Difficult Dialogues is a biannual student academic conference, that highlights issues that may be considered difficult to have conversations around. The conference runs February 10 and 11 and is sponsored by Diversity and Social Justice Studies at UPEI.

Difficult Dialogues includes presentations from students from around the Atlantic region. Presentations run Friday, February 10, from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm and Saturday, February 11 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Dr. Alexandre Baril, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University, will deliver a keynote presentation.

Registration begins Friday at 1:00 pm in the Dawson Lounge of SDU Main Building. The lounge will be used as a social and gathering space throughout the conference.

All events are free, accessible, and open to the public.

A team of AVC researchers, led by Dr. Javier Sanchez, associate professor of epidemiology, is investigating antibiotic resistance in cows at the genetic level.

Dr. Sanchez was recently awarded $27,000 from Zoetis’s 2016 Investment in Innovation fund for the project, which will focus on understanding the genetic process that can cause pathogens affecting the health of cows’ udders to be resistant to antibiotics.

This project is part of a program researchers at AVC are building around molecular epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in populations. The research team is composed of AVC faculty members Drs. Sanchez, J Trenton McClure, Luke Heider, and Juan Rodriguez-Lecompte, and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Julian Reyes.

The project complements an NSERC development grant Dr. Sanchez received last year to estimate antimicrobial resistance, using whole genome sequencing and bioinformatic tools, in microorganisms isolated from cows from farms with high and low use of antimicrobials.

In addition, the research team will collaborate with Colorado State University (CSU) to test a novel tool developed by CSU to quantify the amount of antimicrobial-resistant genes in milk samples.

“This is a novel approach that has not been tested before in milk samples,” said Dr. Sanchez, “so our research team is very excited about this opportunity and extremely thankful to Zoetis for providing the funds.”

“Antimicrobial resistance has been recognized by the World Health Organization and the United Nations as one of the main challenges in population health in the coming years,” he said. “Data generated from these projects will be used to prepare a national proposal of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in dairy cattle.”

The Zoetis Investment in Innovation fund provides $100,000 annually to the five Canadian veterinary colleges for research projects that are chosen for funding on a competitive basis.
 

The Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre will hold its 2017 AVC Winter Webinar series, entitled "New Approaches to Old Diseases," in late February and early March. During the series, Dr. Caroline Hewson, past Chair of Animal Welfare at AVC now residing in the UK, and Dr. Christine Savidge, Assistant Professor of Small Animal Medicine at AVC, will review some core communication tools for discussing terminal diagnoses with clients and then focus on practical strategies from human medicine that offer busy veterinary teams a new framework for handling severe and chronic disease in patients of all ages.

Webinar 1: The Toolbox
Tuesday, February 21, 2017, 1:00-2:00 pm AST    CE credits: 1 hour
Dr. Hewson will briefly review three core communication tools for delivering terminal diagnoses and creating workable clinical care plans with clients. She will then introduce three further tools with which to support owners and benefit their animals that have severe diseases. These tools will provide a framework to help attendees and their clients to anticipate and respond with greater peace of mind, as the animal’s condition deteriorates, and to identify the right time to start talking about euthanasia and the animal’s end-of-life.

Webinar 2: Applying disease trajectory in renal disease
Tuesday, February 28, 2017, 1:00-2:00 pm AST    CE credits: 1 hour
Dr. Savidge will use feline and canine cases of renal disease to illustrate different disease trajectories and how these influence discussions with clients, including the potential role of pain from renal disease. She will show examples of how disease trajectory graphs can help veterinarians and clients anticipate and respond to an animal’s changing condition, as renal insufficiency progresses, and decide when/if intensive rescue treatment is desirable in uremic crises.

Webinar 3: Pulling it all together with more case discussions
Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 1:00-2:00 pm AST   CE credits: 1 hour
Drs. Savidge and Hewson will tie together the concepts illustrated in the previous two webinars, using diverse cases of renal insufficiency from their practices and submitted by webinar participants.

To register, please visit awc.upei.ca
 

UPEI is rallying behind members of the Muslim community both on campus and across the country.

