Media Releases

Posted on 15 May, 2013

UPEI women’s rugby head coach Shannon Atkins is pleased to welcome two Island rugby players to the Panther lineup—Sidney Corrigan and Holly Hartlen. Corrigan, a native of Sherwood plays wide side flanker for the Charlottetown Rural Raiders rugby team, while Hartlen of Summerside plays for the Three Oaks Axewomen.   

“Sidney is aggressive, dominant, and fast on the field, and having Holly on the team will make a big difference to our backline as she’s considered to be one of the best backline players to come out of the PEISAA league this year,” said Atkins. 

“It’s great that these two strong Island rugby players have committed to UPEI,” said Bill Schurman, UPEI Director of Athletics and Recreation. “As we do with all new recruits, we will work with them individually to ensure they thrive as student...

Posted on 15 May, 2013

In the fall of 2012, a research team at UPEI launched a website where the public could report their sightings of red foxes on Prince Edward Island. Today, the team behind upei.ca/redfox launches a new crowd-funding project to help fund the next stages of their research so that we can improve our understanding of one of PEI’s largest predators.

“A fox-sightings map gave us information regarding the distribution and relative abundance of foxes in Charlottetown, particularly during the fall. We have also collected anecdotal evidence regarding their behaviour, including the potential location of dens. All this information has helped us to identify the next steps of the project,” said Dr. Marina Silva-Opps, a terrestrial ecologist and associate professor of biology at UPEI. “For instance, we have used this information to...

Posted on 14 May, 2013

The 11th annual Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS)/UPEI Math Camp was recently held on campus May 3–5. The Math Camp is a national initiative that sponsors close to two dozen regional camps across Canada. 

UPEI’s Math Camp is the main community outreach activity of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This year, the camp hosted a group of sixteen students—ten girls and six boys from grades 10 and 11—from eight Island high schools and one home scholar. 

This group represents some of the best math students on PEI, with goals to enhance student education, and to encourage students to continue studying math when they reach the university level. Most of the math and statistics faculty present 60-to 90-minute sessions with the camp attendees, introducing some mathematics that is understandable to the students, but unfamiliar in a...

Posted on 13 May, 2013

The UPEI Department of Athletics and Recreation was especially proud on Saturday during the afternoon convocation when UPEI women’s hockey player Jaime Lynn Donaldson was named the first recipient of the Rory Beck Outstanding Academic and Athletic Leadership Award. 

Friends and family created this award to honour the late Rory Beck’s passion for sports and his belief that education and community service are critical components of a meaningful life. The award is granted to the graduating student who has displayed the most outstanding dedication to athletics, academics, leadership and campus spirit throughout their post-secondary under graduate studies at the University of Prince Edward Island. 

Roderick (Rory) Beck was one of those rare individuals who touched the lives of so many people through his professional careers, sports involvement, and...

Posted on 13 May, 2013

This year’s Presidential Recognition Awards of Merit and 25-year Service awards were presented to staff and faculty at a special ceremony on Monday, May 6. The awards recognized outstanding performance and dedication to students and our community—on-campus, provincially, and globally.

The Presidential Recognition Awards of Merit for Faculty and Librarians are awarded based on teaching, scholarly endeavours, service, or combined achievement. Awards for librarians are based on exceptional performance, in one or more of professional practice, scholarly endeavours/professional development, and/or service. The following is a list of faculty and librarian award winners: Teaching: Dr. Susan Dawson, Dr. James Polson, Ms. Charlene VanLeeuwen; Scholarly Endeavours: Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino, Dr. Dany MacDonald, Dr. Larry Hammell, Dr. Kate Tilliczek, Dr. John Vanleeuwen; and...

Posted on 13 May, 2013

*For a complete list of graduates, click here

A record 954 graduates were conferred with degrees, diplomas, and certificates as they crossed the stage at UPEI’s convocation on Saturday, May 11.

The Class of 2013 and their proud families and friends gathered to celebrate in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre for two ceremonies—the first beginning at 10:00 am and the second one at 2:30 pm.

Both events were led by Chancellor William Andrew and featured remarks by President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz.

Abd-El-Aziz challenged the graduates and said, “As you begin this next stage of your life, you will choose a path. Ask yourself, ‘What is next?’ and make sure you have a good answer! Be adventurous, define a goal, and boldly move towards it with the...

Posted on 9 May, 2013

The University of Prince Edward Island Board of Governors approved a balanced budget for the 2013-14 operating year at its regular monthly meeting Thursday night on the UPEI campus.

It was reported earlier this year that UPEI faced a shortfall of $9 million between projected revenues and expenditures for the time frame May 1, 2013–April 30, 2014. According to the University Act, UPEI must table a balanced budget; therefore, the proposal to the Board needed to strike a balance between tuition revenue increases and expenditure reductions to preserve services, maintain quality, and keep education affordable at the Island’s only university.

President and Vice-Chancellor Abd-El-Aziz said, “The University administration addressed its budget with a thoughtful approach and kept students and staff at the forefront of our deliberations. As of tonight, we have an...

Posted on 9 May, 2013

UPEI was saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Mary (Nicholson) Ross, honorary degree recipient and former head resident of Marian Hall. Ross passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, at the Dr. John Gillis Memorial Lodge, on Saturday, May 4. She was 94 years old.

Raised in Flat River on her family farm, she graduated from Prince of Wales College and began her teaching career at the age of 16. After 32 years of teaching, Ross accepted a position with UPEI where for 13 years, she became the head resident of Marian Hall, a men’s dormitory. In 1995, the University paid tribute to Ross and her work by awarding her with an honorary degree.

“On behalf of the entire University community, I’d like to extend sincere condolences to Mary’s family and friends,” said UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “UPEI was fortunate...

Posted on 9 May, 2013

The UPEI Wind Symphony has released its latest CD, “Four Horsemen,” a compilation of selected works from performances during the 2012–13 academic year. Recorded live in UPEI’s Dr. Steel Recital Hall, this CD features many contemporary wind band pieces including works by two emerging Canadian composers.  

The CD begins with Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” a masterpiece by this Russian composer, consisting of an opening fanfare followed by driving, energetic, and lyrical themes. UPEI’s composition professor Dr. Richard Covey was commissioned to write a piece for the Wind Symphony with funding from the PEI Council of the Arts, which was premiered during the fall semester. This piece expands upon the general style of a fanfare, exploring different perspectives of the “majestic” through contrasting musical...

Posted on 6 May, 2013

The following was distributed by Canadian Parents for French PEI: 

Canadian Parents for French PEI, a branch of a National network of volunteers which promotes and creates opportunities for Canadian youth to learn and use French as a second language, has announced the winner of its Educator of the Year Award for the past year. The award is presented annually to a person who has shown exceptional support and dedication to the quality and availability of French language programs in PEI schools. This year’s recipient is UPEI Dean of Education Miles Turnbull.  

Since 2002, Dr. Miles Turnbull has worked in and provided leadership to UPEI’s pre-service and graduate programs. He was coordinator of the bachelor of education—français langue seconde from 2002–2010. As coordinator of graduate studies from 2008–2011 he led...
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