Businesses and organizations on PEI in need of research expertise can be challenged to find the help they need. Synapse Applied Research and Industry Services (operating as Synapse) was established to help companies identify knowledge gaps, and then connect those businesses with the relevant University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) expertise best aligned to those needs.

Sean Casey, Member of Parliament (Charlottetown), on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Honourable Heath MacDonald, PEI Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, and Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President and Vice-Chancellor of UPEI, today announced funding to support the work carried out by Synapse.

“The Government of Canada through ACOA, is making strategic investments in science, technology and innovation. I am pleased to announce our support for this project; Synapse is playing a key role in bringing industry and science together to benefit the PEI economy," said Casey.

Minister MacDonald said, “UPEI’s innovative researchers are developing leading-edge technology solutions and Synapse is working to evaluate, transfer, and commercialize these technologies for industry. The province – through Innovation PEI – is happy to support Synapse’s efforts to link research with business, which will open up possibilities in new and emerging areas of our economy.”

The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Business Development Program will contribute $475,000 to this project over three years. The Government of Prince Edward Island will contribute up to $100,000 in 2016-17 towards operating costs, and UPEI will provide $398,030 to the project.

“UPEI is grateful to our federal and provincial government partners for recognizing the role that Synapse plays in transforming our researchers' innovative ideas into commercial products, business opportunities, and public knowledge," acknowledged President Abd-El-Aziz. "As a research hub, UPEI looks forward to continuing to advance science, technology, and the economy for our province.”

Dr. Kim Johnstone, Acting Director, Synapse added, "This funding allows us to continue what we do best: connecting businesses and UPEI faculty to realize advantages, innovations and economic development. The expertise, technologies and research range from chemistry, information technology and physics to environmental science, human health and aquaculture. And everything in between."

Synapse’s mandate is to manage the transfer of knowledge between researchers and businesses. Companies may seek expertise and information from UPEI researchers in varied fields of study. Plus, researchers can also reach out to companies to transform innovative ideas into commercial products or business opportunities. As a not-for-profit company, Synapse’s role is to act as a portal that links private-sector and academic entities.

The University of Prince Edward Island’s Board of Governors approved a balanced operating budget for 2016–17. The budget, which is $111 million, includes a tuition increase of three per cent, keeping it among the lowest in the Maritimes, and sustains core programs and services as well as UPEI’s workforce.

“UPEI is very proud of the continuing success of our students, faculty, and researchers,” said President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “As a key economic driver for the Province of Prince Edward Island, we are making a positive impact on the Island, Atlantic Canada and around the world. Together, we are building outstanding experiential learning opportunities and encouraging students to develop to their full potential in both the classroom and the community.”

UPEI’s budget plan is based on revenue generated by two principal sources—the annual provincial operating grant and student tuition. As was announced during the spring sitting of the provincial legislature last month, the provincial government increased UPEI’s operating grant by one per cent for 2016-17. Revenues are used to cover core operating costs including wages, utilities, equipment replacement and supply cost increases.

“We thank our government for its commitment and support to post-secondary students through such measures as increasing weekly student loan amounts, indexing for inflation, and extending the grace periods before repayment of student loans,” said President Abd-El-Aziz. “These initiatives support our shared priority—enabling our post-secondary students to advance their education to succeed in a globally interconnected labour market.”

The undergraduate tuition increase of three per cent represents $17 per course or $170 per year for a student taking a full course load. Tuition for international students will also increase by three per cent, or $20 per course.

During the budget process, the university worked to minimize the impact on UPEI’s most valuable resource—our people—by continuing to reduce non-salary expenditures as much as possible. While the proportion of the operating budget allocated to salaries and benefits remains high at 71 per cent, UPEI was able to sustain its workforce through vacancy management and attrition.

Other cost drivers include anticipated flat domestic enrolment numbers, normal inflationary effects, salary increments, pension commitments and benefit costs. Significant expenditures falling under the Administration and Finance portfolio include Project Beacon ($800,000) and additional costs for utilities and services for the new School of Sustainable Design Engineering building ($430,000).

President Abd-El-Aziz added, “We recognize that the cost of post-secondary education is rising for our students. However, an increase in tuition fees is necessary to help counteract our significant budget pressures. Even with a three per cent increase, our tuition remains one of the lowest undergraduate rates in the region.”

UPEI Student Union President Nathan Hood said, “While we cannot endorse a tuition increase of three per cent, we understand the financial challenges that the University faces as do other post-secondary institutions across the country. We appreciate being included in discussions about the budget and are pleased that it does not include cuts to core student programs and services. However, the UPEI Student Union continues to take the position that annual increases to tuition should be indexed to the Consumer Price Index.”

