The next featured author in the Winter’s Tales Reading Series is Meags Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is a Montreal-based graphic novelist and memoirist, comic book artist, illustrator, story-teller, and improv comedian. She will give a presentation of her work at Charlottetown Rural High School on Friday, March 31, at 1:50–3:15 pm. Her talk is open to the public, but please do not park in front of the school, where buses will be arriving. Fitzgerald’s graphic memoir, Long Red Hair, is “a fascinating take on relationships, sexuality, attraction and individual boundaries” (The Comics Journal). CBC Books named it one of the “10 Great Canadian Books to Read during Pride.” She calls Photobooth: A Biography a “non-fiction graphic novel.” A long-time photo-booth lover, she researched these once-vital and rapidly “fleeting machines” in North America, Europe, and Australia. She constructed a biography of these booths through the eyes of owners, technicians, collectors, and devotees such as herself. Fitzgerald’s comic books include Waxing Moon, about the intimate friendship of two girls, and The Village Under the Clouds, about an agrarian society, created by “harmonious” gods, which “relied heavily on trade, co-operation and trust” for generations, and which is threatened when malicious “second-rate gods” take over. Her presentation is sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts and the UPEI Faculty of Arts and Department of English, with generous cooperation from Charlottetown Rural High School. For further information phone 902-566-0389.

The April Island Studies Lecture is Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge on the UPEI campus, featuring Master of Arts in Island Studies student Owen Jennings speaking about Saint Helena: An island in flux. The allure of islands relies on some often inaccurate assumptions. These imaginary islands are small, remote, and, more often than not, tropical. Where most islands fall well short of that imagined island, the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena reaches towards it. Over the past decade this island has been gifted a new connection to the world: an airport. While its opening for commercial traffic is still delayed, this will, it is anticipated, reduce the travel time to South Africa from five days down to a few hours. The Saints, as the islanders call themselves, have long been caught between their home's isolation and many connections to the outside world, and soon they will be able to travel in a way that most similar island communities take for granted. This lecture considers the experience of travelling to and being a researcher on Saint Helena, and what being a Saint might mean as the island's connection to the rest of the world changes dramatically. Owen Jennings is a Master of Arts in Island Studies student at UPEI. He is studying remoteness and access on the island of Saint Helena, and, last November, had the opportunity to travel to Saint Helena to do his field research. Before coming to PEI, he studied politics for his undergraduate degree in the UK. Admission to the lecture is free and everyone is welcome to attend. Watch for details for another lecture about islands – near and far – May 16! For more information, please contact Laurie at iis@upei.ca or (902) 894-2881.

On Thursday June 22, 2017 we hope you can join us at Belvedere Golf Club! All funds raised will go towards UPEI Alumni Engagement Athletic Awards which are granted annually to deserving members of our varsity sport teams who demonstrate an interest in furthering public and alumni interest in their respective sports. Along with an excellent day of golf and friendship, the registration fee also provides you with a registration gift, green fee, golf cart for two, box lunch, a great meal at the end of the day, four free beverages PLUS all the benefits of those game enhancers such as a team Mulligan, the putting string, survivor ball and the three-putt putting green game!   Deadline for registration is June 12, 2017.  Registration form and complete information can be found at upei.ca/panthergolfclassic.

UPEI’s Department of Athletics and Recreation invites you and your family to an open house to celebrate the grand opening of new fitness studios in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre! The open house runs 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, Saturday, April 1. The new studios include a new, two-storey 2,400 square-foot activity training centre, which features a lower floor to accommodate general fitness classes and an upper-level training area equipped with stationary bicycles and interval training capabilities. The new studios are available for private fitness classes, such as spin and yoga. “We are excited to showcase our newly renovated fitness studios in addition to welcoming the general public into our facilities,” said Chris Huggan, Director of Athletics and Recreation. “We want as many families and individuals to come see and experience what we have to offer in a quality venue and fitness centre and our programs and services including fitness classes, recreational programming, event hosting and our Panther Academy programs.” Use of the fitness centre during the open house will be free. Join us for a tour of the facility at 10:30 am and noon, and take part in free fitness classes in the new studios. The gym will feature a Kids Zone with camp counsellors, face painting, and activities to entertain the kids while parents explore the facilities. Information will be available about all of the programs and services at the UPEI Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. Community memberships will be available! The new fitness studios are made possible in part by generous support from the Government of Canada. Find more information about the facility at gopanthersgo.ca!

Speaker:  Logan MacIntyre, Biomedical Sciences Title:  Co-cultures of marine fungi as sources of novel cryptic natural products

Dr. Hayden Woodley, a candidate for a tenure-track position in the Faculty of Business (Management) will present a public presentation of research and scholarship on "Connecting Personality and Team Performance: The Mediating Role of Attitude Towards Teamwork."  The presentation will be held in MCDH 329 at 9:00 am. Dr. Woodley's teaching demonstration, "Contingencies in Organizational Behaviour and/or Management," will follow at 11:00 am, also in MCDH 329. All are welcome to attend both events.

At the Chaplaincy Centre, thoughts are with the students during exam time, their success, and yes, of course, the chili dinner. On the first two days of exams -- Monday and Tuesday, April 10 and 11, between 11:30 am–1:30 pm -- a chili dinner is served at the Chaplaincy Centre, free for the students. About 300 students show up each day with smiles and conversation. We are looking for faculty and staff to help out and provide encouragement for students on their exams. Sign up to volunteer if you're able to give some time.

The Faculty of Business is pleased to present four candidates for a tenure track position in Management.  On Wednesday, April 5, Dr. Umar Boodoo will present a public presentation of research and scholarship on "The Influence of Unions on CEO Compensation during the Financial Crisis." The presentation will be held in MCDH 246 at 11:30 am.

The Faculty of Business is pleased to present four candidates for a tenure-track position in Management. On Monday, April 10, Dr. Farimah HakemZadeh will present a public presentation of research and scholarship on "Evidence-Based Decision Making." The presentation will be held in MCDH 246 at 3:00 pm.

The Faculty of Business is pleased to present four candidates for a tenure track position in Management. On Wednesday, April 12, Dr. Xiao Chen will present a public presentation of research and scholarship on "The Effects of Priming Goals on Individual & Team Performance: Implications for Human Resource Management." The presentation will be held in MCDH 246 at 9:00 am.