Are you teaching a course for the winter semester (or beyond!) and planning or considering work-integrated learning components? Experiential Education staff can support your work, from brainstorming to assessment. Reach out to Shannon at smsnow@upei.ca to schedule a time to talk about your goals and how we can help!

The UPEI Research Ethics Board (REB) wishes a good end to the semester, start to the new year, and restful and joyous break in between to our UPEI community!

Please be advised that REB applications submitted or resubmitted after Friday, December 19 will be received and assigned for review on Monday, January 5.

Need help registering for courses or making a course plan? The Academic Support Services team is offering drop-in academic advising for returning undergraduate students! 

Drop-in appointments are first come, first served and will be offered Monday to Friday on the following weeks:

• January 5-9
• January 12-16
• January 19-23 

Come to the fifth floor of Dalton Hall and check in at the front desk to meet with an advisor!

**These are short, drop-in sessions so please do as much planning as possible before you attend.

For questions, please contact us at: studentserv@upei.ca or 902-566-0488.

The VHM 8120: Research Methods in Epidemiology (Epidemiology II) for the 2026 Winter Semester will take place from January 6 to March 13. The lectures will be held in person on Tuesdays from 1-4 pm and Fridays from 9 am-12 pm in The McCain Foundation Learning (278N) at AVC.

Prerequisites for the course are VHM 8010, VHM 8110, or permission of the coordinator. Instructors are Dr. Javier Sanchez and Dr. Hendrik Stryhn.

To (informally) register for the course, send an e-mail with your name and affiliation to jsanchez@upei.ca (Dr. Javier Sanchez, Dept. of Health Management). Formal registration at the Registrar's Office takes place through the myUPEI portal.

For information about the course content and texts, please contact Dr. Sanchez at jsanchez@upei.ca.

The thesis defence for Bailey Clark, a candidate in the Master of Arts in Island Studies program, entitled “If we had not that gentleman’s authority”: Domestic politicians, foreign promoters, and the narrow-gauge railway on Prince Edward Island, 1871, has been rescheduled to December 16, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

The defence will be held in Memorial Hall, Room 104.

Supervisors: Dr. Josh MacFadyen and Dr. Ed MacDonald

Everyone is welcome!

Classes are over; you just have to make it through exams! The library is here to help, and not just with books and research advice. On Tuesday, December 16 from 10:00 am - 1:00 am, join us for Library Coffee Break, co-sponsored with Dana Hospitality. Follow @RobertsonLibrary on Instagram and Facebook so you never miss a pop-up surprise. 

The University of Prince Edward Island takes the safety and security of its students, faculty, staff, and the entire campus community very seriously.  

The decision to "close*" UPEI due to weather is not made lightly. However, in weather situations where the potential risk to UPEI’s students and employees as well as property, is high, the University may close, meaning that classes and exams are cancelled, and services are reduced.  

To receive push notifications or texts to your device, download the UPEI SAFE app!  

Read here for more information about how we communicate about storm/weather-related closures and things you should keep in mind about parking on campus when UPEI is closed. 

Dr. Wendy Rodgers, President and Vice-Chancellor invites you to attend the 2025 President's Holiday Social for faculty and staff. 

Date: Wednesday, December 17
Time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: Lower Lobby and Concourse, Performing Arts Centre and Residence

Celebrate with your colleagues and enjoy complimentary appetizers and refreshments while listening to festive songs of the season.

DONATIONS TO THE UPEI CAMPUS FOOD BANK WILL BE MATCHED! You are encouraged to bring food and monetary donations for the UPEI Campus Food Bank—the Office of the President will match the value of your support up to $10,000! Tuna, black beans, pasta, pasta sauce, and $25 gift cards are popular items.

Looking forward to seeing you all at this special time of year!

