The UPEI Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, will feature an encore performance of 'The Lord of the Rings' on Sunday, February 5 at 3:00 pm in the Homburg Theatre at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. As UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall was filled to capacity for the December 1 concert, this additional performance will hopefully satisfy the demand of those unable to take in the initial recital. Moreover, the opportunity to hear the Wind Symphony in the Homburg Theatre, an excellent concert hall, will make for an enhanced experience for audience members.

Dutch composer Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 'The Lord of the Rings' is based on the trilogy of that name by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has fascinated many millions of readers since its publication in 1955. The symphony consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book. The movements include Gandalf (The Wizard), Lothlórien (The Elvenwood), Gollum (Sméagol), Journey in the Dark, and Hobbits. The symphony was written in the period between March 1984 and December 1987 and has garnered many awards.

This special performance in the Homburg Theatre is done collaboratively with the PEI Intermediate Honours Band. Since 1992, a select group of school band students has met for an intensive weekend of rehearsals under the direction of an acclaimed conductor to advance and enrich their music making. This year's Honours Band consists of 130 instrumentalists, under the direction of Maestro Rowan Fitzgerald.

Comprised mostly of UPEI music majors, the Wind Symphony has been critically acclaimed for its performance standard and innovative programming. During the past 13 years, the Wind Symphony has produced an annual compact disc featuring selected repertoire from each year's performances. Its 2010 compact disc, 'Cathedrals,' received the Music PEI Award for best classical recording. In the spring of 2011, 'Freebirds,' was released to much praise. Each year, the Wind Symphony tours selected areas of the region to provide its membership with additional performance experiences and share its music with a wider audience. During the fall semester, performances of 'The Lord of the Rings' in Nova Scotia and PEI were met with enthusiastic response from audiences.

The public is cordially invited to attend this additional performance. Tickets for 'The Lord of the Rings' ($10 adults, $5 students) may be purchased at the Confederation Centre Box Office.

The UPEI men's hockey team will play their final season game at Credit Union Place in Summerside, as part of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada. The Panthers will face the St. Thomas Tommies on February 11 at 2 pm.

UPEI Director of Athletics and Recreation Ron Annear arranged for a venue change after approaching Atlantic University Sport, and his counterpart at St. Thomas University.'The local organizing committee approached us to be a part of the programming for Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada events, and it was too great an opportunity to pass up. It allows us to bring Panther hockey to Summerside, engage our alumni in Prince County, as well as be a part of a national celebration of Canada's favourite past-time.'

This marks the first time in the 12-year history of the CBC event that it will be held in PEI. Hosting of the event is a local partnership between the province of PEI, cities of Charlottetown and Summerside, and Hockey PEI. A volunteer committee is coordinating events that begin February 8. The week will culminate in a day-long hockey celebration on February 11 that will feature Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, CBC Hockey Night in Canada personalities, broadcasting the Panther match-up, a PEI Rocket game, as well as a Summerside Western Capitals game, live from the country's smallest province.

All UPEI season ticket holders will be admitted to the UPEI game, sponsored by Cavendish Farms, upon presentation of their pass.

UPEI will be sending two buses to the game in Summerside. A bus sponsored by Student Services will be available for UPEI students. Students can reserve a seat and a game ticket at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre front desk. There are an additional 45 free student tickets available which also must be claimed at the front desk. UPEI will also be providing complimentary transportation for season ticket holders and the general public. To confirm a seat on this bus, please email heartz@upei.ca on or before Tuesday, February 7.

Tickets are available at Eastlink Arena in Summerside (902) 432-1234 or online at www.tickets.summerside.ca.

Both the UPEI basketball and hockey teams will be hosting 'alumni nights' on January 28, 2012. The events will welcome former Panthers and recognize athletes, coaches, and others who have added to the history of sport at UPEI.

