Thank you to everyone who took the time to shine a light on their colleagues’ hard work and dedication in 2025. We are excited to continue the Recognizing Remarkable Colleagues program in 2026 and have some great ideas planned for the year ahead.

Want to start the new year with gratitude? Take a moment to recognize a colleague today!

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? (A brief description of what they did or the impact they made)
• Your name

Forms may be submitted up to the last Friday of each month. Human Resources will collect the submissions and work with Communications to feature them in the Campus Connector.

Please note: there is a section on the Human Resources SharePoint page dedicated to Recognizing Remarkable Colleagues.

Not currently subscribed to Campus Connector? Click here to learn how to subscribe.

The deadline for the next issue is January 30, 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at hrengage@upei.ca. Thank you for helping us celebrate and strengthen our campus community!

Increasingly, faculty are reporting exhaustion, overwork, and burnout as serious issues affecting their work lives.  Join Elizabeth Wells from Mount Allison University for this ONLINE session, where we will explore the landscape of burnout through the literature, and offer support and solutions to today’s overburdened academic. Register here to receive the Teams link for this session  on February 3 at 12:00 noon. 

Collide Discover is the one-stop shop to get you started on your entrepreneurial journey, whether you already have an idea or not! Learn how to ideate with a customer focus, structure your concept into a business model, identify your most attractive customer segment, and communicate your early-stage idea effectively!

Collide Discover is the only way to make yourself and your team eligible to participate in the new Aspire stream of the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program next semester for first and second year students!

The best part? You can complete the whole program in just 3 DAYS! The full bootcamp is taking place in FSDE 128A and B on the UPEI campus on the following dates:

• Friday, January 30 from 5:30 - 7:00 pm

• Saturday, January 31 from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

• Sunday, February 1 from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Any current UPEI and Holland College student, faculty member, or recent graduate within the last 5 years is eligible to attend. Food is provided throughout the bootcamp! Register today.

The Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development at the University of Prince Edward Island (OCEPD) is pleased to announce a new professional development opportunity for UPEI staff and faculty. Effective January 5, 2026, eligible UPEI employees may enroll in OCEPD Certificate programs, priced at $1,000 or more, for a reduced rate of $995.

This initiative reflects the OCEPD’s pledge to support UPEI’s ongoing commitment to supporting continuous learning, leadership development, and skills advancement across the University community. 

The following OCEPD Certificate programs are included in this initiative and are available to UPEI staff and faculty at the reduced rate of $995:

• Certificate in Case Management
• Certificate in Case Management – Specialization in Health Care
• Certificate in Case Management – Advanced Collaboration in Care
• Certificate in Collaborative Leadership
• Certificate in Introductory Data Analytics – Bridging Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
• Certificate in Marketing and Branding
• Certificate in Motivational Interviewing
• Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety
• Certificate in Professional Communications
• Certificate in Professional Office Administration
• Certificate in Project Management
• New Managers Certificate
• Certificate in Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being

These programs are designed for working professionals and focus on practical, evidence-informed skills that can be applied immediately in the workplace. Delivery formats vary by program and may include in-person, blended, or online components (please note the 15% UPEI staff and alumni discount does not apply to these reduced-rate Certificate programs).

The Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development, an Office of the University of Prince Edward Island, is Atlantic Canada’s premier provider of professional development programming. The OCEPD delivers high-impact Certificate programs, workshops, and customized training for individuals, organizations, and communities across the region.

UPEI staff and faculty are encouraged to explore program details, delivery formats, and upcoming intakes by visiting: https://www.upei.ca/professional-development

The fifth meeting of the UPEI Senate will take place on Friday, January 30, 2026, 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. 

UPEI's Experiential Education will be hosting a session for staff and faculty who work with students in work-integrated learning (WIL) settings on Monday, February 2, 12-1:30pm in Andrew Hall, Room142 to explore opportunities and challenges to sexual violence prevention in WIL. Our department has been working on a project with the Interministerial Women's Secretariat to gather feedback to better understand the local landscape. Join for an overview of what we've heard so far from students and employers, and share your perspectives from the vantage of your own programs. Lunch will be provided.

