Every week, UPEI Athletics and Recreation recognizes two student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. Congratulations to Kiera Rigby and Amin Suleman, the UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week for January 8-14!

Kiera Rigby is a fifth-year forward on the UPEI Women’s Basketball team and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) student from Charlottetown. The Panthers split a pair of games against Saint Mary’s University over the weekend. Rigby scored an incredible 26 points in Friday night’s win, shooting 47% from the field. “She went 66% from the 3-point line and was 8 for 12 from the free-throw line,” said coach Greg Gould. “Kiera also had three rebounds and a blocked shot. On Saturday, she scored 21 points, shooting 40% from the field and 80% from the free-throw line while collecting three rebounds.”

Amin Suleman is a third-year guard on the UPEI Men’s Basketball team and a Bachelor of Arts student from Toronto, Ontario. The team dropped two games to Saint Mary’s University over the weekend, but Suleman was a standout for the Panthers. “Amin had a very strong weekend against the Huskies,” said coach Darrell Glenn. “He combined for 20 rebounds, shot an impressive 50% from the field, scored 24 points, and played 60 minutes.”

#BellLetsTalk is just around the corner! The Panthers are proud to sponsor with Bell Aliant for Bell Let’s Talk Night on Saturday, January 27. The UPEI Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams are hosting Cape Breton University. Help us help others join the conversation about mental health.

And don’t forget! UPEI students get into all Panther home games for free. Let’s fill the stands and make this the best season ever!

The University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to announce a $25,000 Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant in support of UPEI’s Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) program.

Funding will allow two UPEI Student Affairs employees to be professionally trained as instructors in the ASIST program. Once trained, these instructors will offer the two-day ASIST program free-of-charge to students, faculty and staff at UPEI, beginning with high-priority groups such as residence life coordinators, Student Affairs staff and other employees who may be the first point of contact for students in a crisis.

“On behalf of all members of the UPEI community, I thank Bell Let’s Talk for supporting the University’s efforts in suicide intervention with a Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund grant,” said UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor, Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “This grant will have a significant impact on our ability to encourage an open dialogue across campus about student mental health.”

Having members of the UPEI campus community trained in suicide intervention will not only further the discussion about the state of student mental health, but also provide crucial support to students in need. By being proactive and making this training available, UPEI hopes to sustain a healthy and supportive community across campus.

“This is a very exciting development in UPEI's move to better equip our whole campus community to support our students, faculty and staff,” said Treena Smith, Director of Student Affairs. “Our plan is to have over 200 people trained in ASIST over the next three years and this is all due to Bell Let's Talk funding.”

“Bell Let’s Talk is very proud to provide a $25,000 grant to support the University of Prince Edward Island’s ASIST mental health training program,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “The 2017 Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund provided 70 grants to support programs providing mental health services in communities around the country that help Canadians living with mental illness.”

Bell Let’s Talk Day is January 31
Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs for each of these interactions on January 31, at no extra cost to participants:

• Text and talk: Every text message, mobile and long distance call made by Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and Bell MTS customers
• Twitter: Every tweet using #BellLetsTalk and Bell Let’s Talk Day video view
• Facebook: Every view of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video at Facebook.com/BellLetsTalk and use of the Bell Let’s Talk frame
• Instagram: Every Bell Let’s Talk Day video view
• Snapchat: Every use of the Bell Let’s Talk filter and video view

The Bell Let’s Talk initiative promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk Day, and provides significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace initiatives. To learn more about the Bell Let’s Talk campaign, and to download the Bell Let’s Talk toolkit to help get the conversation started, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

About the University of Prince Edward Island
The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.
 

The UPEI Chaplaincy Centre will host an interfaith panel on the role of women in society. The discussion begins at 2:00 pm, Sunday, January 21 in the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre.

A panel made up of representatives of the Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian faiths will make presentations and participate in a discussion. Panellists will also field questions from the audience.

“Any opportunity we have to learn from each other is a valuable experience,” said Sister Sue Kidd, campus minister at UPEI. “We’re creating a venue for that conversation.”

Members from all faith backgrounds are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Island filmmaker and photographer Will Beckett will be the first speaker in the 2018 Island Studies Lecture Series. Beckett will bring his childhood fascination with prehistoric life to the Faculty Lounge of UPEI’s SDU Main Building on Tuesday, February 13 at 7:00 pm. Beckett will discuss the behind-the-scenes adventures of making his forthcoming documentary series, Prehistoric PEI.

Beckett spent the past three years making the first documentary about Prince Edward Island’s little-known prehistoric past—a journey that’s taken him as far as Philadelphia, PA, in his quest for an answer to the question: where have all of PEI’s fossils gone?

