The University of Prince Edward Island would like to congratulate Dr. Ann Braithwaite, associate professor and coordinator of Diversity and Social Justice Studies on her recent recognition from the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU). Dr. Braithwaite was awarded the Anne Marie MacKinnon Educational Leadership Award for her demonstrated commitment to the improvement of university teaching.

Braithwaite joins Dr. Martin Kutnowski of St. Thomas University, and Dr. Peter MacIntyre of Cape Breton University as the 2014 AAU Teaching Award recipients. Only three award winners are chosen each year from the 16 universities represented by the AAU.

'On behalf of UPEI, I would like to extend congratulations to Ann on her recent AAU achievement,' said UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'This award recognizes Ann's dedication and passion for teaching and learning and we couldn't be more proud.'

Braithwaite is also a recipient of the UPEI Hessian Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Jane Pottie Murray Award for Educational Leadership, and a Presidential Recognition of Merit Award.

The Faculty Development Office is delighted to see Dr. Braithwaite honoured in this way. Director of Faculty Development, Dr. Don Desserud, commented, 'Ann is a natural leader and a most deserving candidate.'

Congratulations, Ann!

The AAU represents the 16 universities in Atlantic Canada and the University of the West Indies. The AAU is an advocate for the important role Atlantic universities play in preparing future leaders of our communities, in path-breaking research and innovation and in contributing to the economic prosperity and quality of life of the Atlantic region.

The Japanese Student Services Organization (JASSO) offers scholarships to qualified international students who take part in an international short-term study. Nathan Donohue from UPEI, and Naoko Suzuki from the University of Tsukuba in Japan were two of this year's grateful recipients.

The JASSO scholarship offers both students approximately $8,500 Canadian for a 10-month stay abroad. Donohue departed for his stay in Japan in late June, while Suzuki arrived in Prince Edward Island in late August.

'I feel really grateful and excited to be a recipient of the JASSO scholarship this year,' said Donohue. 'I am extremely honoured and privileged to be chosen to receive this scholarship, and I plan on using it to experience as much as I can while in Japan. I would like to thank Professor Toru Yamada from the University of Tsukuba who nominated me for the scholarship. This scholarship allows me to experience more than would otherwise be possible.'

Donohue plans to enjoy the local foods in Japan, participate in as many sporting events as possible, including judo and rugby, and immerse himself in the Japanese culture.

Suzuki shares similar gratitude. 'I am very happy to receive this scholarship. It is a big support and will help me while studying at UPEI and living on the Island,' she said. 'Not only do I wish to concentrate on my own studies, I hope to play an integral part in making positive connections for future exchange students (of Tsukuba and UPEI).'

Receiving this generous JASSO scholarship is an amazing opportunity for both of these students,' said UPEI's International Partnerships Coordinator Sherilyn Acorn-LeClair. 'It is a prestigious award that provides opportunities that they may not otherwise have. We are thrilled to have Naoko on our UPEI campus and we look forward to hearing all about Nathan's adventures at the University of Tsukuba upon his return.'

UPEI and the University of Tsukuba have had an international exchange agreement in effect since the Fall of 2013. It will remain in effect for an initial five-year period. Students interested in learning more about this partnership and the opportunities available are asked to contact Sherilyn at (902) 894-2837 or sdacorn@upei.ca.

Naoko Suzuki, University of Tsukuba

The UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of September 8-14 are Megan Larkin, Women's Rugby; and Trevor White, Men's Soccer. UPEI Athletics and Recreation showcases these talented athletes to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who: Megan Larkin, Women's Rugby; and Trevor White, Men's Soccer

What: UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of September 8-14

Why: Larkin, a fifth-year nursing student from Cavendish, PEI played a very strong rugby game against defending AUS Champions, the StFX X-Women this past Saturday in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In the 71-0 loss, Larkin made many hits, stormed over the rucks, and made great plays with the ball.

White, a fourth-year business student from Victoria, BC, played two stellar games in goal for the UPEI Men's Soccer team on the weekend. White had a shutout in the 1-0 win over Mount Allison on Friday, and only surrendered one goal in the Panthers' 1-1 tie against StFX on Sunday afternoon.

Panther Action this weekend:

Saturday, September 20
2:00 pm (W) Rugby vs. Saint Mary's University

All Panther home games are available on http://austv.ca/

Go Panthers Go!

Trevor White, Men's Soccer

Canadian journalist and author Gwynne Dyer will speak at UPEI on Monday, September 22 as part of his cross-Canada university and college tour. The event will take place in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, Room 242, Don and Marion McDougall Hall at 7:00 pm.