The University lowered the flags yesterday in front of Kelley Memorial Building to half-mast in honour of the victims of the shooting at a Quebec City mosque on Sunday, January 29.

In a statement issued to UPEI students, faculty, and staff, President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz said, “Respect and collegiality is the foundation of our value compass, making the horrific events in Quebec City unfathomable. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed in the terrorist attack.”

A group of UPEI students decided to show their support for the Muslim community Tuesday night by hanging what they call a solidarity wall at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre. (CBC PEI story). The banner that hangs outside the door of where UPEI’s Muslim students pray reads, "We stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers & sisters."  Everyone is invited to sign the banner in a show of support.

The student-led 2017 UPEI Relay For Life, held at UPEI’s Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on January 20, raised over $14,000, all of which will be used to help Prince Edward Islanders who are dealing with cancer.

Fourteen teams—82 participants in total—registered for this year’s relay, including the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre; UPEI Biology Society; UPEI Residences; Jack.org at UPEI; “Too Inspired to be Tired,” an Applied Human Sciences Society and Women’s Field Hockey team; and “IB Walkin’,” a group of Grade 11 International Baccalaureate students from Colonel Gray High School.

Teams raised money in the weeks leading up to the event, and then during the six-hour event, they took turns walking or running around the track, passing their batons to symbolize the ongoing fight against cancer. They celebrated with and honoured cancer survivors during the opening ceremony and the survivor victory lap.

“Together, participants and survivors remembered loved ones, while they walked the track lit by luminaries dedicated in honour or in memory of someone,” said Emma McDermott, a fourth-year biology student who sits on the organizing committee, “all renewing their commitment to fight back against cancer. It was an emotional evening.”

When the team members were not walking, they participated in other activities, including ballroom dancing, minute-to-win it, dodgeball, and games.

Dr. Christian Lacroix, a professor in the Department of Biology, is faculty advisory and liaison for the UPEI Relay For Life.

“The most gratifying thing from my perspective is that the Relay For Life was led and organized by students,” he said. “The success of this event speaks to the civic engagement of our students and is a sense of pride that our institution is recognized for its fundraising success in the community.”

Over 900 Islanders are diagnosed with cancer each year, and over 300 lose their lives. The Relay For Life is a national annual fundraising event for the Canadian Cancer Society, which has been taking place on Prince Edward Island for 16 years.
 

The UPEI and PWC community was saddened to hear that retired professor Dr. Harry Love passed away on January 28, 2017. Dr. Love had a constant and deep appreciation for UPEI.

He graduated from Prince of Wales College in 1956 and continued his studies at Dalhousie University, where he completed a Masters and a PhD in mathematics. Dr. Love returned to PEI to teach mathematics at Prince of Wales College and UPEI from 1960 to 1997. With a special interest in statistics, he was passionate about teaching and adored by students.

Honoured in 2007 as a UPEI Founder, Dr. Love played a key role, along with his wife Anne, in the development of the University. His presence continued at UPEI through volunteering at reunion events and with the UPEI Retirees Association, and as one of UPEI's most vocal fans. Long-time donors and UPEI Visionaries, the Loves created the Harry and Anne Love Scholarship which is awarded annually to a Mathematics major.

Dr. Love is survived by his wife Anne (née Michael) and brothers-in-law Leslie Hiscott, Roger (Margaret) Michael, and Gordon (Sandra) Michael. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to MacLean Funeral Home – Swan Chapel. Flags in front of Kelley Memorial Building will remain lowered to half-mast in honour of Dr. Love until Friday. Memorial donations to Trinity United Church, Charlottetown Rotary Club Foundation, or UPEI are being accepted.

At recent meetings, the UPEI Senate and Board of Governors approved a name change for the UPEI School of Business; effective immediately, the former “School” will now officially be called the UPEI Faculty of Business.

With Business student enrolment and course registrations on the rise, the success of students at national and international competitions, increasing demand for graduate level programs and courses, and the generation of new research programs and centres, faculty members in UPEI's School of Business unanimously felt it was time to be elevated to a “Faculty” status. 