Register here: Sexual Violence Prevention in Work-Integrated Learning Feedback Session – Fill out form

Email Shannon at smsnow@upei.ca with any questions.

Note to Professors and Course/Lab Instructors: 

Please add the testing information for any in-person quizzes, tests, and midterms for the Winter 2026 semester to Accommodate, as soon as possible. We do not need the test file immediately. 

Registered Accessibility Services students must submit a booking request at least 7 days in advance to ensure a seat in our centre. They cannot submit their testing request until you have entered the testing information in Accommodate. 

You do not need to add the test file until a few days before the test date. If needed, changes can be made to test dates after testing information has been added. 

Below are some Faculty how-to resources: 

How to schedule a test in Accommodate: Step-by-step guide 

How to view student accommodations:  Step-by-step guide 

If you have any questions about adding a test in Accommodate or testing with Accessibility Services, please contact astesting@upei.ca. 

The 2026 theme for UPEI’s Data Privacy Week (January 26-30) is “Privacy is Everyone’s Business,” highlighting the importance of respecting privacy, safeguarding data, and enabling trust.

Data Privacy Week spreads awareness about online privacy with the aim of educating individuals on how to manage and protect their personal information and encourage organizations to respect data and be transparent.

Make privacy your business! To learn more about what you can do to be privacy aware, check out the resources on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s website.

To find out about UPEI privacy training for your department, please contact the UPEI Access to Information and Privacy Office at accessprivacy@upei.ca

The UPEI Department of Religious Studies’ popular Theology on Tap series returns on January 28 with a talk titled “More than Optimistic: Hope and Teilhard de Chardin” by Dr. Libby Osgood, Congregation of Notre Dame and Associate Professor in Sustainable Design Engineering. Dr. Osgood’s talk will take place at 7:00 pm at the Salvador Dali Café, The Arts Hotel, 155 Kent Street, Charlottetown. 

“People often use the words ‘hope’ and ‘optimism’ interchangeably, but hope requires much more than optimism,” said Dr. Osgood. “Hope is not naive. It is not sitting back and waiting for something to change, nor is it easy. Based on the writings of Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit priest who helped discover an ancestor to homo sapiens, we will explore the need for hope during these challenging times of ecological change.”

Born in Sarcenat, France, in 1881, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit priest and an accomplished paleoanthropologist who researched human beginnings and wrote imaginative, mystical writings on the evolutionary nature of the world and the cosmos. Though his Jesuit leadership did not allow him to publish during his lifetime, his writings were published by his secretary Jeanne Mortier after his death in 1955. Since then, generations of theologians and scientists have been inspired by his desire to find God in the world and how he embraced evolution. He asked, “Who at last will give evolution its God?” At times, he was criticized for being naively optimistic. Dr. Osgood suggests that Teilhard de Chardin is much more than optimistic—he is hopeful.

For more information about the series, contact event coordinator Alexandra Durant at alexandrajdurant@gmail.com, or follow Theology on Tap PEI on Facebook.

On Wednesday, January 28, ITSS will conduct maintenance on Colleague and related services from 8:00 pm to midnight. During this time, there may be intermittent access to and performance issues with myUPEI Self-Service, Web Advisor, and Colleague.

We encourage students, faculty, and staff who may need documents or links located on myUPEI to plan ahead and bookmark or download the resources they may need during this period.

As a reminder, you can access Moodle directly using https://moodle.upei.ca and Outlook email using https://outlook.office.com.

If you have any questions, please fill out our new Help Form: https://go.upei.ca/itrequest

General information for Shipping and Receiving/Mailroom can now be found on the myUPEI Employee Portal.  Please find us under Administration and Finance, then Procurement Services. 

Our updated courier form is available here as well as all pertinent information for your shipping and mail service needs.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at shipping@upei.ca.