The UPEI women's and men's basketball teams will host a double header against the Memorial University Seahawks at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, respectively, in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. There will be a special ceremony immediately following the women's game to introduce a new UPEI sports recognition program, which will honour former athletes, coaches, and builders who have contributed to UPEI basketball. These individuals will also qualify for future UPEI Sports Hall of Fame consideration. Andy Packard, former Panther athlete, will be recognized at this ceremony for his tremendous basketball accomplishments from 1971-74.

All alumni are also welcome to attend a reception that will take place between games in the upper lobby of the Sports Centre.

That same night, the UPEI men's hockey team will host 'Alumni Green & White Night.' All former UPEI, SDU, and PWC hockey players are invited to take part in an alumni hockey game at 4:00 pm. Former UPEI hockey team captains, Ron Carragher and K.J. White, will be organizing the teams; to join a team, contact them at: racarragher@gov.pe.ca or kjwhite@edu.pe.ca. A social will be held after the alumni game just until the UPEI men's hockey team takes on the Acadia University Axemen at 7:00 pm. All events take place at MacLauchlan Arena.

For more information, visit ar.upei.ca

The UPEI Business Society are hosting 'UPEI Panthers Mean Business,' a pre-game reception for all business students, staff and faculty before the UPEI men's hockey game on January 27, at 5:30 pm at The Wave.

The reception will provide an opportunity to mingle and network before heading over to the MacLauchlan Arena to cheer on the Panthers. Prizes will also be up for grabs, including Empire Theatre movie passes, Adidas hoodies, UPEI apparel, and a 42' Toshiba 120hz LED HD TV.

The UPEI Panthers are playing the Dalhousie Tigers at 7:00 pm. The game will start off with a ceremonial puck drop between the respective Panther and Tiger mascots. A seating section in the rink has been reserved for students to take in the action!

The reception and Panther game are free student events; everyone is invited to come out and show some Panther Pride, and to have a chance to win some great prizes! GO PANTHERS GO!

For more information on the pre-game reception, check out the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/337671096264755/ or contact Elissa Blacquiere at (902) 316-1416 or upeibusinesssociety@gmail.com

With funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Aboriginal Youth Internship Program, the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI is sending two interns to Chiloe Island, Chile, in February. Olivia Levi of Miramichi, NB, and Samantha Lewis of Lennox Island First Nation, PEI will spend the next four months working with aboriginal communities in Chile.

Chiloe Island is part of a large archipelago located off the coast of southern Chile. Many of their native youth migrated to urban areas in recent decades, seeking work in industrial aquaculture. Now they are returning home, after the collapse of the industrial aquaculture industry in which they were employed. However, these young men and women return without knowing the traditional ways of their native Williche community and without the skills necessary to make a living at the traditional livelihoods of farming and fishing. The bridge between elders and youth has been lost.

In recent years, interns from the Institute of Island Studies have been helping to document cultural practices on Chiloe. This will help the Williche Council of Chiefs develop programs to reintroduce Williche youth to their traditional knowledge. Modern scientific knowledge will also be integrated with tradition to develop livelihood options.

Olivia is a member of the Metepenagiag First Nation in Miramichi. She has been studying political science and business, and is active in her community. 'This past summer, I was involved in a student project at home which brought pride to me and to my community,' said Olivia. 'I learned that there is nothing stopping me from contributing, and now I want to share that with other native groups. So I view Chiloe as an opportunity to see what difference I can make there, what I can share, and what I can learn.'

Samantha is from Lennox Island First Nation, PEI. She serves on the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet Atlantic Youth Council as the PEI youth representative. She is also involved with the Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council as the female representative for PEI/NB, and just recently she has been elected as the youth member of the Aboriginal Women's Association of PEI. Samantha is a cultural promoter and performer through singing, dancing and cultural storytelling. She has been dancing women's fancy shawl for 9 years, and has developed a new love of hoop dancing and jingle dress dancing. 'I have been involved in advocating for youth and I am passionate in preserving our Mi'kmaq culture,' she said. 'I am proud to represent the Mi'kmaq people and I look forward to learning and working with the Williche natives of Chile.'