Sponsored by the UPEI Faculty of Arts, Dyer's lecture entitled 'What the First World War Taught Us' will examine Canada's role in the First World War and the lessons that our nation learned from it.

Gwynne Dyer has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster, and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years, but he was originally trained as an historian. Born in Newfoundland, he received degrees from Canadian, American, and British universities, finishing with a PhD in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published by over 175 papers in some 45 countries.

In the spring of 2012, Gwynne Dyer was made an officer of the Order of Canada. The event is free and all are welcome to attend.

Ged Martin, author of 'John A. Macdonald: Canada's First Prime Minister,' graduate of Cambridge University, and UK's first Chair of Canadian Studies at Edinburgh University will deliver the keynote address at UPEI's Versions of Canada 2014 Conference held September 25-28. Martin will deliver his address on Friday, September 26 at 3:30 pm in Room 142, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall.

Martin will speak about the Charlottetown Conference and his argument that Canadian Confederation was not born in Prince Edward Island. Martin questions the instant acceptance of Confederation and traces the intellectual roots of the idea of Confederation back to the mid-1850s.

The Versions of Canada 2014 Conference is organized by the Canadian Studies Program at the University of Prince Edward Island in conjunction with the Canadian Studies Network. For more information on the conference, visit http://conferences.upei.ca/versionsofcanada2014/

Dynamic international speaker and consultant Martin Rutte treated UPEI business students and special guests to a lecture on spirituality in the workplace on Wednesday, September 17. Rutte motivated and challenged the audience by telling his story, what led him to the consulting world, and his thoughts on spirituality and business.

Rutte is the president of Livelihood, a management firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he explores the deeper meaning of work and its contribution to society. Rutte has worked for a variety of organizations to help them expand their outlook and positions for the future, including: the World Bank, Quad/Graphics, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Southern California Edison, Virgin Records, Labatt Breweries, and London Life Insurance.

Rutte was the first Canadian to address the Corporate Leadership & Ethics Forum at the Harvard Business School, and has also addressed the American and Canadian Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong, and acted as the keynote speaker at the International Conferences on Spirituality in Business in Mazatlan, Mexico.

Rutte is the co-author of the New York Times business bestseller, 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work' and has lectured around the world on spirituality and business. Rutte is also the founder of the Centre for Spirituality and the Workplace at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and co-taught the first-ever credit course at a Canadian university on spirituality and business at UPEI in 2006 with UPEI professor Ken DesRoches.

Harry Thurston is one of Atlantic Canada's premier nature and environmental writers, and also one of the region's finest poets. Thurston has collaborated with New Brunswick poet and songwriter-musician Allan Cooper on their new book and poetic conversation, 'The Deer Yard.' Cooper has played a key role in the region's literary scene as founder of Owl's Head Press and editor of Germination magazine.

Thurston and Cooper will read from 'The Deer Yard' on Monday, September 22 at 7:30 pm in UPEI's Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building. The pair will also read on Tuesday, September 23 at 7:00 pm in the Summerside Rotary Library. These readings are organized by the UPEI English Department, with funding from The Canada Council for the Arts.

In 2009, Thurston was writer-in-residence on Vancouver Island in the heritage site home of renowned fisherman and environmentalist Roderick Haig-Brown. While there, he and longtime friend Cooper, on the east coast, embarked on a poetic dialogue about the natural world. They followed the model of the Wang River Sequence, a poetic correspondence by the Chinese poets Wang Wei and P'ei Ti over 1,200 years ago.

'Our poetry, separately, has always been rooted deeply in the natural world,' said Thurston. 'Like many other Western poets, we have looked to the East, to classical Chinese poetry, as one model to best express our relationship with what we now call the environment, a no less reverential term than Nature.'

Thurston's most recent non-fiction work, 'The Atlantic Coast: A Natural History' won the 2011 Lane Anderson Award. Cooper's recent musical projects include Rosedale and Songs for a Broken World.

For information:
Dr. Richard Lemm
Professor, Department of English
Winter's Tales Authors' Reading Series
(902) 566-0592, rlemm@upei.ca

The Time Travelling Trombone featuring Dale Sorensen will be presented at UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall on Sunday, September 28 at 2:30 pm. Sorensen will be accompanied by Jacqueline Sorensen Young, piano; Frances McBurnie, piano; Richard Covey, piano; David Parker, horn; and Gregory Irvine, tuba.

