As part of UPEI’s 50th anniversary, the Robertson Library is presenting a lecture series to celebrate the historical roots of higher education on Prince Edward Island and its future. The series is named after educator Frank Pigot, honoured as a UPEI Founder for his work building the library’s PEI Collection and University Archives.

PEI historian and folklorist John Cousins will present the second lecture in the series, entitled “Stand for Your Lessons: Educational Change and Cultural Reaction.” This illustrated talk will be Tuesday, April 30 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Eptek Centre in Summerside.

The period between 1960 and the early 1970s brought the most dramatic change in Island education since the creation of the one-room district schools in the early 1850s. The consolidation of the public schools saw the disappearance of a major element in Island culture. This presentation will examine the impact of that change on rural Island communities, on their families and on the children who were “consolidated.” Further, a main question remains to be examined: what lessons can learned by using prior experience as a guide to evaluate how elements of culture may react during dramatic, and sometimes traumatic, change?

Refreshments will be provided. All are welcome.

Come celebrate the work of local playwrights with a joint cabaret and book launch on Saturday, April 27th, 7 pm in the Faculty Lounge of the Main Building at the University of Prince Edward Island. The PEI wing of PARC (Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre) and Island Studies Press invite you to readings by Island playwrights and the launch of The Philosopher, a collection of one-act plays by Malcolm Murray. Malcolm teaches Philosophy at UPEI.

The Cabaret is hosted by PEI PARC members Orysia Dawydiak and Yvette Doucette, with readings by Rob MacDonald, Catherine O'Brien, Nadine Salami, among others. Malcolm Murray and friends will read selections from The Philosopher, which will be available for sale. Doors open at 6:30 pm, with a cash bar and nibblies. Admission is by donation.

Comedic, satirical, and at times solemn, The Philosopher showcases the range of human complexity from nonsense to wisdom. Murray’s characters range from a philosopher in chains brought up from the basement to entertain guests to a psychologist who assists a traumatized patient to become more self-aware, only to result in greater angst. Provocative, perceptive, and rife with questions about the motives and morality of our everyday conduct, The Philosopher ultimately deals with the search for meaning and our need to believe. 

Apart from being a playwright, Malcolm Murray is also a fiction writer and philosopher. His produced plays include “Art of Posing” (2014), “The Abettor” (2013), “The Philosopher” (2012), and “Chop Wood, Carry Water” (2008). He is the author of five philosophy books including Morals and Consent (2017). Malcolm lives with his wife, a cat, a dog, and recently, though less agreeably, a raccoon. 

Not too late to register!

Girls in grades 7 to 9 are invited to a science and engineering retreat on Friday, May 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This 5th Girls Get WISE Science and Engineering Retreat will give girls a hands-on experience in chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, and engineering through fun workshops. Girls will also meet female role models who are working or studying in the science, engineering, and technology fields. These experiences will help girls make informed decisions about subject choices in their later school years.

Register at http://www.engineerspei.com/node/455 by Friday, April 26. Space is limited. Cost is $10 which includes lunch. Subsidies may be available upon request.

This event is hosted by UPEI with assistance from WISE (Women In Science and Engineering) Atlantic and Engineers PEI.

There will be a UPEI Basic Biosafety training session:

Tuesday, May 14th, 2019 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
AVC, Room 287N

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 May 10th, 2019 by email (ssudworth@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.

There will be a UPEI Biosafety refresher training session:

Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
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 May 21st, 2019 by email (ssudworth@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.

This is a one-day workshop that focuses on the concept of practice teaching. A small group of peer instructors comes together to teach short lessons in front of each other from a prepared lesson plan in order to gain feedback on their teaching in a low-stakes and collegial environment. Sessions will also be video-recorded and participants will be provided with a copy of their sessions for later review. Co-sponsored by the E-Learning Office and the Faculty Development Office, the workshop is designed to help enhance the teaching effectiveness of new and/or experienced educators at UPEI. Participants will also have the opportunity to work at the process of giving and receiving feedback. A light breakfast and coffee/snack breaks will be provided. Lunch is on your own. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, May 14th from 10:00am - 4:00pm in Room 328, McDougall Hall. Space is limited. Register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdp1Mi4ZcwoKCLzno2JXHzd_QwfcxaDEnKwIzDjiS31CE8FhQ/viewform

The Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering will be hosting the following public presentations by candidates for two Industry Research Chair positions in Precision Agriculture, Water Management and Food Processing. All are welcome to attend.
- Dr. Aitazaz Farooque: Fri, April 26, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, FSDE 212, Precision Agriculture Technologies: A Sustainable Approach to Ensure Food Security 
- Dr. Sara Sadri, Mon, April 29, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, FSDE 212, Precision Agriculture and Agricultural Drought Monitoring Based on Remote Sensing and Hydrological Modelling 
- Dr. Lordwin Jeyakumar: Tues, April 30, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, FSDE 212, Sustainability, Profitability and Climate Adaptability of Field Crops in Prince Edward Island

All faculty and staff are invited to attend the 2019 Celebration of Colleagues on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

In recognition of the outstanding performance of our faculty and staff and their dedication to students and community, the annual Presidential Recognition Awards of Merit and 25 Year Service Awards will be presented at this event. 