The operating budget does not include research funds, which are budgeted separately on a project-by-project basis, but it does include the budget of departments that provide support to research. Capital projects, such as the construction of the new School of Sustainable Design Engineering, are also budgeted on a project-by-project basis and reported within the capital assets fund.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students to reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and St. 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 Operating Budget 2016-17

Prometheus Reconsiders Fire, a new book of poetry by Dr. Brent MacLaine, will be launched at a public event on Wednesday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m., in the North River Fire Hall’s Ember Room.

A native of PEI, MacLaine is professor emeritus and a 3M Teaching Fellow in the Department of English at UPEI. In addition to numerous academic articles on modern literature, he has published four volumes of poetry. His awards for poetry include a League of Canadian Poets prize, the Prince Edward Island Book Award, and the Atlantic Poetry Prize.

In Prometheus Reconsiders Fire, MacLaine undertakes an exploration of fire. The title poem establishes Prometheus as the poet’s persona, a voice that is dedicated to the reconsideration of fire in both its benevolent and malevolent aspects. Formal and elegant, Prometheus plots a trajectory between the classical and the local, a bearing that will be familiar to readers of MacLaine’s earlier work, Athena Becomes a Swallow.

Wide-ranging in its geography, the new book is wrapped ’round by “The Fire Hall Suite,” which begins and ends the book. The poems in the collection respond to the “drive-by wisdom” created by the anonymous “Sign Person” who speaks to the local community by way of the fire hall’s roadside sign. Framed by the “Suite,” the poems of Prometheus move between city and country. A naturalist in the city, MacLaine brings to the urban environment the acutely observing eye that has always characterized his Island nature poems. The book is published by Nimbus Publishing.

Everyone is invited to attend the launch of Dr. MacLaine’s newest book. The Ember Room is upstairs in the North River Fire Hall, Trans Canada Highway, North River, PEI.

Congratulations, Dr. MacLaine!
 

National Police Week began in Canada in 1970 as a way to connect with communities and increase awareness about the services that police provide. This year, National Police Week runs from May 16-21, and is an opportunity to highlight the important role that police play in the safety and security of all people across Canada.

The University of Prince Edward Island’s Security Services team is recognized under the PEI Police Act as an official police agency. Among the team of 19 men and women, there are seven full-time police officers.

“Thousands of people work, study, visit and live on our campus. The UPEI Security Services team is dedicated to ensuring the safety of everyone on campus and for this we thank them,” said President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “National Police Week is an opportunity to show our gratitude to our UPEI campus police for their exceptional work, and I encourage the campus community to do just that.”

“Safety is our number one priority,” said Marc Pharand, manager of Security Services. “When a community effort is made, it benefits all individuals on our campus. We are lucky that individuals at UPEI are cooperative and care about safety.”

Thanks to UPEI Security Services, UPEI continues to work towards maintaining a safe environment for all individuals across the UPEI campus.

Kurt Laird of Laird Tree Care donated and planted an oak sapling on UPEI campus to celebrate National Arbour Day, May 20.

“The reason I chose UPEI as a place to have an Arbour Day planting is that the campus has proven itself as an arboretum of sorts,” said Kurt Laird of Laird Tree Care. “The university is a great example of how to care and manage large trees as well as adding new, viable, and interesting trees to the inventory. In the past elms were the backbone to the university treescape, but red oak has taken over that role. Adding another young oak will help ensure sustainability of the oak population.”

“We value our trees on campus, and we appreciate the work Laird Tree Service has done for us over the years, including ongoing tree maintenance and a tree-planting plan to ensure our treescape is healthy and sustainable,” said Greg Clayton, director of Facilities Management at UPEI. “We are especially thankful for his donation of a tree on National Arbour Day.”

The tree donated by Laird Tree Care will live and grow between Kelley Memorial Building and Cass Science Hall. It replaces a tree that had to be removed in the last few years.

The twelfth annual PEI Nursing Research to Practice Conference is being held May 27 in Don and Marion McDougall Hall at the University of Prince Edward Island. The conference brings together practicing nurses, academic researchers, and students to hear and share the latest research from their respective fields of practice.

This year’s conference will be filled with powerful research and compelling practice initiatives, which focus on the mental, physical, and emotional health of healthcare professionals and how this affects the way in which we care for our patients, clients, and residents. This is sure to be a day of captivating presentations, engaging discussions, and strong networking with others in the healthcare field. A variety of concurrent sessions by local and regional presenters is scheduled between the key note addresses.

