The UPEI Concert Choir, under the direction of Sung Ha Shin-Bouey, will perform The Messiah-Part I (plus the Hallelujah Chorus), in collaboration with the Atlantic String Machine and the UPEI Voice Majors as soloists. Other ensembles sharing the stage will be the UPEI Chamber Singers, Le Ragazze Girls Vocal Ensemble, and the Ragazzi Jrs Singers in collaboration with pianist Leo Marchildon.

The concert will take place at UPEI’s Dr. Steel Recital Hall on Sunday, December 8, 2019, at 2:00 pm.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 for adults, $10 for students.

The University of Prince Edward Island and the UPEI Alumni Association invite you to the annual UPEI New Year's Levee!

Join us as we wrap-up the celebrations of UPEI's 50th Anniversary in 2020!

Wednesday, January 1, 2020 ~ 11:30 am–1:00 pm
Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering ~ Room 128

See you there!

Cheryl Carmichael, a student in the MA Island Studies program, will be defending her thesis entitled, "SPARTECA, PICTA and WTO: How the Pacific Island states are impacted by free trade agreements" Cheryl's defence will take place on Friday, December 6th at 10:00am in Rm. 104 Health Sciences Building. Seating is limited so please RSVP (Jim Randall  jarandall@upei.ca or 620-5013) if you wish to attend.

The Island Lecture Series December 10 lecture in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge features a visiting scholar from Jamaica, Dr. Dacia Leslie, speaking about Jamaica’s prison system: “'Don’t Discard the Utilitarian Aims': Revisiting the UK Prison Offer." One of the extended controversies surrounding the J$5.5 billion ($51.8 million CAD) offer of the United Kingdom in 2016 to help build a modern prison in Jamaica concerns the extent to which the offer was a form of “penal humanitarianism.” Dr. Leslie’s talk offers a pragmatic lens through which we might gain deeper insight into the justifications for Jamaica’s rejection of the offer. Dacia Leslie is a Research Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social & Economic Studies (SALISES), The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica. She is also a 2019 recipient of the Canada-CARICOM Faculty Leadership Scholarship that is being hosted by the Institute of Island Studies. The lecture gets under way at 7 p.m. All are welcome.  

Mental Health First Aid is a nationally accredited program designed to increase awareness, challenge attitudes, and introduce intervention skills related to mental health issues and supporting those experiencing difficulties.  The two-day, 12-hour workshop will be offered by the Department of Student Affairs on December 18 and 19, 2019 free of charge to UPEI faculty, staff and students.  Enrollment is limited.  Please email saworkshops@upei.ca to register or to make inquiries.

Early on Wednesday morning, December 4, 2019, Facilities Management discovered a main water line break in SDU Main Building. The main water line break has now been repaired and the water is back on in the SDU Main Building, while clean-up and drying continues in the west end of Level 1. A "Do Not Drink Water" order remains in place until the water line is flushed and tested; however, the washrooms have been re-opened. The elevator will remain shut down until further notice. For students who have exams scheduled in SDU Main Building, please check the my.UPEI.ca student portal for updated locations. Thank you for your patience as we work to restore services.

Do you have any empty #10 envelope boxes kicking around? I am on the hunt for a bunch now and would love to have any that you empty from now on. Please drop them off to Alumni Hall or give Sarah a call at (902) 894.2888 for pick up.

Thank you for recycling!

The workshop will aid in understanding what fascia/connective tissue is and how important it is to your overall health - it affects everything. Brenda Dowel will target major areas of the body using yoga, therapeutic essentials, conditioning movements, ball and roller work, stretches, and breath in order to release tension and stress in the fascia and muscles. 

Brenda Dowel, a registered Yoga Teacher E-RYT-1000 and Licensed Holistic Practitioner. She provides Myofascial Release Therapy, Lomilomi, Fascial Stretch Therapy, Life Stretch & Thai Yoga Massage with her business. After many years of teaching, Brenda is  continually uplifted, and wishes to continue to inspire and empower others to come home to their hearts through their bodies and live their true passion.

