UPEI's Deirdre Kessler will launch her latest children's book on Thursday afternoon, August 28, 3:00-4:00 pm at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. The book is a 48-page story set in 1864. BORN! A foal, five kittens, and Confederation is illustrated by Brenda Jones and published by the Acorn Press. The book is a PEI Literacy Alliance project funded by the 1864 Committee. All are welcome to attend the book launch. The author will read from the story, the illustrator will bring some of the original paintings, and refreshments will be served. Deirdre Kessler teaches children's literature, creative writing, and the course on L.M. Montgomery with the UPEI Department of English, and is a full-time writer and poet.

UPEI's Orientation Week Coordinator invites the campus community to laugh, learn and listen to the inspiring words of our world class and TEDx featured speaker Drew Dudley! Drew Dudley creates cultures of leadership by helping organizations and their people "plan to matter." Students, staff, and faculty are invited to listen to our world-class speaker on Tuesday, September 2 in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre at 10:00 am. In Drew’s current role as the Founder and Chief Catalyst of Nuance Leadership Inc., he works with organizations around the world to empower people to increase their leadership capacity. His clients included some of the world’s most dynamic companies and organizations, including McDonald’s, Proctor & Gamble, JP Morgan Chase, and over 75 colleges and universities. Drew has spoken to over 100,000 people on 5 continents, been featured on The Huffington Post, Radio America, Forbes.com, and TED.com, where his “TED talk” has been voted “one of the 15 most inspirational TED talks of all time” and viewed over a million times.

Students, staff, and faculty are all invited to take part in the Shine Day Kick-off at the W.A. Murphy Student Centre from 8:30-9:30 am on Saturday, September 6. Discover what Shinerama is about and what UPEI is doing to help! Immediately following, Shine Day will begin on UPEI campus and in the Charlottetown area. You will find UPEI students washing cards, shining shoes, singing songs and doing backflips all in an effort to raise money for cystic fibrosis treatment and research! Show your support this Shine Day!

Join Sister Susan Kidd and Paula Campbell (Catholic Student Association) for an Open House on Sunday, August 31 beginning at 6:00pm, with Mass to follow. Enjoy "sundaes on Sunday" following Mass. All are welcome.

Kieran J. Hennessey will present his Master of Education thesis defence on Friday, August 29, at 1:00 pm in room AVC 286A N. Thesis title: College Students from the Margins: Journeys of Persistence and Early Leaving. All are welcome to attend.

Dr. Doug Sobey, a research associate of the University’s Institute of Island Studies, and formerly at the University of Ulster, will give an illustrated public talk on the results of a study carried out by himself and William Glen (formerly of the Forestry Division), into the forest descriptions found on manuscript maps housed in the P.E.I. Public Archives dating from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Dr. Sobey will discuss what the descriptions on the maps reveal about the Island's forest-types before their destruction by clearance and fire. His research has been carried out with the support of both the Institute of Island Studies and the Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division of the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the lecture will include the launch of a recently published research report on the subject.

Please join Island Studies for an Open House on Monday, September 8 from 4:00-6:00 pm in the Faculty Lounge, room 201 of SDU Main Building. Welcome Master of Arts in Island Studies Students, see books from the Island Studies Press collection, celebrate the announcement of MAIS scholarship winners and hear about projects and events planned by Master of Arts in Island Studies Students and the Institute of Island Studies. For further information contact Andrea Bird at abird@upei.ca.

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 a poetic dialogue about the natural world. Thurston and Cooper will read from their new book The Deer Yard on Monday, September 22, at 7:30 pm in UPEI’s Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building. They 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. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

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 in Don and Marion McDougall Hall at 7:00 pm. Sponsored by the UPEI Faculty of Arts, Dyer’s lecture is entitled What the First World War Taught Us. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

The Scholarships, Awards and Financial Aid team from the Registrar’s Office will be holding information sessions for all interested students on “How to Apply for Scholarships and Awards” at UPEI. The first day of sessions will be held on Wednesday, September 10 at 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm and will take place in the Robertson Library second floor computer lab. SPACE IS LIMITED, so please call or email Adrienne at (902) 620-5187 or amontgomery@upei.ca to reserve your spot today; individual personal appointments are also available.