UPEI men's basketball Head Coach Tim Kendrick is pleased to announce that 5'10' guard Ellis Ffrench, a transfer student from St. FX, has committed to join the program for the final two years of his eligibility.

On Monday, May 6, UPEI faculty members were honoured at Faculty Recognition Night held in the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall. The evening was a time to celebrate and honour faculty achievements. Opening remarks were delivered by Betty Jeffery, President of the Faculty Association, while closing remarks were delivered by UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz.

The annual event, co-sponsored by the UPEI Faculty Association and the Office of the President, honours the winners of the Hessian Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Merit Award for Scholarly Achievement. Retiring faculty members and those who have served UPEI for 25 years or more were also recognized.

The Hessian Award is granted to faculty members who have shown outstanding competence in teaching; this year's recipients were Janet Bryanton, Nursing; and Edward Gamble, Business. The Merit Award is intended to honour faculty members in scholarly research/and or artistic creation, and in doing so, inspire others to aspire to such achievement. This year's recipients were Robert Hurta, Biology; Carlo Lavoie, Modern Languages; and Henrik Stryhn, Health Management.

John Burka, Biomedical Sciences; Rick Cawthorn, Pathology and Microbiology; Wayne Cutcliffe, Computer Science and Information Technology; June Countryman, Music; and Sharon Neill, Robertson Library were all honoured and recognized for their years of service to the University as retiring faculty members.

25-Year Anniversary Faculty awards were presented to faculty members at the second annual Presidential Awards of Merit ceremony earlier that day. The following is a list of faculty members who were honoured: Jeffery Davidson, Health Management; Janos Fedak, Fine Arts; Paul Hanna, Pathology and Microbiology; Barbara Horney, Pathology and Microbiology; Stephen Howard, Computer Science and Information Technology; Vickie Johnston, Psychology; Alfonso Lopez, Pathology and Microbiology; Richard Lemm, English; Philip Smith, Psychology; Annie Spears, Economics; and Glenda Wright, Biomedical Sciences.

UPEI congratulates all award winners!

The UPEI Alumni Association is now accepting nominations for their Distinguished Alumni Awards. These awards are presented to graduates for their outstanding contribution to knowledge, the arts, the community, the university, or humanity.

The Inspiring Young Alumni Award is presented to a graduate, under the age of 40, who has shown outstanding determination in achieving success at a young age.

The second Nunavut Master of Education (MEd) cohort of thirteen students will graduate in Iqaluit on Saturday, June 1 at a special convocation celebration. Two elders will also receive honorary degrees.

The program, co-taught by alumnae and instructors with experience in Nunavut, was delivered in Nunavut with the exception of two summer courses at UPEI, giving participants an opportunity to experience the University's campus and Prince Edward Island.

Respected elders, Donald Uluadluak and Rhoda Karetak will be presented with honorary degrees. Uluadluak has helped deepen the graduates' understanding of Inuit traditional knowledge-also known as Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. Karetak, a cultural advocate and educator has an intense passion for teaching and passing on her skills to others.

In 2009, the first Nunavut MEd cohort graduated 21 successful students.

The following is a UPEI/Nunavut release distributed by Integrated Communications at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Are you looking to add value to your organization? If so, this is your opportunity to participate in a rewarding and meaningful program that will allow you to expand your workforce with energetic, bilingual students, at little cost to your business.

UPEI's Languages at Work program-a part of the Explore Program-takes place from July 1-August 23, and you are invited to get involved by hiring a qualified bilingual student eager to improve their language skills in a work environment.

Not only does this program provide students with an excellent opportunity to be immersed in their second language, it also gives employers the opportunity to hire these employees at a lower cost during the peak tourist season as the students' salaries (plus benefits) are funded 60% by the program!

Interested employers must provide students with a meaningful work experience, along with appropriate guidance and orientation, for 35 hours of work per week. For more information, contact Emily Younie, UPEI Languages at Work Project Officer, at (902) 566-0579 or egyounie@upei.ca

PEI's newest published poet, Mathew Henderson, will launch his first book, The Lease, on Wednesday, June 5 at 7:30 pm in the UPEI Faculty Lounge, Main Building. His reading is sponsored by the UPEI English department with support from The Canada Council for the Arts.