In 1845, a farmer unearthed one of Canada’s very first fossils in New London, PEI. Islanders still find fossils of plants and animals embedded in cliffs, lying openly on the beaches, and buried under the soil. The public seldom hears about these discoveries, and even more rarely do they get a chance to see them unless they visit museums in Ontario or Nova Scotia.

PEI’s fossils paint a fascinating picture of a time long before the dinosaurs when the land teemed with a variety of life. Will’s lecture covers the inspiration for, and the information around, the documentary and the discoveries he’s made along the way. He’ll also offer a sneak peek of some of the documentary footage, along with a glimpse of what Prince Edward Island looked like 290 million years ago.

Originally from St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia, Beckett now lives in Charlottetown. He’s worked as a crew member on TV projects such as CBC’s The Songs of Gene MacLellan and The Stats of Life. He’s also acted in commercials and appeared in the Island-produced feature film Kooperman.

Admission to the lecture is free. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Watch for another lecture about islands—near and far—March 20. For more information, contact Laurie at iis@upei.ca or 902-894-2881.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Every week, UPEI Athletics and Recreation recognizes two student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. Congratulations to Kiera Rigby and Marcus Power, the UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week for January 15–21!

Kiera Rigby is a fifth-year forward on UPEI Women’s Basketball team and a Bachelor of Science (honours) student from Charlottetown. The Panthers had an incredible weekend, beating Dalhousie University on Friday night 84–69 and toppling the number-one team in the country the next night, dropping Acadia University 88–66. On Friday, she scored a career-high 30 points in the Panthers win over Dalhousie. She shot an amazing 72% from the floor including 75% from the three-point line and 78% from the free-throw line. She also recorded two assists, four steals, and one blocked shot. Rigby scored 25 points the next night, shooting 44% from the field. She also had five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. “Kiera’s performance on the weekend was the best individual performance by a player in my tenure at UPEI,” said coach Greg Gould. This is Rigby’s second consecutive week as the Panther Subway Athlete of the Week.

Marcus Power is a fourth-year forward on the UPEI Men’s Hockey team and a Bachelor of Business Administration student from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team split a pair of games over the weekend, beating Acadia University 5–1 and losing to Saint Mary’s University 5–2. “Marcus has been one our most consistent players this season,” said coach Forbes MacPherson. “He was playing on a line Friday night with RT Rice and Darcy Ashley; they were dominant all night, and Marcus was rewarded with three goals.”

#BellLetsTalk is just around the corner! The Panthers are proud to sponsor with Bell Aliant for Bell Let’s Talk Night on Saturday, January 27. The UPEI Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams are hosting Cape Breton University. Help us help others join the conversation about mental health.

And don’t forget! UPEI students get into all Panther home games for free. Let’s fill the stands and make this the best season ever!

UPEI is hosting information sessions on Thursday, January 25 for those interested in the new course-based Master's in Island Tourism starting in August 2018. This is your opportunity to obtain a graduate degree in the expanding field of tourism, applied specifically to islands. Using primarily online courses for your convenience, this two-year program incorporates two work-study courses working directly with tourism organizations.

“Island tourism is one of the fastest growing global sectors,” said Jim Randall, coordinator of the Master of Arts in Island Studies at UPEI. “This new online course-based master’s degree from a university recognized as the world leader in island studies scholarship and learning gives graduates a high-quality post-graduate credential targeted to students' specific career needs.”

Scholarships and bursaries are available. Learn more about this exciting new degree program at two information sessions on Thursday, January 25 at 3:00 and 6:00 pm in room 243 of UPEI’s Don and Marion McDougall Hall. For more information, contact the Program Coordinator at mais@upei.ca or 902-620-5013. 

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

UPEI and Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina are working together to present a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about our increasingly toxic online interactions. Engagement in a Time of Polarization will examine how our communications environment became so toxic and will explore what individuals and citizens can do to stop the trend. The course is free and runs February 12 through 26 through EdX. All are welcome.

The course is led by Dr. Bonnie Stewart, program design lead and designer for experiential education and work-integrated learning at UPEI, and Dr. Natalie Delia Deckard, assistant professor of sociology at Davidson College.

This brief pop-up MOOC explores what our current information ecosystem means for societal institutions: education, government, and media. Facilitators will open live conversations with leading voices in disinformation and media literacies, and will lead participants through models of participatory engagement that can help minimize polarization and manipulation.

Over two weeks, the MOOC will convene a conversation on building understanding and relationships, even within the very real limits of contemporary social media. Participants can engage on their own time, in real time, and are welcome to complete as much or as little of the course as they wish. University classes from California, Pennsylvania, and Egypt have already signed on to embed some of the MOOC into their coursework, and the UPEI community is invited to engage as well.