“Health PEI is pleased to partner with UPEI every year in this important conference for our health care professionals,” said Brenda Worth, Chief Nursing Officer and Executive Director of Laboratory Services for Health PEI. “Bringing together nursing researchers and clinical practitioners for a day of shared learning can only improve health care services for Islanders.”

Interim Dean of UPEI School of Nursing Dr. Jo-Ann MacDonald describes the conference, “as a prime opportunity for our two organizations to focus on enhancing our work life and our profession in a research to practice forum.” 

Conference Keynotes:

Dr. Wendy Austin is a Registered Nurse and Professor Emerita at the University of Alberta. Her research includes a national study of compassion fatigue, now published as Lying Down in the Ever Falling Snow: Canadian Health Professionals’ Experience of Compassion Fatigue. Arts-informed dissemination of research is a current interest; Wendy and her colleagues’ narrative study of the moral distress of paediatric intensive care teams has been dramatized as a film, Just Keep Breathing.

Gord McNeilly is a motivational speaker and exercise instructor; he is also a former professional basketball player, military fitness instructor, and policy and health promotions officer at DVA. His presentation focuses on motivation, change, and commitment in relation to groups and management.

Speakers and organizers will be available for a photo opportunity at 8:15 am, outside of the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, room 242, Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

The 2016 PEI Nursing Research To Practice Conference is co-organized by UPEI’s School of Nursing and Health PEI. 

University of Prince Edward Island Women’s Soccer Coach Graeme McDonald is pleased to announce that Rogersville, New Brunswick native Tyffanie Bordage has committed to the Panthers for the 2016–17 season.

Coach McDonald says, “Tyffanie lives and breathes soccer and is very passionate about the game. She has excellent technique, explosive speed, and can score goals. She is an exciting player who works very hard and everyone will feed off her energy and enthusiasm. I am delighted to have her join the squad.”

Bordage, an honour roll student, is currently attending École secondaire Assomption (ESA) where she has received recognitions such as Athlete (2011-2015), Student (2011-2012), and 2013 Leader of the Year awards. Bordage was also a member of Student Council (2012-2016) and was School President in 2016. Bordage’s soccer experience includes playing at the AAA level (2 years in Moncton and 4 in Miramichi) and playing for Team NB (past 5 years), the Moncton High Performance Academy (2013), and Team Atlantic (2014).

“Tyffanie had a big impact on our high school soccer team as a great leader and captain. Over the last few years, she has become a complete soccer player both offensively and defensively. On the field, she’s gritty, skillful, and is great at finding space to create and explode through the offensive third—and makes teams pay,” says ESA Jaguars coach Philippe McCaie.

“She has scored many clutch goals while helping us bring home the regional and provincial soccer titles for our school even though we are one of the smallest schools in our division. Her hard work and devotion to the team has rubbed off on her teammates making everyone better,” McCaie adds. “Off the field, she had a positive impact as president of the student council and being involved in other school committees. She’s a great athlete and I really enjoyed having her on my team. UPEI did a wise choice by recruiting her!”

Bordage says, “Soccer is my passion, I've dedicated so many mornings, nights, weekends and holidays, that it has become more than just a sport to me. I am so grateful to be part of the UPEI squad and to continue my journey to reach new goals with the team and for myself.”

Bordage will be entering the Bachelor of Business Administration program.         

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

Dr. Frederick Kibenge, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at AVC, has published his first book, Aquaculture Virology.

Co-edited by Dr. Marcos Godoy, Center for Applied Biological Research (CIBA) in Chile, the book examines the main virus families and diseases relevant to aquaculture. Published by Elsevier (Imprint: Academic Press), the book covers principles of clinical virology for viruses that affect fish, crustaceans, and molluscs, the three major categories of farmed aquatic animals. Authors of the different book chapters are international experts in specific virus families or diseases. Dr. Kibenge wrote or co-wrote eight of the 39 chapters in the book.

“Despite considerable advances in animal virology in recent years, coupled with an economically important global aquaculture industry, knowledge of viruses of animal aquaculture is still sparse and in some cases outdated although these viruses are closely related to well-known virus families,” says Dr. Kibenge. “The last book in fish virology (Fish viruses and fish viral diseases 1988, Wolf, K.) was published in the 1980s. A lot of work has been done on fish viruses, and many new aquatic animal viruses continue to be discovered.”

Aquaculture Virology will be useful to clinical veterinarians, aquaculture disease practitioners, biologists, farmers, and all those in industry, government or academia who are interested in aquatic animal virology. The book is expected to be released on June 01, 2016. It is available for pre-sale through Elsevier’s online store.