Did you know that you can use Moodle for online AND in-person quizzes? The Offline Quiz Moodle activity can be used to turn your existing online Moodle question bank into a scan-to-grade test. This can save you time grading and give you statistic insight into results, letting you review how students achieved on individual questions. This session will demo and cover how to use this tool in your courses. This lunch and learn will take place in the UPEI Teaching and Learning Centre located in the Robertson Library Annex (RL 230) on February 3 at 12:00 noon. Register here: TLC Lunch and Learn: Offline Quiz in Moodle - February 4 – Fill out form
Registration is not required, but you will receive an event invitation. 

In partnership with our friends at the Jack Frost Winterfest, the UPEI Alumni Association is once again excited to offer UPEI alumni a promotional 20% discount on individual and family single-day passes. The promo code is valid until February 8, 2026, and excludes weekend passes and Swift Kick tickets.

Request the promo code before January 31 to be included in a draw to win UPEI Alumni winter gear, Pride the Panther mini mascots, and more.

The Healthy Campus Committee coordinates a variety of wellness opportunities for UPEI staff, faculty, and retirees. Below are several excellent programs and facility access options available free of charge to eligible UPEI staff, faculty, and retirees.

Indoor Track Access
To gain access, please register. If you have registered within the past year, you do not need to register again. Access is valid until October 2, 2026.

Indoor Pickleball
Tuesdays, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
January 13 – April 7
Weekly registration is required. If you do not have a pickleball paddle, paddles are available to sign out at the Panther Central Desk.

Mindful Flow and Stillness Yoga
Thursdays, 12:10 pm – 12:55 pm
January 15 – April 30
Weekly registration is required.

More details and registration for each opportunity can be found at recreation.upei.ca. Click on the Wellness icon to view available programs. To log in, select UPEI Login and use your UPEI email address and password.

For questions or assistance with registration, programs, or access, please contact Angela Marchbank, Coordinator, Fitness and Wellness, amarchbank@upei.ca.

Collide Discover is the one-stop shop to get you started on your entrepreneurial journey, whether you already have an idea or not! Learn how to ideate with a customer focus, structure your concept into a business model, identify your most attractive customer segment, and communicate your early-stage idea effectively!

Collide Discover is the only way to make yourself and your team eligible to participate in the new Aspire stream of the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program next semester for first and second year students!

The best part? You can complete the whole program in just 3 DAYS! The full bootcamp is taking place in FSDE 128A and B on the UPEI campus on the following dates:

• Friday, January 30 from 5:30 - 7:00 pm

• Saturday, January 31 from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

• Sunday, February 1 from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Any current UPEI and Holland College student, faculty member, or recent graduate within the last 5 years is eligible to attend. Food is provided throughout the bootcamp! Register today.

The SSHRC Exchange Publication Award supports the publication of manuscripts, written or edited by UPEI faculty, by Island Studies Press (ISP). This award is being funded by a SSHRC Institutional Grant, therefore, the subject matter of the publication must be compatible with SSHRC’s mandate (see http://science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_FEE7261A.html for more information). One (1) award is available for fiscal 2025-26.

The award of $7,000 will be disbursed to Island Studies Press to cover publication costs (including editing, photo and other permissions, design, printing, marketing, and other costs associated with publishing a book). Authors will be offered ISP’s standard publication contract, which ensures authorial copyright and includes a royalty structure. Authors will also see their manuscripts reviewed through a peer-review process where appropriate.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Eligible applicants must be Tenured, Tenure Track, Term or Sessional UPEI Faculty, who are employed by UPEI at the time of application.
• Manuscripts may be single- or multi-authored results of academic research projects; textbooks; edited proceedings of a conference; or works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or drama that pertain to the author(s)' discipline.
• The subject matter of the manuscript must meet SSHRC’s mandate.
• Past recipients of the SSHRC Exchange Publication Award or UPEI Internal Publication Award cannot apply for support for the previously funded manuscript.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 31, 2026

Submit documents electronically to Research Services, researchservices@upei.ca.

APPLICATION PROCESS: 

Applicants are to submit a package that includes:

• Book proposal/summary (maximum of one page)
• A completed or close-to-complete manuscript and a Table of Contents. Note: the manuscript must be complete no later than three months after winning the award
• A curriculum vitae that includes your credentials as author(s)/editor(s)
• Two letters of support (e.g., from your Department Chair, Dean, professional association)

Selection Committee: A selection committee comprised of the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Institute of Island Studies, plus two members of the ISP Publishing Committee, will assess the proposals and make a recommendation to the Associate Vice-President Research. The Managing Editor of the ISP will be a member of the Committee in a non-voting capacity.