Workshop will be held Friday, December 13, Noon – 2:00 pm in Andrews Hall Room  #142. Pre-registration is required, no cost.   Please contact Angela Marchbank at amarchbank@upei.ca to register. This workshop is provided for UPEI employees by the Healthy Campus Committee. Space limited to 20 participants.

The Department of Pathology and Microbiology invites members of the campus community to attend a seminar presentation by Dr. Abdul Lone, the third and final candidate interviewing for the tenure-track faculty position in Molecular Clinical Bacteriology.  As part of the interview process, Dr. Lone will be presenting a seminar entitled Partnerships and Service: Teaching Clinical and Research Microbiology with Staphylococci as an Example on Thursday, December 5 at 1:30 pm in Room 205N (AVC Lecture Theatre B).

A copy of the candidate's CV and letter of intent are available by contacting Karen Roche (kroche@upei.ca) in Pathology & Microbiology. 

Everyone is welcome.

The UPEI Concert Choir, under the direction of Sung Ha Shin-Bouey, will perform The Messiah-Part I (plus the Hallelujah Chorus), in collaboration with the Atlantic String Machine and the UPEI Voice Majors as soloists. Other ensembles sharing the stage will be the UPEI Chamber Singers, Le Ragazze Girls Vocal Ensemble, and the Ragazzi Jrs Singers in collaboration with pianist Leo Marchildon.

The concert will take place at UPEI’s Dr. Steel Recital Hall on Sunday, December 8, 2019, at 2:00 pm.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 for adults, $10 for students.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Atlantic Award of Excellence in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Care.  The Atlantic Veterinary College seeks nominees who demonstrate:

- participation in the community

- advancement of the profession

- the highest values of compassion, leadership and dedication to the profession

- exceptional service and contributions to the profession

For more detailed criteria and a nomination form, visit upei.ca/avc/community

The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2020.

UPEI's faculties of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Education, and Science have partnered with Farmers Helping Farmers (FHF) over the past two decades, providing students with valuable practical experience and an opportunity to contribute to vital projects in Kenya. FHF has embarked on a 2019 Holiday Campaign to help raise its matching share of Global Affairs Canada funding for its latest project, More Food, Better Food: Empowering Kenyan Women Farmers, and invites you to visit the FHF website to see donation options. For eligible items, your donation will grow fivefold! In return for your donation you will receive a tax deductible receipt and a card acknowledging your gift (please donate by December 15 to receive in time for Christmas).

Once again the UPEI Bookstore will be offering Christmas staff shopping to all staff/faculty. 

Staff will be able to charge purchases from the UPEI Bookstore to their personal account between Monday December 9 and Saturday December 14, 2019.

Payroll deductions will be from January 24-April 17, 2020. 

Your 20% discount will apply.

On December 6, 1989, at approximately 5 pm, what should have been a joyful celebration of camaraderie and the end of the school semester turned into a tragedy. A man entered a classroom at École Polytechnique de Montréal with an assault weapon. He ordered the men to go to one side of the room and the women to go to the other. He targeted the female engineering students and shot them.

The murder of 14 brilliant and creative women sparked a deep outrage among the population and became a tragic part of Canadian history. Governments quickly declared December 6th as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

In order to keep the memory of these young victims alive, a new memory committee was formed at École Polytechnique de Montréal in 2014. Since then, 14 beams of light have lit up the evening sky in Montreal every December 6 in memory of the victims. This year, Polytechnique has reached out to partner engineering schools across the country to commemorate this event by beaming a giant light into the sky. 

Join faculty members, students, and others as we mark this event, and reflect on diversity within engineering and the work that has been done and continues to be needed. The event begins at 5 pm at the Learning Staircase of the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering Building with UPEI’s light being lit just after 6 pm. All are welcome.

Feeling overwhelmed? Studying getting you down? Do you need to just take a time-out?