Step into the Doctor's TARDIS, and let yourself be transported through five centuries of music for trombone. Sorensen's journey will begin with the first composition written specifically for his instrument, an Italian canzona from 1621, and performed on the ‘sackbut.' On the way to 18th century Austria, he will pick up Symphony Nova Scotia's principal horn player, Parker, for a performance of Michael Haydn's elegant Concertino for horn, alto trombone, and piano. The European tour will continue with J.I. Müller's 19th century theme-and-variations on a German chorale melody, followed by a neo-Romantic concert piece written by Philippe Gaubert for the Paris Conservatoire in the early 20th century. A quick jaunt to the USA will feature Leonard Bernstein's short unaccompanied work for trombone (performed à la Stompin' Tom!), followed by two 21st century Canadian works, PEI composer Richard Covey's Fantasia for trombone and piano (with the composer himself playing piano), and Barbara York's very recent Nordic Suite (2012) for trombone, tuba, and piano, for which Sorensen will be joined by his former teacher, UPEI professor and tubaist Irvine. Special pianists for this recital include Sorensen's long-time collaborator McBurnie, and sister Sorensen Young.

Sorensen, a PEI native, was a sessional lecturer in trombone at UPEI from 2001-11, and has also taught at Dalhousie University, and continues to teach privately and adjudicate at music festivals throughout the Maritimes and in Ontario. 2014 marks his 25th season performing with the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra.

Tickets are $15/$10 for students and seniors and are available at the door or in advance by calling (902) 566-0507 or by email at music@upei.ca

The UPEI community congratulates Verne Helene Lorway, the first PhD student in the Faculty of Education to defend her dissertation. Lorway's dissertation is titled ‘Disrupting the 'maestro': Tuneful youth insights for engaged music education.'

'We are extremely proud of Verne,' said Dr. Ronald MacDonald, Dean of Education at UPEI. 'A tremendous effort was required by Verne, as well as the whole Faculty of Education Graduate Studies Team, including Verne's exceptional PhD Committee. Verne's total dedication to this work has led her to this esteemed academic achievement. This is indeed a landmark for the Faculty of Education.'

Besides her PhD studies, Lorway is a music educator with the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board in Nova Scotia. Her research is largely ethnographic, and examines the engagement of young people in school and the greater community through arts, particularly the development of youth agency through music in a public school setting.

'I'm using voiced research to examine the possibilities of students to employ music and the arts to construct and re-construct a more radical, fully engaged, and youth-attuned pedagogy,' said Lorway.

Lorway's dissertation explores a series of questions: How do students articulate their perceptions and experiences of engagement in music making? How do these student ideas and perceptions figure into pedagogical practices for teaching music and further engaging in music making and school? Are student ideas being heard?

'Verne Helene Lorway has approached her PhD program and dissertation with great commitment to scholarship and to the young people with whom she works. Her research project is courageous, creative and poised to make an impact on music education,' said Dr. Kate Tilleczek, Lorway's supervisor, and UPEI's Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Young Lives in Global & Local Contexts. 'Dr. Jean Mitchell (Anthropology) and Dr. June Coutryman (Music) served on this Committee and have been vital to Verne's success. I cherish working with such devoted interdisciplinary scholars in our PhD in Educational Studies.'

One of the examiners for Lorway's dissertation defense was Dr. Rubén A. Gaztambide-Fernandez, an associate professor in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Dr. Gaztambide-Fernandez is a world-respected researcher and will give a pair of presentations while he is on campus. Dr. Andrew Zinck, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Music was the Internal Examiner, because Lorway's educational research draws on her background as a music educator.

UPEI's PhD in Educational Studies program allows students to examine issues and trends in education at an advanced level and from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Graduates of the PhD in Educational Studies will develop the competence and expertise needed to assume positions of leadership such as academic scholars, researchers in institutional or community contexts, teacher educators, curriculum and instructional leaders in school boards and private industry, school, school board, and governmental educational administrators. This program also promotes collaborative work with colleagues in educational endeavours and life-long professional development.

For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications Officer, UPEI
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

The fourth annual UPEI Kitchen Party will be held on Saturday, September 27 in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre's McMillan Hall in support of the UPEI Panthers varsity sport programs. A reception and silent auction will be held at 5:00 pm, followed by a delicious lobster dinner served by UPEI athletes at 6:15 pm.

The ability to recruit and retain the best student athletes is vital for maintaining AUS and CIS Championship calibre programs. All of the funds raised from the event will directly support the student-athlete experience through Athletic Financial Awards, professional training, enhanced exhibition schedules, and improved team activities.

UPEI Athletics and Recreation seeks your support either through ticket purchases or by donating to the auction. Tickets are required at the door and are available for $45/person, or $330 per table of eight. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Bruce Donaldson at bdonaldson@upei.ca or (902) 393-0662.