As 2025 comes to a close, let’s take a moment to celebrate the people who make our workplace shine. Here’s to ending the year with gratitude and the joy that comes from seeing the good in those around us

How to submit: 

Complete this short form: https://forms.office.com/r/766cg9JsT6  
 
You’ll be asked to share: 

• Who are you recognizing? (Name and department/faculty)
• Why are you recognizing them? (Briefly describe what they did or the impact they made)
• Your name  

Please note, we now have a dedicated page for this program on the Human Resources SharePoint: Recognizing Remarkable Colleagues. 

Not a current subscriber to Campus Connector? Click here for information on how to subscribe. 

The deadline for our next issue is Tuesday, December 23, 2025. Please contact Human Resources at hrengage@upei.ca should you have any questions.  

The Robertson Library’s Open Education Resource Development Program is accepting grant applications for the creation or adaptation of open educational resources (OERs). The grant types include: 

• Open Educational Resource or Textbook Grant: up to $7000 
  • the development of a new open textbook on a topic that is currently not covered by an existing open textbook, or major adaptations of existing textbooks; 
• Open Textbook Adaptation Grant: up to $4,500 
  • the adaptation of one or more open educational resources or open textbooks to create a new version or edition of a resource (i.e. a Canadian edition of an existing open textbook); 
• Supplementary Resources Grant: up to $2,500 
  • the creation of ancillary materials for existing open textbooks, including, but not limited to test banks, slide decks, recordings, or interactive media, etc. 

All applications will be reviewed and considered, however, applications that meet either/both of the following criteria will be prioritised: 

• Applications that support first-year courses (as they reach the greatest number of students); and/or 
• Applications with evidence of consultation with the TLC and/or a Librarian.  

Applications close January 7, 2026. 

For more information, or to apply, visit https://library.upei.ca/OERProgram/grants. 

Questions about the grants, OERs, Pressbooks, or any other related topics can go to Keri McCaffrey, One Health and Scholarly Communications Librarian at knmccaffrey@upei.ca or Charlene VanLeeuwen in the Teaching and Learning Centre at cvanleeuwen@upei.ca. 

The UPEI Arts Review is accepting submissions until December 20, 2025. 

The Arts Review is an annual, student-led publication that offers UPEI students the opportunity to publish their written and visual works. 

We accept written works, including essays, poetry, play scripts, memoirs, short stories, flash fiction, opinion pieces, and novel chapters. Visual works include paintings, sketches, cartoons, photographs, and digital art. 

To submit your written work, email artsreview@upei.ca with your Google Doc in 12-point Times New Roman font. Poetry should be single-spaced and prose double-spaced. For visual works, email a JPEG file that frames the image with precision and proper lighting. For each submission, please include a 200-word abstract to introduce your piece. 

We look forward to reading your submissions! 

The deadline for the employee and spouse/dependent tuition waiver forms for the Winter 2026 semester is January 9, 2026. We encourage you to have your tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in timely processing. Tuition waiver forms must be submitted electronically.

The online tuition waiver fillable forms can be found on the HR Portal of the myUPEI site, under Training and Development.

Please note that the employee or spouse/dependent must be registered in the course prior to applying for the tuition waiver.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at (902) 566-0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca.

The Faculty of Education invites all to attend the public presentation of Michael Ampong's PhD dissertation defence titled "Formative Assessment as a Tool for Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills Among Distance Education Students in a Ghanaian Public University: A Convergent Mixed Methods Study." The defence will take place on December 17 at 3:00 pm in Memorial Hall 417.

Please join us in person  or through Teams at Michael Ampong - PhD Dissertation Defense | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

The fourth meeting of the UPEI Senate will take place on Friday, December 19, 2025, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in Room 102 at Alumni Hall (618 University Avenue). To view the 2025-2026 calendar of Senate meetings or documents for the upcoming meeting, click here. (Posted one week before the meeting)

All meetings are open to members of the University community, although certain in-camera items (e.g., granting of degrees) may require the Senate to go into a closed session. Only members of Senate are permitted to address the Senate unless otherwise recognized by the chair. 

