UPEI faculty members were honoured at Faculty Recognition Night, May 7, held this year on campus to celebrate and honour faculty achievements. The annual dinner and gala is co-sponsored by the UPEI Faculty Association and the Office of the President.
This event honours the winners of the Hessian Award for Excellence in Teaching and the UPEI Merit Award for Scholarly Achievement. It is also an opportunity to honour the service of retiring academic staff, as well as to recognize those who have served UPEI for 25 years or more.
The Hessian Award is given to a faculty member who has shown outstanding competence in teaching; this year’s recipients include: Inge Dorsey, University 100; Stacey MacKinnon, Psychology; LeeAnn Pack, Companion Animals; and Jason Pearson, Chemistry.
This year, three faculty members were recognized for their outstanding...
The UPEI Men’s Basketball Panthers are excited to announce that six-foot-five Brian Ofori, from Dawson College in Montreal, has committed to attend UPEI in September. Ofori led his team in rebounds and blocked shots, and was among the league leaders in the Quebec CEGEP league.
Tim Kendrick, head coach of the UPEI men’s basketball team was thrilled to learn Ofori would be attending UPEI in the fall. “We are excited to add Ofori to our Panther family. He comes to us with tremendous potential, and I see him as a great fit for our program,” said Kendrick. “He is a very physical athlete with a solid work ethic and attitude. Most importantly, like all of our players, he is a fine young man.”
Ofori is excited to join the Panthers lineup in September. “I am very pleased to have been chosen to play with the UPEI Panthers, and to be...
Over 900 graduates crossed the stage to receive their degrees, diplomas, and certificates, during convocation on Saturday, May 12. UPEI’s class of 2012 and their proud family and friends gathered in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre for two ceremonies, the first beginning at 10:00 am and the second at 2:30 pm.
Three honorary degrees were conferred upon J. Michael Bliss, historian and academic; Frank Zakem, businessman, politician, and administrator; and Derek Key, lawyer and community leader.
In his convocation remarks to the morning graduates, Bliss advised them not to take themselves too seriously, and although he surmised that they would not remember what he said (Bliss states in one of his books, “whoever remembers what a graduation speaker says?”), he hoped they would remember one word, “balance.”
Bliss went on to...
On Friday, May 11, academic and senior student awards were presented during a ceremony held in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. The celebration is an opportunity to honour fellow graduating students for academic and campus spirit achievements before they embark on new journeys after convocation on May 12.
The ceremony was attended by the deans of each faculty and other faculty members who joined together to acknowledge the years of dedication and sleepless nights the graduates endured to achieve their goals. The ceremony was also attended by many individuals and business representatives who have generously donated prizes to deserving students.
All graduates were encouraged to attend the awards ceremony to promote spirit for the Class of 2012 and to acknowledge the donors for prizes that students received. Students received awards for academics, campus and class...
UPEI Applied Human Sciences professor Jennifer Taylor was named a Female Food Hero by Oxfam Canada recently. Oxfam's Female Food Heroes are "women who are working to build a movement for good food, food that is grown well and shared fairly."
Taylor is a female food hero because of the amazing variety of food-related community contributions that she makes on PEI. She is an award-winning leader in the community, and works with others to promote access to healthy food. She is a strong proponent of local food and of ensuring local producers are part of the solution to providing local healthy food for all.
Oxfam Canada will hold its regional meeting on PEI on May 11-12, where they will discuss local and global food issues, celebrate and support the critical role of women around the issues of food both nationally and internationally. Oxfam believes ending...
For the first time on PEI, the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2012 will take place in Charlottetown from May 12 to 19, on the University of Prince Edward Island campus.
This national event brings together Canada’s 500 top scientists from grades 7 to 12 who have won their local, regional and provincial science competitions. And beyond showcasing their projects and competing for top awards and prizes, finalists will share a week of fun, discovery, and networking with other Canadian students, scientists and researchers, industry, and Islanders who are also interested in science and technology.
Everyone is invited to come to the UPEI campus to welcome, congratulate and meet Canada’s future science leaders during the public viewing times:
Members of UPEI’s Class of 2012, along with their family and friends, will gather in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on Saturday, May 12, to celebrate convocation, the biggest event of the academic year. Over 900 students, the largest graduating class to date, will receive degrees, diplomas, and certificates during two ceremonies, the first beginning at 10:00 am and the second at 2:30 pm.
UPEI will confer honorary degrees upon J. Michael Bliss, historian and academic; Frank Zakem, businessman, politician, and administrator; and Derek Key, lawyer and community leader. Bliss will address the morning convocation while Key will address the afternoon convocation.
The following degrees, diplomas, and certificates will be granted during the morning convocation: Accounting Certificate, Business Certificate, Adult Education Certificate, Inclusive Education Certificate,...
With a difficult financial landscape facing institutions and organizations across Prince Edward Island, the UPEI Board of Governors was pleased to approve a balanced operating budget for 2012-13 at its May 8 meeting.
The University addressed its budget with a goal of minimizing the impact on students during these fiscally challenging times. The “bare bones” budget is based on specific enrolment projections, conservative assumptions for expenditure growth, and budget reductions across campus. An increase in student tuition was limited to $20 per credit course—a 4 per cent increase—similar to the average tuition increase over the past 10 years at the Island’s only university. Tuition at UPEI remains highly competitive.
President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz admits that he faced hard decisions with his budget team, “This has been a challenging...
UPEI welcomed 20 high school students from 10 local high schools to campus over the weekend as they took part in UPEI's annual Math Camp. The event, organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and co-sponsored by the Canadian Mathematical Society, took place May 4-6.
The students involved are among the best math students in the province and the camp is an opportunity for them to hone their skills through problem-solving competitions including math relays, as well as some recreational activities in the evenings. Faculty sessions by Dr. Shannon Fitzpatrick, Dr. Sami Khedhiri, Dr. Gordon MacDonald, Dr. Max Burke, Dr. David Horrocks, Dr. Nasser Saad, and Dr. Ken Sulston also took place on various mathematical topics.
“Math Camp brings some of PEI's best math students to campus. They get introduced to some new math concepts and tackle...