Mathew grew up on the Island, and graduated from UPEI in 2008 with a BA (Honours) in English. He won first prize in the Milton Acorn Poetry Category of the Island Literary Awards. He then earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Mathew now teaches English at Humber College in Toronto.

During his undergraduate and graduate school summers, Mathew worked in the oil patches of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The poems in The Lease (the title refers to oil leases) are written in the sweat, blood, and grease of those who labour in the oilfields. His poetry drills into the Prairie landscape to find human technology and physical labour realigning our habitat. Like the gas flares burning in the oilfields, Henderson's writing illuminates the rigorous and often unflattering realities of industrial culture and is cast of hard-living humans.

In a New York Times feature review, Dwight Garner writes that 'distinctive blue collar voices remain a rarity, especially in our [American] poetry. Among Mr. Henderson's gifts is his ability to populate his poems vividly… He's a close observer of this work, but he's an even closer observer of the social landscape that surrounds it.' Garner then says, 'It's an absurd bonus that Mr. Henderson also happens to be a complicated nature poet.' Concluding, he states: 'I've read more adept books of poetry than The Lease in the past six months, with more self-conscious chaos and precision wordplay. But I've read none that I was more eager to run through again in my mind.'

The Lease was published last year by Coach House Books in Toronto, one of Canada's distinguished literary presses, which published early works by such major authors as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, and Ann-Marie MacDonald, and has launched the careers of many celebrated writers for almost 50 years.

A reception and book signing will follow Mathew's reading. Admission is free.

UPEI women's rugby Head Coach Shannon Atkins is pleased to introduce flag rugby as part of the UPEI Panther Academy community offering.

'PEI is the only province that does not have mini rugby in place, and that puts us at a disadvantage,' said Atkins. 'This opportunity for rugby to build at the grassroots level is beneficial to all. It gives children an opportunity to play a new and exciting sport and will act as a feeder system for the most participated high school sport in our province. It's a win-win situation, and I'm glad to be a part of it!'

The flag rugby program will take place June 17-August 12 on Mondays at 6:00 pm at MacAdam field at UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place. The program is open to all youth 8-10 years old.

Atkins, along with members of the women's and men's rugby programs, will lead the program.

'Another exciting offering of our Panther Academy program,' said UPEI Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman. 'It's an opportunity for young boys and girls to participate in, and learn about, the sport of rugby, be active, and have fun.'

For more information, or to register, contact pantheracademy@upei.ca or call Panther Central at (902) 566-0368.

UPEI women's basketball Head Coach Greg Gould is pleased to announce Julie Hatcher, a 5'6' point guard from Riverview, New Brunswick, has committed to the University of Prince Edward Island and will join the Panthers in the fall.

Hatcher comes to UPEI as a transfer student from Saint Mary's University (SMU) where she played for a season with the huskies. She brings a wealth of experience and a winning streak. In addition to her time at SMU, she was a member of the Riverview High School team which won the New Brunswick Ladies AAA High School Championship in her senior year. She also played for the Basketball New Brunswick provincial under-16 and under-17 teams, as well as for the NB Canada Games team which finished fifth at the 2009 Canada Games in Summerside.

'I had the pleasure of coaching Julie for four years at Riverview High School and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work with her again here at UPEI. She will be an outstanding addition to our team,' said Gould. 'Julie is the epitome of what a point guard should be. She is an unselfish leader who makes all of her teammates better. Her court vision and exceptional passing skills will help make us a much better offensive transition team. Julie is also a great 3-point shooter and a solid defender with a high basketball IQ.'

'I'm very excited to be joining the Panther community in the fall. I played for Coach Gould in high school and I know his style of play is a good fit for me. I have played with some of the UPEI girls in the past and feel comfortable with them on and off the court,' said Hatcher. 'I admire the team's work ethic and commitment to excellence and can't wait to contribute to the program. The small class sizes and strong academic reputation of UPEI makes it the perfect school for me.'

'Julie is all about winning, she hates to lose and that fits into the culture we are developing here at UPEI,' added Gould. 'She will have an immediate impact on our team and I'm delighted she has decided to play here.'

'I'm happy to welcome Julie to the Panther Family,' commented UPEI Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman. 'We will support her to ensure she thrives as a student-athlete here at UPEI.'

Hatcher will be enrolling in UPEI's bachelor of science program majoring in biology, with the eventual goal of a career in the medical or environmental field.