The two women will depart for Chile on February 5 and will live and work with the Williche native communities for the next four months.

"Olivia and Samantha have been busy preparing for their work in Chiloe, and we look forward to the contributions they will make there, and also to what they will bring back to share,' said Dr. Irene Novaczek, Director of the Institute of Island Studies.

UPEI will be celebrating its eleventh annual International Development Week (IDW), February 6-12, with all events open to the public. The 2012 theme will be 'Building Democracies: Instilling Civil Societies and Developing Democratic Processes.' IDW is a national event held each year to increase awareness of Canada's role in international development. The events also serve to educate the general public on life in developing countries.

Some of this year's IDW Week events include a community luncheon, global jam, student symposium, film screenings, and special guest presentations including Nadia Kostiuk, Vice-President of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Kostiuk will speak on current challenges to development cooperation.

The full schedule of events is posted on upei.ca/idw. For more information, contact Dr. Christian Lacroix, Dean of Science, (902) 566-0320 or lacroix@upei.ca.

UPEI's Family and Nutritional Sciences (FANS) Society is committed to building a strong community, and this year was no different. The student group, which includes foods & nutrition, family science, child studies, and kinesiology students, was recently involved in a number of fundraising and awareness initiatives, which raised over $3,800.

Their monthly fundraising began in September, with a FANS team taking part in the annual CIBC Run for the Cure. The students had a coffee and muffin sale to raise funds and they also sought out sponsors. Despite poor weather conditions, the team was awarded the 'Post-Secondary Individual Challenge Award 2011' for being the top post-secondary fundraising team in PEI.

Samantha Smith, co-president of FANS, thanks the society for enhancing her overall experience at UPEI, 'FANS has succeeded in making real change on campus and in our community,' she said. 'In the process of fundraising and bringing about change, we have all gained so much in return.'

Throughout the month of October, FANS continued to raise funds for cancer research when they took part in the annual UPEI Relay for Life. The group picked apples from a local orchard and baked delicious apple treats as a way to raise extra money. FANS also had a student team registered in the PEI Relay for Life that took place in May, and was recognized as 'The Most Spirited Team.'

In the months of November and December, the society didn't slow down. They participated in The Kidney Foundation's 'Bowling for Research' fundraiser, where they were applauded for being the only student group to take part. For many years, FANS has been involved in providing gifts to needy families during the holiday season. Throughout the fall semester, FANS raised money by selling departmental clothing and other fundraising activities to provide gifts for the local family. FANS also partnered up with UPEI's Diversity Office in December, to aid in the cultural and religious celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Members of the FANS team dedicated many hours to prepare 300 cookies-shortbread, Mandelbrot, and sesame cookies, to represent each respective celebration.

Currently, the FANS Society is selling cookbooks compiled with student and faculty recipes. Profits from cookbook sales will be used to support the Canadian Council for the Blind and next year's Christmas family fundraiser. In March, FANS will participate in 'Nutrition Month,' where they will inform the campus community on healthy eating. The society also puts on weekly yoga sessions, and the drop-in donations are used to support a student attending the annual Dietitians of Canada national conference.

'We're so pleased to see the FANS Society take such initiative in helping out these great causes,' said Kathy Gottschall-Pass, Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Human Sciences. 'It's students like them who make the university and its community a better place.'

Lorenzo Parker, of the Horton High School Griffins, has committed to attend the University of Prince Edward Island in the fall of 2012. The 6'3' guard has been an all-star or MVP in every tournament that his team has entered this season, and he has scored 40 or more points in several games this year. Parker will be rejoining Coach Tim Kendrick with the Panthers, after having had him as a high school coach for two years in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Parker is excited to join the UPEI Panthers next year, 'I'm looking forward to being reunited with Coach Kendrick at UPEI, and competing for the chance to win some AUS and CIS championships.'