“As currently the third largest academic area on campus with student numbers rivaling those in the Faculty of Arts, changing the School of Business to a Faculty of Business will bring parity among units,” said Dean of Business Juergen Krause. “Education, a much smaller faculty, already has this status, so we thought it reasonable to propose a change.”

When the University of Prince Edward Island was established in 1969, business programs were administered by a Department of Business Administration consisting of five faculty members and serving a total enrolment of 200 students. Driven by the desire to manage both the academic and administrative aspects of business programs, faculty members proposed the formation of the School of Business in 1982. Since its creation in 1983, the School has further evolved and expanded, now offering a breadth of undergraduate programs and the executive Master of Business Administration program to almost 800 students who are served by 15 full-time faculty and over 30 sessional instructors.

President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz met with the Hon. Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Cardigan's Member of Parliament and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, Hon. Lawrence MacAulay in Ottawa yesterday. Minister McKenna, who tweeted the photo from her Twitter account @cathmckenna, will be on the UPEI campus in June when she hosts a meeting of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an intergovernmental organization that facilitates environmental cooperation between Canada, Mexico, and the US.

There will be lots of action on the court and in the rink this weekend for UPEI Panther fans.

Coming off two big four-point wins over Acadia and Saint Mary’s this past weekend, the UPEI Women’s Basketball team hopes to keep the winning momentum going when it hosts the University of New Brunswick in a pair of games this Friday and Saturday at the UPEI Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre.  Tip-off is 6:00 pm for both nights.

“UNB is in third place and have already clinched a playoff spot,” says Greg Gould, head coach. “We will need to be at our very best to beat an experienced UNB team, but I believe out players are up to the challenge!”

After last weekend’s losses, the men’s basketball team is looking to get back in the win column in their games versus UNB on Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 pm.

“UNB is in for two big ones this weekend,” says UPEI Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tim Kendrick.  “We will have to be at our best to get two victories. We are fully aware of our situation, and know that these remaining three home games on our schedule are extremely important for us. We need to make a run, and every streak starts with one win!”

The Women’s Hockey program is also looking to looking to get back on track this weekend when they faceoff against St. Francis Xavier (Friday evening at 7:00 pm) and Saint Mary’s (Saturday evening at 7:00 pm). Both games are at MacLauchlan Arena. 

Panthers Head Coach Bruce Donaldson says, “This is a very tough weekend—both St. FX and SMU are playing very well. We are trying to secure third spot with three games to go and we cannot afford to give up any points.”

Donaldson concedes that the UPEI women’s squad did not play well last Sunday versus the X-Women and is expecting a much stronger effort for the rematch. He adds, “And SMU has been ranked in the top four in the conference all year, and if we want to secure third spot, we will need to match their intensity and physicality. Both teams create a big challenge for our team—we need a better effort throughout our line-up.” 

UPEI students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends are encouraged to cheer on your Panthers! Game tickets are now available for purchase online. Find more details at gopanthersgo.ca.

On Monday, February 6, 2017, students, staff, and faculty will gain access to certain areas of myUPEI, the portal which will eventually replace and expand the current online platform, UPEI Campus Login. In order to ensure a smooth transition period, the University is granting access to myUPEI mid-semester so that the campus community has sufficient time to become familiar with it. Visit the “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) web page.

The transition to myUPEI is vital to the University so that its students, faculty, and staff may access data and information to facilitate and manage day-to-day processes efficiently. This technological transformation for UPEI has been implemented with a phased-in approach. MyUPEI will be used to access services for the upcoming May 2017 (first summer session) semester while Campus Login will remain in place for the current January 2017 semester. Over time, more and more functions will transition from Campus Login to myUPEI, bringing improvements to online services such as:

• Course scheduling
• Registering for courses
• Student financial accounts
• Degree auditing
• Transcript requests
• Class petitions and waivers
• Scholarships and Awards
• Submission of grades
• Room bookings

More information will be made available in the coming days via self-service videos and instructor-led training opportunities. 

On Thursday, February 16, the campus community is invited to join the Project Beacon Team in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre from 12:00–1:00 pm to learn more about this exciting transition to myUPEI (and for free swag and refreshments)!