Back by popular demand, the Robertson Library is hosting the Stress Free Zone! Step into the Zone to relax and have some fun.

Play a game, colour, get crafty, smile for a selfie fashion shoot, get creative with Lego, or just unwind in our beloved bean bag chairs.

And, there will be a daily pop-up surprise in the Library for students during the exam period. Study break activities, snacks, crafts, etc  Check the Library’s social media each day for details or drop by the Library!

Special treat Saturdays! Chartwells and the Robertson Library are co-sponsoring two afternoons of cupcakes, cookies, & hot chocolate on Saturday, November 30th and Saturday, December 7th.

Good luck with your exams!

Cheryl Carmichael, a student in the MA Island Studies program, will be defending her thesis entitled, "SPARTECA, PICTA and WTO: How the Pacific Island states are impacted by free trade agreements" Cheryl's defence will take place on Friday, December 6th at 10:00am in Rm. 104 Health Sciences Building. Seating is limited so please RSVP (Jim Randall  jarandall@upei.ca or 620-5013) if you wish to attend.

5 for $25 Dining Hall Deal

5 for $25 lunch cards for the month of December are currently available for purchase at the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall! Enjoy 5 lunches (11AM - 2PM) for only $25 taxes in

Chef Al's Turkey Dinner Holiday Luncheon 
with the Bake Shop's Seasonal Sweets

On December 11, 2019 at 11am, enjoy a Turkey Dinner complete with your department, colleagues, friends, and family at our annual Holiday Luncheon at the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall! Tickets are only $11.50 + tax and can be purchased in advance. Contact Marc Doiron at catering@upei.ca for more information and to purchase tickets. 

$11.50  + tax

Catering Holiday Menu
Gear up for the Holiday season by adding these goodies to your catering order:

Egg Nog, Warm Apple Cider & Hot Chocolate
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Christmas Cookies (decorated or plain)
Yule Logs
Christmas Cheesecakes
Christmas Cupcakes

Contact Marc Doiron in the catering office for more details at catering@upei.ca or 902-628-4370

There will be a UPEI Biosafety Refresher training session:

Wednesday, December 18th, 2019  1:30 pm – 4:00 pm.
AVC, Room 287N

This session is required for those who attended the Basic Biosafety course in 2016 or earlier. It is not a substitute for Basic Biosafety. Topics to be covered include a review of basic biosafety principles, a practical approach to spill cleanup, and an update on what’s new at UPEI in the field of biosafety.

To attend the Biosafety Refresher course, you must pre-register by contacting Sarah Sudworth, before December 11, 2019 by email (hse@upei.ca) or by phone (902-566-0901). 

Please include your name, department, supervisor’s name (if applicable), email address, and phone number in your email or voice message. 

If you have any questions about this training session, please contact Sarah.

There will be a UPEI Basic Biosafety training session:

Tuesday, December 17th, 2019  9:00 am – 12:30 pm 
KMB, Room 237

Topics to be covered include basic biosafety principles and how they are applied at the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as biosecurity training. This session is open to everyone including graduate students.

Please note: those who attended training in 2016 or earlier are currently due for the Biosafety Refresher Course.

To attend the Basic Biosafety course, you must pre-register by contacting Sarah Sudworth, before December 11, 2019 by email (hse@upei.ca) or by phone (902-566-0901).

Please provide your name, department, your supervisor’s name (if applicable), email address, and phone number in your email or voice message. Please indicate if you are a graduate student. 

If you have any questions about this training session, please contact Sarah.

Online Employee and Spouse/Dependent Tuition Waiver fillable form can be found on the main page of MyUPEI under UPEI Forms.

The deadline for tuition deadline Winter 2020 Tuition Waivers is no later than December 6, 2019. Accounts for which waivers are received by HR after the deadline of December 6th, may be subject to late fees in accordance with the Academic Calendar. Please be advised Human Resources will no longer accept printed waiver forms.

If you have any questions please contact Kellie Nicholson at: (902) 566-0514 or HRgeneral@upei.ca.