Canada's Minister of State for Science and Technology, the Honourable Ed Holder, was on UPEI campus to announce the successful recipients of Discovery Grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC). Read the full release here.

'What actions will we take now that our descendants will celebrate or regret in 150 years?'

This question is at the heart of the fourth J.S. Palmer Conference being held at the University of Prince Edward Island September 3-4.

'Looking toward 2017 and celebrations for Canada's 150th birthday, we have partnered with the Watermark Theatre and their Canada 300 project to address issues of importance to Canadians now, that will have an impact for generations to come,' said UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz.

'This partnership has led to a diverse and inspiring line-up of panelists attending the 2015 Palmer Conference,' noted President Abd-El-Aziz.

The J.S. Palmer Conference was created in 2010 to bring together some of the finest minds across the country to discuss public policy issues of high priority to the public sector and to Canada.

Canada 300 is a groundbreaking project that toured 21 cities across Canada this past winter. Through an innovative use of arts and technology, Canadians were engaged in a dialogue envisioning our nation's next 150 years.

Dr. Tim O'Neill, founder and president of O'Neill Strategic Economics and former Executive Vice-President and Chief Economist of BMO, will open the conference with the keynote address.

'Thousands of Canadians shared their hopes and dreams for Canada as we toured the country,' said Watermark Theatre Artistic Director, Duncan McIntosh. 'The conference planning team distilled the information we gathered into three themes for the conference. Panelists will explore issues related to people, nations and the environment.'

The J.S. Palmer conference includes an extraordinary group of speakers and presenters. They include, Dr. Pamela Palmater, Mi'Kmaq lawyer, professor and activist; Tanya Davis, spoken word poet; Dr. Andew Light, Special Advisor to the White House on Climate Change; Dr. Teo Dagi, neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, and ethicist; Nora Young, CBC Spark host and author; Phil Fontaine, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations; and Jeremy Webber, Dean of Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria.

'This conference will appeal to anyone interested in the future of Canada and understanding how our actions now will impact our descendants,' says McIntosh.

For more information and to register for the conference see the website, at www.palmerconference.com.
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For more information:
Sara Roach-Lewis
J.S. Palmer Conference Manager
(902) 393-7204
sara@watermarktheatre.com

University of Prince Edward Island Men's Soccer coach Lewis Page is pleased to announce that Okanagan Valley, BC native Lucas Ross has committed to join the Panthers for the 2015-16 season.

Midfielder Ross just finished his fifth year in the Vancouver Whitecaps school academy and completed his third year in the British Columbia Soccer Premier League.

Commented Ross, 'I can't wait to come out east and offer what I've learned here. I know I will improve my game at the University of Prince Edward Island.'

Coach Page comments, 'I am happy to add Lucas Ross to our roster for next season. His experience from the Whitecaps Academy in the Okanagon will make him a strong candidate for a midfield role in our team.'

Ross will be entering the Bachelor of Science program at UPEI.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation
• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

University of Prince Edward Island Men's Basketball Head Coach Tim Kendrick is excited to announce the addition of Tim Butler and Jonathan Lane to the Panther staff as assistant coaches.

Coach Kendrick comments, 'I am very excited to have both of these fine young men join our coaching staff. After getting to know them better over the past couple of years, it was apparent to me that they would be great additions to our team. They are committed, hardworking young men who have exhibited great loyalty and passion for our Panthers program.

'I believe that it is extremely important to constantly be looking to improve our program in every way,' he adds. 'I believe that Jon and Tim bring not only fine and keen basketball minds and very positive attitudes, but also a love and passion for working with student-athletes within the great game of basketball and beyond. I expect to put them right to work in helping us build towards another successful season.'

Butler is a former Panther, who played from 2006-10, and was team captain his last two years on the roster. Butler's previous coaching experience includes Colonel Gray Colonels head coach 2013-15, Colonel Gray assistant coach 2012-13, and was a former UPEI Men's assistant coach 2010-11.