For logistical purposes, members of the UPEI community who wish to attend the open session of a UPEI Senate meeting are asked to contact senate@upei.ca one week prior to the meeting. While Senate is an in-person meeting, members of the University community may request a virtual connection when they are unable to attend in person. 

Are you teaching a course for the winter semester (or beyond!) and planning or considering work-integrated learning components? Experiential Education staff can support your work, from brainstorming to assessment. Reach out to Shannon at smsnow@upei.ca to schedule a time to talk about your goals and how we can help!

The UPEI Research Ethics Board (REB) wishes a good end to the semester, start to the new year, and restful and joyous break in between to our UPEI community!

Please be advised that REB applications submitted or resubmitted after Friday, December 19 will be received and assigned for review on Monday, January 5.

The VHM 8120: Research Methods in Epidemiology (Epidemiology II) for the 2026 Winter Semester will take place from January 6 to March 13. The lectures will be held in person on Tuesdays from 1-4 pm and Fridays from 9 am-12 pm in The McCain Foundation Learning (278N) at AVC.

Prerequisites for the course are VHM 8010, VHM 8110, or permission of the coordinator. Instructors are Dr. Javier Sanchez and Dr. Hendrik Stryhn.

To (informally) register for the course, send an e-mail with your name and affiliation to jsanchez@upei.ca (Dr. Javier Sanchez, Dept. of Health Management). Formal registration at the Registrar's Office takes place through the myUPEI portal.

For information about the course content and texts, please contact Dr. Sanchez at jsanchez@upei.ca.

Title of the Thesis “Lactone-based Nanogel Composition Dictates Cryopreservation Efficacies in Mammalian Cells"

Cryopreservation is essential across clinical, biomedical and food sciences, as it facilitates long-term storage of biological materials at sub-zero temperatures. Cell permeating cryoprotective agents (CPAs) like dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are traditionally used to mitigate freeze-induced injuries, providing exceptional protection against osmotic stress, ice formation, and cell membrane damage. Due to the toxicity and clinical limitations of small molecule CPAs, interest has shifted towards the development of safer, non-permeating macromolecular CPAs, including vitamin B5 analogous methacrylamide (B5AMA)-based nanogels. Previous studies show that amphipathic properties of macromolecules are crucial for their membrane interactions and dictate ice recrystallization behavior during cryopreservation. In an effort to improve cryopreservation efficacies of poly(B5AMA) nanogels, this work synthesized three hydrophobic lactone-derived comonomers obtained by ring-opening aminolysis of γ-butyrolactone, γ-valerolactone and γ-heptalactone, to tailor amphipathicity within poly(B5AMA) nanogel networks. Sub-100nm nanogels prepared via free-radical polymerization were used to cryopreserve mammalian cancer cells. Amphipathic formulations demonstrated enhanced ice recrystallization and improved cryoprotective performance over hydrophilic controls, with select nanogels performing comparably to DMSO. Cytotoxicity and uptake assays confirmed favorable biocompatibility and minimal cell internalization of nanogels. Overall, this work provides a structure-function framework for lactone-modified nanogels and highlights their potential as next-generation cryoprotectants capable of reducing reliance on conventional permeating CPAs. 

December 15, 2025 at10:00 am via web conferencing

If you wish to attend the public presentation, please contact the Graduate Studies Coordinator at gsc@upei.ca to receive the link.

Everyone is Welcome

Dr. Wendy Rodgers, President and Vice-Chancellor invites you to attend the 2025 President's Holiday Social for faculty and staff. 

Date: Wednesday, December 17
Time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: Lower Lobby and Concourse, Performing Arts Centre and Residence

Celebrate with your colleagues and enjoy complimentary appetizers and refreshments while listening to festive songs of the season.

DONATIONS TO THE UPEI CAMPUS FOOD BANK WILL BE MATCHED! You are encouraged to bring food and monetary donations for the UPEI Campus Food Bank—the Office of the President will match the value of your support up to $10,000! Tuna, black beans, pasta, pasta sauce, and $25 gift cards are popular items.

Looking forward to seeing you all at this special time of year!