The Office of the President invites you to enjoy a festive study break on Thursday, December 8 from 1 to 2 pm, in the lobby of the W.A. Murphy Student Centre and Main Building. There will be free hot cocoa, coffee, and cookies along with the sounds of UPEI music students -- all to help ease the stress of studying and exams, and to celebrate the holiday season. All students are welcome!

For more information, email communications@upei.ca.

Three UPEI students, who spent the summer helping the underprivileged in central Kenya through a Farmers Helping Farmers (FHF) initiative, continue to lend a helping hand. Hannah Hughes, Amy Rawlinson, and Harrison Blizzard were a part of a group of exchange students who spent 90 days in the village of Kiirua, and were so moved by their experience that they are fundraising back at home for the Kenyan villagers.

Each year, UPEI's Business 391: Strategic Management course provides its students with the opportunity to analyze a real company and to develop a strategic plan for the company's future.

This year, Dr. Juergen Krause, associate professor and director of UPEI's Centre for Health and Biotech Management Research, approached the Gahan House Brewery, a local brewery with big plans to internationalize.

'The fortunate scenario that our students can once again work for a business sponsor from PEI, like the Gahan House Brewery, provides them with the opportunity to apply their learned knowledge in a practical setting,' said Krause. 'It also aims to support local businesses, thereby demonstrating the connectedness of the UPEI school of business with our community.'

Three teams were selected from the class to present their projects to the client on November 30. Chosen based on their scores on a previous class case, 'Horizon 20/20 Consultants,' 'Inspired Solutions,' and 'Infinite Discoveries' delivered their plan to the Gahan House Brewery's brewmaster, Trent Hayes, and brewer, Bryan Carver.

Hayes and Carver were impressed by the work put into each group's final projects. 'Giving the business students an opportunity to examine the future possibilities of a rapidly growing brewery has been a great experience,' said Carver. 'The students witnessed the highly competitive industry we work in and we gained insight from their perspective on how we can establish our brand in new markets.'

After a difficult deliberation, the judges dubbed 'Inspired Solutions' the winners and the Gahan House Brewery presented them with a $1,000 cash prize. Team members Conrad MacDonald, Brady McCloskey, Alana McKie, and Jackie Skinner focused on the New England states for the Gahan expansion. The team came up with a catchy tagline for Gahan's new Lager: 'Not just an Island beer, but an Island experience' and also came up with innovative ways to market the new product, including a QR code and a humorous bus advertisement.

"Working with a real company like the Gahan Brewery is such a privilege and we were excited to do it,' said team member, Jackie Skinner. 'We spent many hours working on this project and we were so pleased to see that our efforts translated into the win.'

The University of Prince Edward Island community was saddened by the passing of Professor Emeritus Edward Leslie Edmonds, PhD KStJ, on December 4 at the age of 95.

Born in England, Dr. 'Eddie' Edmonds studied under C.S Lewis while at Oxford University, earning his BA and master's of arts. He also earned a master's of education from Sheffield University and his PhD from Leeds University along with a number of university diplomae in literature, teaching, public administration, and educational administration before moving to Canada.

After teaching and serving as a department head at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Edmonds came to the newly constituted University of Prince Edward Island, becoming the first dean of education. Dr. Edmonds is widely published, with many books to his credit (including two of poetry) and was recognized in later years for his long-time dedication to teaching history classes to seniors.

Dr. Miles Turnbull, acting dean of the faculty of education, said, 'The UPEI faculty of education is saddened by Dr. Edmonds' passing. We are honoured to count him as one of our important founders. Our condolences go to his family, with special mention of his son, Iain, who completed a master of education with us.'

He was a long-standing fellow of the Royal Historical Society, knight of the Order of St. John, an honorary citizen of Texas, and served and held leadership positions in a number of professional, community and charitable organizations.

Dr. Edmonds was the beloved husband of Jane (Murray), loving father of Iain and Kirsty Stewart (Bob) and dear grandfather of Jeni, James, and Thomas. He is lovingly remembered by stepchildren, Catherine Murray-Grandjean, Dan Murray, and Sue Murray, and nine stepgrandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Ruth Auty.

His funeral will be held in Cornwall Christian Church on Friday, December 9 at 11 am. Interment for family only in Argyle Shore Cemetery. No visiting hours by personal request.

Memorial donations may be made to UPEI or to Maritime Christian College.

www.belvederefh.com

A new award has been established to honour UPEI's football tradition and to support a UPEI student athlete. Marcus Dunphy, a fourth year arts student, is the first recipient of the UPEI Football Alumni Scholarship, awarded annually to a qualifying UPEI student athlete playing on the Holland Hurricanes Community Football Team.

Dunphy, who hails from Souris, PEI, anchored the Hurricanes defense as a middle linebacker. The team captain was also selected as the Hurricanes' defensive player of the year for the past two years. Dunphy is described as a dedicated, hard working, and team oriented player.

Founding directors of the UPEI Football Alumni Scholarship Fund, Ken Hubley and Gerry Lajeunesse agree that the scholarship's first recipient was deserving of the new award. 'Marcus Dunphy is a very worthy first recipient of the UPEI Football Alumni Scholarship,' said Hubley. 'He excelled academically, was a role model and leader on the football team, and we are very pleased to present him with this award,' he added.