'I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be a part of the continued development of the Men's Basketball program at UPEI,' says Butler. 'This program is something very special to me. I was at my first Panthers game when I was 5 days old and being able to grow up with them and eventually play for them was a true honour. I am thankful to be able to take the next step as a coach and for the opportunity Coach Kendrick has given me. I can't wait to work with the great student-athletes we have at UPEI and help bring a championship back to the Island.'

Lane, native of Saint John, NB graduated from UNBSJ in 2006 where he played basketball from 2002-06 and was team captain during his final three years. After graduation from UNBSJ, Lane went on be an assistant coach with the team from 2007-09.

'I am looking forward to being a part of the UPEI Men's Basketball program this season and grateful for the opportunity provided by Director of Athletics and Recreation Chris Huggan and Coach Kendrick,' says Lane. 'I have followed the team since I moved to the Island in 2010 and have been fortunate enough to be around the team while working with the Athletics department. I believe Coach Kendrick has developed a winning program that is close to taking the next step and look forward to contributing in any way I can.'

While taking on assistant coaching duties, Lane will remain as Coordinator, Sales and Panther Academy with UPEI Athletics and Recreation.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation
• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

The Honourable Richard Brown, Minister of Workforce and Advanced Learning, recently toured campus at the invitation of the University.

Accompanied by President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz and PEI’s Executive Director of Post-Secondary and Continuing Education Susan MacKenzie, Minister Brown visited with the Vice-Presidents and CIO, and made stops at several buildings, meeting briefly with each of the Deans and the University Librarian. The visit was a high-level tour that touched on key initiatives and developments in each faculty.

The Minister, a UPEI alumnus, was appointed to cabinet in June by Premier Wade MacLauchlan and is the MLA for Charlottetown-Victoria Park. No stranger to cabinet, Minister Brown previously served as minister of Development and Higher Education and minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry in former Liberal premier Robert Ghiz’s government.

University of Prince Edward Island Women’s Basketball Head Coach Greg Gould is pleased to announce Jasmine Jones, a 5'8' guard from Atlanta, Georgia, has committed to the Panthers for the upcoming 2015-16 season.

Jasmine is a quick, athletic point guard who comes from a winning high school program. She is a true point guard who looks to involve her teammates first. Her quickness and athleticism should make her an excellent AUS defender.

“I was impressed with Jasmine's commitment and desire to work at becoming the best student and player possible,” said Coach Gould. “That passion for excellence is what we want from our players.”

“UPEI stood out to me not only on an academic and athletic level, but also on an environmental level. I love the atmosphere at UPEI,” commented Jones. “While on campus, I felt ‘at home’ and in a place that I am capable of being successful, not only on the court but also in the classroom.”

She added, “I bonded with the team so well on my visits, and they informed me on how great the learning environment is at UPEI. I am truly excited to become a part of such a wonderful community.”

Jasmine will be entering the Arts program and plans to study Nursing in the future.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

University of Prince Edward Island men’s basketball coach Tim Kendrick is excited to announce that Warsame Mohamed and Amin Suleman have committed to join the Panthers. Both players currently play for the “Bigger Than Basketball Club” program in Toronto, Ontario.

Mohamed is a 6’7” forward who attended A.Y. Jackson High School.

Coach Kendrick comments, "We are very happy to be adding Warsame to our roster. He has a great deal of potential and is a very nice young man. He really understands team play and is willing to do what he can to help us be successful.”

Adds Kendrick, “For a young player, Warsame has good overall size, and we believe that he will have a great career here coming right out of high school.”

Mohamed says, "I am thrilled to join UPEI and become a Panther. I feel my skill set as a stretch four, and of playing outside the perimeter and on the block, will really fit in Coach Kendrick’s system. Coach Kendrick is the perfect coach for me, and the school is the perfect place for my education. I want to win a championship and I hope I can win it as a UPEI Panther!"

Suleman attended the Central Toronto Academy and was recently awarded the Flight Games 2015 Student-Athlete of the Year with “Bigger Than Basketball”. The award recognizes students who excel in more than just basketball, serve as a role model in their community, and is characterized by hard work, perseverance, and positive qualities for younger athletes to look up to.

Adeel Sahibzada, Suleman’s coach with “Bigger Than Basketball” explains, “For Amin, as with anybody, there are always obstacles to overcome, it comes down to building the right mindset, and we’ve seen that maturity develop in him over the two-plus years we’ve know him”.

