioning new compositions, featuring outstanding student and professional soloists, and showcasing masterworks of the wind band genre are all hallmarks of this ensemble.

Tickets for this performance are available in advance at UPEI's music department or at the door prior to the recital. All are welcome to attend.

For information:
Karem Simon, Professor, Department of Music, UPEI
(902) 566-0702 (office), (902) 892-5993 (home), ksimon@upei.ca

The Enactus (Entrepreneurial Action Us) UPEI team travelled to Halifax earlier this month to compete in the 2014 Enactus Canada Regional Exposition. The team received second place in the Scotiabank EcoLiving Challenge for its ‘Treeternity' project, which focuses on education and the development of tree planting. UPEI students Brandon Higginbotham and Josh Mohan presented the team's project.

Enactus UPEI members also competed in the Student Entrepreneur Regional Competition, Capital One Financial Education, and TD Entrepreneurship Challenges where they represented the University well. This year's team consists of twelve members who have worked tirelessly on seven projects including ‘An Entrepreneurial Evening with the ‘Wealthy Barber;'' ‘Economics for Success' high school budgeting seminars; ‘Financially Fit' University budgeting seminar; ‘Above the Influence' bracelet campaign; and its winning project ‘Treeternity.'

'I take a lot of pride in leading a group of dedicated full-time students, many of whom also balance part-time jobs, in addition to volunteering a substantial amount of time to work on these important projects that we hope will make PEI a better place,' said Enactus UPEI President Connor MacPhee. 'I'm proud of our results at the regional exposition and we will continue to work hard and represent UPEI and our province as best we can.'

'The results showcase the important and meaningful work that our Enactus leadership and representatives are engaging in,' said Interim Dean of the UPEI School of Business Juergen Krause. 'Enactus enables the students to apply the education and knowledge acquired to real challenges to create positive change in our community aiming to empower individuals and improve lives. I congratulate our Enactus members at UPEI for the well-deserved successes they achieved. The accomplishments of our young entrepreneurs are a testimony of their competence and hard work and make our institution very proud.'

The second place finish awards the team a trip to Calgary to compete in the Enactus Canada National Exposition, April 28-30. UPEI wishes the team the best of luck as they represent the University and Prince Edward Island at the national competition.

More about Enactus UPEI

Enactus (Entrepreneurial Action Us) is the largest global business network in the world with over 48,000 students at 1500 universities in 39 countries. Enactus UPEI is one of 57 University teams across Canada that implements social entrepreneurial projects that help make your community a better place socially, economically, and environmentally.

For more information, contact Enactus UPEI at enactusupei@gmail.com or visit the team in UPEI's Don and Marion McDougall Hall, Room 317.