Please join us on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 from 10:30am-12:00pm in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre. 

The Faculty of Science Graduate Studies Committee invites the Campus community to Aisha Alkhnajari's MSc-ESC Defense entitled "Microbial diversity of buckwheat rhizosphere in wireworm-infested and non-infested soils using metagenomics".

Everyone is welcome. This event is Friday, April 26 at 11:30 am in Conference Room B of the  AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA building. 

Looking for an enriching volunteer experience this summer? The UPEI English Language Centre is looking for volunteers to join us in assisting with afternoon socio-cultural activities and acting as conversation partners in hosting this year’s English Language Camps for International students! This is a fantastic opportunity to learn and strengthen valuable skills, experience other cultures, and of course have a blast doing it! Activities may include things such as scavenger hunts, tours, on-campus workshops, beach visits, and more! If you are interested, please email Owen Shaw at oshaw@upei.ca, or call 902-566-0529.

Due the tragic passing on April 19 of alumnus Josh Underhay (BMEd 2006) and his son, Oliver, UPEI will lower flags to half-mast in their honour. The entire University community extends condolences to the Underhay family and their extended family and friends.

Next meeting of the Animal Welfare Journal Club: Friday, April 26, 12:30-1:15, AVC 343N, to discuss: 
Chatigny F. 2018. The controversy on fish pain: A veterinarian’s perspective. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2018.1530596

The Animal Welfare Journal Club meets approximately once a month to discuss scientific articles related to animal welfare; for eg in areas of animal welfare science, animal ethics, animal behaviour, anesthesia and analgesia; ethical veterinary practice. Everyone is welcome to attend and to propose articles for future discussion. 

The club is cohosted by AVC’s Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre and Animal Welfare Club. Email acrook@upei.ca or jdamico@upei.ca to be on the e-mail list for future information.

As part of UPEI’s 50th anniversary, the Robertson Library is presenting a lecture series to celebrate the historical roots of higher education on Prince Edward Island and its future. The series is named after educator Frank Pigot, honoured as a UPEI Founder for his work building the library’s PEI Collection and University Archives.

PEI historian and folklorist John Cousins will present the second lecture in the series, entitled “The one-roomed schoolhouse on Prince Edward Island.” This illustrated talk will be Tuesday, April 30 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Eptek Centre in Summerside.

Refreshments will be provided. All are welcome.

Please submit requests for updates for student computer labs for the fall semester by June 1st. In order to accommodate changes to software installed on computers in the student computer labs and/or classrooms, we must receive requests including any installation media (CD’s, DVD’s, etc.) and any related licensing information such as serial numbers before this date.
We have further information on the announcement section of our website.
Email requests to smahar@upei.ca.

The Faculty of Business will present a public presentation by Accounting Faculty Candidate, Clemence Stanley, CPA/CMA, on Tuesday, April 23, in Don & Marion McDougall Hall, Room 328, at 10 am. The presentation topic: From Sustainability to Literacy. All are welcome to attend.

The University of Prince Edward Island is proud to host the Canada 2018 Gairdner International Award winner for the 2019 Gairdner Lectures. Dr. Davor Solter will deliver a public lecture on Monday, May 6 at 9:30 am in the Faculty Lounge of UPEI’s SDU Main Building. A second lecture for high school students will take place immediately after at 10:45 am.

Dr. Davor Solter is an emeritus member and director of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics. He is a visiting international professor of the Siriraj Center for Excellence in Stem Cell Research, Mahidol University, and a visiting professor at the University of Zagreb Medical School.

Together, the work of Dr. Solter and Dr. Azim Surani has contributed to the understanding of the developmental consequences and molecular mechanisms of genomic imprinting, starting the field of epigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene function without changes in the DNA sequence.

In 1984, they released parallel studies that demonstrated the concept of genomic imprinting. All cells in the animal contain two copies of every autosomal gene, one from the mother and one from the father, and in most cases both copies are expressed. However, “imprinted” genes are expressed only from either the maternally or the paternally inherited copy. Genomic imprinting has widespread roles in mammals, affecting embryonic and placental development and transmission of nutrients to the fetus, and regulating critical aspects of mammalian physiology, such as metabolism, neuronal development and adult behaviour. Extensive research based on this discovery led to the identification of numerous imprinted genes whose alleles are differentially expressed depending on the parent of origin.

Faulty imprints can lead to developmental, physiological and behavioural anomalies in mice, and result in diseases in humans. There is growing evidence for the importance of imprinting in disease susceptibility from developmental syndromes like Beckwith-Wiedemann, Angelman and Prader-Willi, to a variety of cancers and neurological disorders and obesity. It also has effects on diverse aspects of mammalian development and physiology, such as stem cells, core body temperature, nutrition and behaviour.

All are welcome to the public lecture. High school classes who would like to attend the student lecture may contact Jane Vessey at javessey@upei.ca.

The Centre of Veterinary Epidemiological Research (CVER) invites the campus community to a seminar by Michael McIsaac (School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, UPEI) entittled: "Ambient Light at Night and Breast Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study in Canada"

This seminar is today (April 18) from 3:00 – 3:45 pm in AVC Lecture Theatre B, followed by CVER Coffee Social in AVC 343N.