Dunphy was ecstatic to be the first recipient of the scholarship. 'It's an honour to be chosen as the first person to receive this award. Having football at this level reintroduced and recognized in PEI has been great for football players and fans across the Island,' said Dunphy. 'The football community on the Island has shown our team tremendous support which continues to grow as people recognize our success.'

The UPEI Football Alumni Scholarship has been established to honour former varsity football players from St. Dunstan's University, Prince of Wales College and the University of Prince Edward Island and will be funded by football alumni.

Limited service will be provided from December 26, 2011, through January 2, 2012, inclusive. Office hours and regular business will resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. The following lists some limited holiday hours:

The Centre for Conflict Resolution Studies at UPEI hosted a graduation on November 29 to award the Certificate in Conflict Resolution Studies. Among the 42 graduates were 22 women who participated in the program through the Supporting, Training and Enhancing Problem Solving Skills (STEPS) for Women project. The STEPS project was created to extensively train women engaged in community organizations across the province to gain skills to become educators and supporters for their peers.

Dr. Jim Randall, Vice-President Academic, was on hand to greet the graduates and present them with their certificates. 'All of these graduates lead busy hectic lives. I congratulate them for persevering in the face of their many commitments,' said Randall. 'The knowledge and skills they have gained will benefit their careers, their families and the social and economic future of their communities' he added.

Shauna Sullivan Curley, Q.C., Deputy Minister, Environment, Labour, and Justice spoke of the importance of having conflict resolution skills during her convocation address. 'Conflict resolution is a skill that we use every day or fail to use to our detriment. As situations that generate conflict become more and more complex it becomes even more essential to bring about peaceful and mutually-beneficial solutions.'

STEPS graduates learned new skills and gained the confidence to be prepared to handle difficult situations. They are changing their relationships and workplaces to be more understanding and collaborative.

Fellow graduate, Michelle McCallum added, 'What we are talking about is integrating a new way of doing things into our workplaces and into our communications with decision makers and into our personal lives. As an alumna (of UPEI), I am bursting with pride that this type of excellence in lifelong learning is offered right here in my backyard.'

Graduates of the program, Darrell Gallant and Cathrne Chambers also spoke during the ceremony. Following the convocation, the more than 100 family and friends present gathered for a short reception in honour of the graduates.

About The Centre for Conflict Resolution Studies:

The Centre for Conflict Resolution Studies at UPEI provides a skills-based, 210-hour certificate in conflict resolution studies, including mediation, negotiation, and facilitation. The program is based on the belief that conflict can be dealt with in safe, mutually acceptable, and healthy ways. One hundred and twenty seven individuals have now graduated from the program while hundreds of others have taken individual workshops to meet their particular needs. It is one of the most comprehensive professional development programs in conflict studies in Canada.

UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz was amazed by the turnout and warm greetings at UPEI's New Year's Day levee. This was his first time hosting a UPEI levee since his installation as UPEI's sixth president.

UPEI Environmental Studies 409B students are hosting the first student-led environmental symposium on January 12 in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. The symposium will focus on the true costs of what we eat, wear, and use.

The students will present posters that relate to their term papers which discuss true costs and impacts on the local, national, and global economies. The poster presentation will take place from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm.

Evening activities, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm, include three informative guest speakers followed by a student video presentation and panel discussion. Guest speakers include Phil Ferraro from the PEI Adapt Council, UPEI Associate Professor of Chemistry Michael Shaver, and Halifax author Chris Benjamin. Speaker topics range from sustainability by using food resources to a bioregional approach to local economy, sustainability, and responsibility, to the true costs of plastics and the environmental implications.

The video, created by student Connor Leggot and his girlfriend, Ashley Prince, follows their month-long garbage challenge that saw who could produce the least amount of waste.

From Sunday, May 27 to Wednesday, May 30, 2012, the University of Prince Edward Island will host the annual conference of the Atlantic Association of College and University Student Services (AACUSS).

Every spring, professionals who work directly with students at post-secondary institutions across the Atlantic provinces gather to share best practices, professional development, and research. This year's conference theme is Collaboration: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The focus will be on sharing pragmatic collaborative solutions and creative strategies for making the student experience successful.

The AACUSS membership is made up of student affairs officers and professionals from counselling, health services, financial aid, housing, accessibility services, international services, career services, and other areas that deal directly with student life. At this year's annual general meeting, a new division for academic support services will be established.

'We want to offer tangible takeaways for our membership,' says James Reddin, conference chair and counsellor at UPEI Student Services. 'Open dialogue about how we use collaboration to get the job done -or not- is critical to student engagement, retention and success.'

AACUSS 2012 will engage participants with exciting keynote speakers and showcase the considerable talents of student services professionals right here at home. Conference participants are invited to give presentations and workshops or participate in panel discussions about how collaboration works on their campuses. The AACUSS conference also offers a unique networking opportunity with social events and an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding achievement in the field.

In January, watch for more information on AACUSS 2012 on aacuss.ca.