Dr. Kibenge teaches veterinary virology in the second year of the DVM curriculum at AVC. He has been working with animal viruses for more than 30 years in addition to prior extensive post-doctoral research experience in virology in the United Kingdom and the USA. A Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (sub-specialty Immunology), he has published extensively on the detection and virology of fish viruses.

Congratulations, Dr. Kibenge!

The Atlantic Veterinary College’s 2016 Graduate Studies and Research Days (GS&R Days) concluded on Friday, May 13, with the presentation of awards to participating graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

During the two-day event, 20 graduate students and six post-doctoral fellows presented their research findings in areas ranging from terrestrial and aquatic animal health to environmental health and biomedical sciences.

On Friday, Dr. J Trenton McClure, professor of large animal medicine at AVC, was awarded the 2016 Zoetis Research Excellence Award and gave a presentation about his research. On Thursday, May 12, Dr. Dorothee Bienzle, an internationally recognized professor of pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, gave the annual R.G. Thomson Lecture, an endowed lecture honouring AVC’s founding dean, Dr. Reginald Thomson.

The following is a list of award winners:

2016 Governor General’s Award: Maria Forzan, PhD graduate, Pathology and Microbiology (awarded at UPEI Convocation, May 7)

2016 OGS Award of Distinction: Sarah McConnachie, PhD graduate, Pathology and Microbiology (awarded at UPEI’s 2016 senior class luncheon, May 6)

2015 G. Murray and Hazel Hagerman Scholarships: Michel Arsenault, PhD student, Biomedical Sciences (awarded at AVC Fall Recognition and Awards Night, October 2015)

Zoetis Graduate Student Award: Nora Biermann, PhD student, Health Management

Dr. Ian Dohoo Award: Niorn Ratanapob, PhD Student, Health Management

John and Carol MacLeod Award for Research Communication Excellence: Kami Harris, PhD Student, Pathology and Microbiology

The George and Margaret Peake Scholarships: Christopher Hagen, Post-Graduate Diploma student, Companion Animals, and Jonathan Lichtenberger, MSc student, Companion Animals

The Dr. E. Errol Hancock Scholarship: Shauna Richards, PhD Student, Health Management

Dr. Douglass W. Ehresmann Memorial Award: Louise Roux, MSc student, Biomedical Sciences

Dr. Ray Long Travel Award: Louise Roux, MSc Student, Biomedical Sciences

Dr. Basil Ikede Award in Diagnostic Veterinary Sciences: Laura Ross, MVSc student, Pathology and Microbiology

Best Paper Presentations in each session: Session One: Louise Roux, MSc Student, Biomedical Sciences; Session Two: Alyssa Grunwald, PhD student, Biomedical Sciences; Session Three: Jordan Poley, PhD student, Pathology and Microbiology

Best Overall MSc/MVSc Graduate Student Presentation: Denise Happ, MSc student, Biomedical Sciences

Best Overall PhD Graduate Student Presentation: Kami Harris, PhD student, Pathology and Microbiology

Best Overall Postdoctoral Presentation: Laura Braden, Pathology and Microbiology

Congratulations, everyone!

AVC faculty and staff were rewarded for their achievements and dedication at two events held at UPEI recently.

On May 4, the UPEI Faculty Association and the Office of the President sponsored the annual Faculty Recognition Night, which honours faculty members for excellence in teaching and scholarly achievement. Dr. Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Lecompte received a UPEI Merit Award for Scholarly Achievement, and Dr. Cora Gilroy, a Hessian Award for Excellence in Teaching. Both are with the Department of Pathology and Microbiology.

UPEI's annual Presidential Recognition Awards of Merit and 25-Year Service awards were presented to staff and faculty at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 11. The awards, created by UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, recognize outstanding performance and dedication to students and the community—on campus, provincially, and globally.

Marven MacLean, operations manager of AVC’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, received a Presidential Recognition Award of Merit for Exemplary Service. This award is presented to a UPEI employee who has demonstrated outstanding service and/or who has made significant contributions to the university community beyond that normally expected for his/her position.

Robert Doiron, the porter at AVC, received a Presidential Recognition Award of Merit for Campus Spirit, presented to a UPEI employee who has fostered a sense of excitement on campus and promoted fellowship, goodwill, and belonging within the University community, by supporting and promoting UPEI.

Receiving 25-year Service Awards were Laurel Fisher, Companion Animals; Eleanor Irving, Health Management; Karen Roche, Office of Academic and Student Affairs; Dr. David Speare, Pathology and Microbiology; and Dorota Wadowska, Electron Microscopy Lab.

Congratulations to all award recipients!