For more information, or to register, visit the EdX page for the course.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

UPEI Women’s Basketball Head Coach Greg Gould is pleased to announce that Abby Lacey has committed to the Panthers for the 2018–19 season. Lacey is a 5’7” guard from Riverview, New Brunswick who has been a three year-starter for the Riverview High School Royals, leading her team to the New Brunswick High School provincial final last season.

“I am very excited to be joining the UPEI Panthers,” said Lacey. “Their style of play is very fast, which I feel will be a good fit for my game. I am looking forward to the challenges of playing at the next level, continuing to develop my skills, and contributing to the team in any way I can.”

Lacey was drawn to UPEI’s Department of Psychology and is excited to be part of the close-knit campus and Island communities.

“I have followed Abby’s basketball career for the past three years, and I am excited to have her join our program,” said Gould. “She is dynamic player—fast, quick and very strong. Abby is a natural scorer, who can attack the basket, pull-up, or shoot the three. She is a very good student, a hard worker, and a great team player who I see making an immediate contribution. I look forward to helping her achieve her academic and basketball goals.”

Lacey has been accepted into the UPEI Faculty of Arts. Go Panthers Go!

UPEI invites students and employees to fully make use of UPEI Emergency Alert—UPEI's new emergency mass notification system—by signing up to receive texts during an emergency or for storm closures. 

All current students, faculty, and staff with an @upei.ca email have been automatically entered into the UPEI Emergency Alert system and will receive email messages (the database is updated on a periodic basis to capture new students and employees). However, campus members need to opt-in to receive text notifications.

As a further incentive to opt-in, UPEI is running a contest where students, faculty, and staff will have a chance to win one of four $100 gift certificates for the UPEI Bookstore if they update their profile by midnight on February 2, 2018. There are two ways to enter:

1. Visit upei.ca/alert for instructions on how to login, update your profile, and opt-in to receive texts, or read the updated UPEI Emergency Alert instruction guide
    
2. Visit the UPEI Emergency Alert booth from 12 noon–2 pm at the W.A. Murphy Student Centre (January 22–26) and Robertson Library (January 29–February 2) where UPEI Security Services will assist you in updating your profile and opting-in to receive texts.

If you think you have already updated your UPEI Emergency Alert profile with your cell/smart phone number but still are not receiving texts, please review the UPEI Emergency Alert instruction guide as there have been some updates since the initial instructions were sent in 2017. For more information, visit upei.ca/alert or email Mark Pharand, Manager, Security Services.

Contest rules:

• Contest closes February 2, 2018, at midnight.
• Any faculty, staff, or student who opts in prior to midnight, February 2, 2018 will be entered in a draw for a chance to win one (1) gift certificate to the UPEI Bookstore.
• A total of four (4) $100 gift certificates will be distributed in the following manner: one to a member of faculty and staff; three to students.
• Members of the Emergency Operations Centre team will be excluded from the draw.
• Winners will be drawn on Monday, February 5, 2018 and notified as soon as possible.

The UPEI Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams are partnering with Bell Aliant this weekend to present Bell Let’s Talk Night. Saturday’s home games against Cape Breton University will include activities to help encourage everyone to join the conversation about mental health.

The Panther basketball teams are hosing a two-night home stand against Cape Breton University. Saturday, the women take the court at 6:00 pm. The men play at 8:00 pm.

Greg Gould, coach of the UPEI Women’s Basketball team, says his squad will be looking to build on their recent momentum.

“We have two very tough games against CBU this weekend,” said Gould. “These game are extra important as we lost two close games to them at CBU. They are a big, physical team with two high scoring post players in Keough and Brown. We will need to be at our best to win.”

The teams play again the next day. The women start at 1:00 pm. The men tip off at 3:00 pm.

“We are looking forward to being back at home playing in front of our home crowd,” said Darrell Glenn, coach of the UPEI Men’s Basketball team. “Our goal on Saturday will be to build on our performance from Acadia this past weekend. Shot selection, lots of ball movement, and defending the paint are areas where we have to get significantly better.”

The teams are looking to pack the gym Saturday evening for Bell Let’s Talk Night.

“I am very pleased to have our student-athletes taking on a leadership role in the promotion Bell Let’s Talk in support of mental health,” said Chris Huggan, director of UPEI Athletics and Recreation. “For those impacted by mental illness, stigma can be one of the greatest obstacles. I’m proud that we’re part of the effort to get people talking. I hope you'll come out and cheer on our teams and support Bell Let's Talk.”