Coach Kendrick says, "We are very happy to add a guard with Amin's ability to our roster.  He is a pass-first player that can hit the open jumper from range. Amin is an "old school" type guard that sees the floor very well, and is a competitor!"

“I’m very excited to be part of the Panther family,” says Suleman. “I look forward to the coming years as both a student and athlete at UPEI.”

Both Mohamed and Suleman are enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program at UPEI.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

His Worship Clifford Lee, Mayor of Charlottetown, recently visited the University of Prince Edward Island campus. President Abd-El-Aziz greeted the Mayor at his office where they discussed areas of possible collaboration. The visit included a tour of the School of Sustainable Design Engineering building, currently under construction, which will be completed in September 2016.

First elected to Charlottetown City Council in November of 1987, Mayor Lee has served consecutive terms to date. He was appointed Deputy Mayor in 2000. He was elected as the 45th Mayor of Charlottetown in November of 2003, and re-elected as Mayor in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 municipal elections.
 

The University of Prince Edward Island community was saddened by the sudden death of Dr. Barry Bartmann on Friday, August 21. Dr. Bartmann had been a Professor of Political Science at UPEI since 1987.

“Our University has lost a great professor and colleague,” said President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “On behalf of the entire UPEI community, I pass on my most sincere sympathies to Dr. Bartmann’s sister Sheila, his extended family, friends, and colleagues—especially those in the departments of Political Science and Island Studies.”

His colleagues from the Political Science and Island Studies departments have prepared the following tribute:

As all those who knew Barry Bartmann will agree, he was an exceptional human being, a professor in the old mode, who cared about learning and teaching. He would have turned 74 in September.

Barry was an undergraduate at Waterloo Lutheran (now Wilfred Laurier) University and obtained his MA and PhD in political science at the University of Western Ontario and the London School of Economics. Barry’s areas of expertise included the International Relations of Small States, International Relations (Foreign Policy Analysis, International Organizations, Integration Studies) and Comparative Politics (Small States, Britain and Western Europe, Middle East Studies).

Of very few academics can it be said that they almost single-handedly created a new field in their discipline, but it was true of Barry. After he arrived at UPEI in 1987, he was instrumental in developing Island Studies, the examination of small island jurisdictions such as Barbados, the Faroes, Iceland, Mauritius, and many others. His passion for Island Studies came through in his work; his international scholarship was highly regarded. He provided specialist advice to various North Atlantic jurisdictions, including Constitutional Committees and Governments of the Åland Islands, the Faroes, and Iceland.

Barry was the academic driver to the internationalization of island studies at UPEI, starting with the spectacularly successful “Islands Living” Conference (1992), then the North Atlantic Islands Programme—now the North Atlantic Forum, which is meeting in Summerside in September this year; he helped organize the Island Studies minor at UPEI (1999), and the Master of Arts in Island Studies (2003).

Barry was a recognized authority on sub-national island jurisdictions and the international relations of small (or micro) states, those very small countries usually overlooked and ignored by most scholars in comparative politics and international relations, and he published articles on places such as Andorra, Liechtenstein, and San Marino. As well, Barry analyzed the role of non-recognized states—among many, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Somaliland, Transnistria, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus—in the international community, and co-edited the book De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty. He helped organize, and he delivered papers, at many international conferences on these fields.

Unlike many in the social sciences, Barry was also an excellent writer, and his articles were a joy to read. UPEI, and the wider academic community, has indeed lost an erudite scholar—as well as a wonderful cook!
It should also be noted that Barry was a dedicated and outstanding teacher. His many students always held him in very high regard and enjoyed immensely his vast knowledge of the subject matter he taught—and it was a very wide range, indeed. Our students loved him and they will miss him.

The flags on campus have been lowered to half-mast in honour of Dr. Bartmann and will remain so until after the funeral service on Friday, August 28. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Maclean’s Funeral Home: www.macleanfh.com

A memorial for Dr. Bartmann will be held on campus from 4-5 pm, Friday, August 28 in the Faculty Lounge of SDU Main Building.