'We are thrilled to have Lorenzo joining us. He is a very good player with tremendous potential. We certainly had him rated as one of the top high school players in the Maritimes...if not the top,' said UPEI Head Coach, Tim Kendrick. 'As good a player as he is, he is an even finer young man. He will make a great Panther!'

The UPEI Panthers are currently in first place in the 2011/2012 AUS rankings, and the Horton Griffins hold first place in Nova Scotia's West Region league, as well as in the Mainland Athletic Conference in Nova Scotia.

The University of Prince Edward Island celebrated today the launch of a new contract research company based partly on UPEI technology. Bio-valuation Outsourcing Solution (BioVOS) provides services to the pharmaceutical industry to test new drugs and treatments for neuro-inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular disorders, including stroke and heart disease.

'Pharmaceutical companies face real challenges when bringing a new drug to market,' says Dr. Tarek Saleh, Professor of Biomedical Sciences at UPEI's Atlantic Veterinary College and CEO of BioVOS. 'Drug development takes up to 15 years with a success rate of just one in five thousand at an average cost of more than a billion dollars. Contract research organizations, such as BioVOS, can help streamline that process and make it more affordable.'

BioVOS has exclusive agreements in place to use more than one hundred in vivo and in vitro research models and techniques developed by the Atlantic Centre for Bioactive Valuation (ACBV) and other partners. The research of ACBV was made possible by generous funding from Innovation PEI and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

Three Oaks Innovations Inc., the commercialization arm of the University of Prince Edward Island, helped navigate the partners involved in BioVOS toward today's business launch.

'We are excited to have been a part of the process that led to this deal,' said Sophie Theriault, Managing Director of Three Oaks Innovations Inc. 'BioVOS' scientific expertise, mixed with the state-of-the-art, SPF- equipped facilities will provide pharmaceutical clients with efficient and high-quality reporting. This is an exciting venture for Prince Edward Island.'

'BioVOS is the result of the collaboration and excellence built on the UPEI campus between the Atlantic Veterinary College and the NRC-INH,' said Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI's Vice-President of Research. 'With the help of Three Oaks Innovations Inc., the expertise of UPEI is making a real contribution to future Island prosperity.'

'I want to congratulate Dr. Saleh for this exciting achievement,' said Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President of UPEI. 'This is our fourth spin-off company from UPEI, and our second in the last 18 months. We're turning research into commercial output at a rate twice that of any other post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada.'

Dr. Fiona Walton, Professor of Education at UPEI, has been awarded a 2012 3M National Teaching Fellowship. Each year, the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and 3M Canada join together to reward exceptional teaching and learning at Canadian universities. Walton was among the 10 teaching fellows chosen for this year.

She is known as a visionary, a determined and courageous educator who makes a difference, and creates a lasting legacy in aboriginal education. Dr. Shannon Murray, Professor of English at UPEI and also a 2001 3M National Teaching Fellow, agrees.

Murray was the one who nominated Walton for the prestigious award. 'Her work has expanded the notion of what, and where, a university can be in the Canadian context,' said Murray. 'This was exemplified on Canada Day 2009, when 21 Inuit women students in Iqaluit graduated with master of education degrees. Fiona was instrumental in establishing that groundbreaking program.'

Walton describes her teaching philosophy as teaching toward bettering selves, teaching beyond the classrooms, and teaching toward caring and democratic communities. This is exactly what she has demonstrated throughout her work in Inuit education for over 30 years.

UPEI President, Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz expressed the University's pride in Walton. 'On behalf of UPEI and its community, I extend congratulations to Fiona for this great accomplishment. Her passion and caring nature complement her high standards in teaching and learning, and we couldn't be more proud of her.'

Walton is deeply honoured to represent UPEI as a 2012 3M Teaching Fellow, 'Thanks to Shannon Murray and many other colleagues; teaching well is greatly valued at UPEI. I have received encouragement, support, and advice within a culture that helps us all to improve student engagement and learning- something I believe to be very important.'