To assist in making its recommendations, the selection committee will use a single-blind peer review of the submitted manuscript. Final decisions on publication remain with the Island Studies Press and the Institute of Island Studies.

Reporting: A copy of the book, along with a narrative outlining the publication process – prepared in collaboration with staff at Island Studies Press – must be submitted when the book is complete.

Previous recipients of the UPEI Internal Publication Awards include Lori Mayne, Department of English, Laurie Brinklow, Institute of Island Studies, Linyuan Guo, Faculty of Education, and Josh MacFadyen, Faculty of Arts.

For more information on the Publication Awards program, contact Dr. Laurie Brinklow at brinklow@upei.ca or 902-894-2881.

UPEI's Experiential Education will be hosting a session for staff and faculty who work with students in work-integrated learning (WIL) settings on Monday, February 2, 12-1:30pm in Andrew Hall, Room142 to explore opportunities and challenges to sexual violence prevention in WIL. Our department has been working on a project with the Interministerial Women's Secretariat to gather feedback to better understand the local landscape. Join for an overview of what we've heard so far from students and employers, and share your perspectives from the vantage of your own programs. Lunch will be provided.

Register here: Sexual Violence Prevention in Work-Integrated Learning Feedback Session – Fill out form

Email Shannon at smsnow@upei.ca with any questions.

Note to Professors and Course/Lab Instructors: 

Please add the testing information for any in-person quizzes, tests, and midterms for the Winter 2026 semester to Accommodate, as soon as possible. We do not need the test file immediately. 

Registered Accessibility Services students must submit a booking request at least 7 days in advance to ensure a seat in our centre. They cannot submit their testing request until you have entered the testing information in Accommodate. 

You do not need to add the test file until a few days before the test date. If needed, changes can be made to test dates after testing information has been added. 

Below are some Faculty how-to resources: 

How to schedule a test in Accommodate: Step-by-step guide 

How to view student accommodations:  Step-by-step guide 

If you have any questions about adding a test in Accommodate or testing with Accessibility Services, please contact astesting@upei.ca. 

The UPEI Student Union is proud to present the second part of The Interdisciplinary Panther Series: STEM Edition on February 6! This is an experiential, interdisciplinary competition that brings students together to develop innovative, real-world solutions in collaboration with industry and community partners. Delivered in partnership with the PEI BioAlliance and several UPEI departments, TIPS is designed to foster creativity, teamwork, and applied problem-solving across disciplines.

While STEM is the central theme for this edition, the competition is open to students from all faculties and year levels, including both undergraduate and graduate students. A key goal is to encourage collaboration between students with diverse academic backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Participants will gain hands-on experience, professional feedback, and the opportunity to showcase their ideas to judges from industry, academia, and the community.
The competition culminates in a final round of presentations, where 3 finalist teams present their solutions to a panel of judges and an audience of students, faculty, and partners.

W.A. Murphy Student Centre, McMillan Hall
February 6, 3:30 – 6:30 pm

A reception will follow, providing an opportunity to connect with students, faculty, judges, and partners.

If you would like to register to participate as a competitor, please click here to apply.

If you would like to volunteer, please click here to fill out the application form.
 

Research Ethics Board (REB) applications involving "more than minimal risk" must be reviewed by the full UPEI REB. The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday, January 30, 2026, for review at the February meeting.

Other ethics protocol submissions, including new applications that do not involve more than minimal risk, renewals, and amendments, may be submitted at any time. They will be sent for delegated review as soon as all necessary materials are received.

All research compliance applications, including for the REB, must be submitted through the UPEI Researcher Portal (https://upei.researchservicesoffice.com/Romeo.Researcher/). Instructions for using the site are available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms.

Please contact the Compliance Coordinator at researchcompliance@upei.ca for more information about the Researcher Portal, or the REB application, review, and approval process.