Dr. Miles Turnbull, an associate professor in the Faculty of Education, was elected President of the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT) at the CASLT Annual General Meeting held recently in Toronto.

Dr. Turnbull is Director of a new joint pre-service program with l'Universitand#233; de Moncton for French second language teaching, with a special focus on teaching French Immersion. He also teaches in the graduate program in leadership and learning. Before joining the faculty at UPEI, he was an assistant professor in the Modern Language Centre at OISE-UT (University of Toronto), and he worked in Core and Immersion French programs in three Canadian provinces.

Dr. Turnbull plans to strengthen ties between CASLT and associations such as the Canadian Association Applied Linguistics, university based language and research centres and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for improved dialogue and support of second language research in Canada. He will pursue a stronger involvement for CASLT in supporting teacher educators and in promoting FSL teaching as a viable andrewarding career. He stated, "We must attract new and enthusiastic people into the teaching profession, and specifically into teaching French as a second language. We must support these new teachers through flexible professional development opportunities and provide them with a strong professional learning community for them to grow in their chosen careers." He also hopes to help steer CASLT as a leader in coordination of the implementation of the federal government's Action Plan on Official Languages.

CASLT, established in 1970, promotes the advancement of second language learning and teaching throughout Canada by creating opportunities for professional development, by encouraging research, and by facilitating the sharing of information and the exchange of ideas between second language educators. Members believe that second language learning, encompassing both official and international languages, is an essential component of a formal education and that every second language teacher should have the opportunity to learn and grow in a supportive professional community.

The PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) has pledged $36,000 to continue a graduate student award that it established at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) two years ago. Since 2003, the PEI Division of the CCS has funded a graduate student whose studies have focused on cancer research.

The value of the 2005 Canadian Cancer Society Graduate Student Research Award is $18,000, and it is renewable for a second year based on the submission of a satisfactory annual report. The recipient is Eddie Francis, a candidate in the Master of Science program at UPEI. Under the supervision of Professor Robert Hurta, Francis will investigate the expression and suppression of tumour cell activation to contribute to the understanding of how they work.

"Supporting quality cancer research is one of the key commitments of the Canadian Cancer Society," says Dawn Binns, Executive Director of the PEI Division. "Researchers at UPEI are conducting excellent and exciting cancer research, and it is our desire to support them and see their work grow. By assisting young researchers, we hope to continue to see a strong PEI cancer research community into the future. This is vital as we work towards our mission of the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer."

The award will be administered through the PEI Health Research Institute (PEI HRI). Based at UPEI, the PEI HRI carries out activities to support, promote, and enhance health-related research in Prince Edward Island. "A key element for building excellence in research is investing in people," says Donna Murnaghan, Director. "We congratulate our partner organization, the PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, for choosing to invest in our young, bright scholars. By doing so they are helping to strengthen our health research community for the future."

The Canadian Cancer Society is the single largest charitable founder of cancer research in Canada. Since 1958 the PEI Division, solely through the generosity of Islanders, has been transforming powerful research knowledge into information and programs and#150;helping Islanders to understand, prevent, and reduce the risk of cancer. Research funded by the CCS produces new knowledge to enhance understanding of the causes of cancer. The discoveries over the last 20 years have set the stage for a new era in cancer research over the continuum, from prevention to palliation reducing the burden of cancer.

Island Diagnostic Imaging Associates (IDIA) have created an annual $1,000 scholarship for students entering the Radiography program at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). Island Diagnostic Imaging Associates comprises all physician radiologists practicing in Prince Edward Island. Dr. John Goodwin, Medical Director for Diagnostic Imaging at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital(QEH), noted that IDIA created this scholarship to recognize the important role radiology technologists play in diagnostic imaging.

This four-year degree program is offered in cooperation with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. During the program, students complete required academic courses at UPEI and clinical experience is offered at the QEH in areas such as general radiography, mobile and OR radiography, fluoroscopy, specialized contrast procedures, mammography, and computer tomography (CT scans).

The recipient of the Island Diagnostic Imaging Award for 2005 who has demonstrated academic excellence and strong commitment to the radiography profession is Jenna Perry of St. Louis, PEI.

"UPEI was one of the first universities in the country to respond to the new career-entry requirements for this profession by instituting a degree program in partnership with the QEH," says Dr. Roger Gordon, UPEI Dean of Science. "Jenna is one of a growing number of excellent students who have benefited from it."

Students may apply for the Island Diagnostic Imaging Associates Scholarship in July of each year. Applications are available on-line or through the UPEI Registrar's Office.

More than 50 new student scholarships, bursaries, and awards have been created by supporters of the UPEI Building a Legacy Campaign over the past two years. Generous families, individuals, and organizations have given over $1 million to the University to assist students who achieve well academically and students who are in financial need.

For further information contact: Tracey Comeau at 902-566-0354 or by email at tcomeau@upei.ca

Island author Marian Bruce will be at the Bookmark in Charlottetown on December 17, 11:30 am to 3:00 pm to sign copies of her newly-released book, A Century of Excellence: Prince of Wales College, 1860and#150;1969, published by Island Studies Press and the Prince of Wales Alumni Association.

Bruce demonstrates with her natural gift for telling a good story, how religion, politics, tradition, and the powerful force of blood ties played a large role in the birth, life, and death of the College, from its beginning as the Central Academy to its conclusion with the formation of the University of Prince Edward Island. The book showcases many of the fascinating professors who taught at PWC, and the experiences of many of its alumni. Incorporating interviews of alumni, faculty, and staff, as well as drawing upon extensive archival material, she has captured the essence of not just a school, but of a piece of educational history that spans generations.

Author-signed copies of the book will be available at the President's campus Christmas reception beginning at 3:00pm on December 20. For more information contact Alf Blanchard, UPEI Alumni Officer at 566-0761.

Diagnostic Chemicals Ltd. (DCL), a long-standing and generous supporter of student scholarships at UPEI, has committed $100,000 to Building a Legacy, the University's capital campaign to raise $50 million through private donations. The DCL gift is unrestricted which means that UPEI can apply the funds to projects or programs that are top priority.

"We are very fortunate to have Diagnostic Chemicals Ltd., a forward thinking business, support UPEI's Building a Legacy campaign," says Mike Schurman, Chair of the campaign. "Their long- standing support of the University speaks volumes about their confidence in UPEI's students and educational programs. Gifts of an unrestricted nature are particularly beneficial to the university because the funds can be directed to the immediate priorities."

Diagnostic Chemicals Limited is an award-winning chemical and diagnostic manufacturer located in West Royalty Industrial Park. The company operates subsidiary sales and marketing operations in the United States and Mexico. It employs over 200 people in Prince Edward Island, 30 in the US, and 10 in Mexico City. More than 50 of DCL's employees are science graduates of UPEI. Dr. Regis Duffy, Company Chair, founded DCL in 1970.

Dr. Duffy was UPEI's first Dean of Science and he is the current Chair of the Board of Governors. He taught at St. Dunstan's University from 1957 to 1969, and at UPEI from 1960 to 1980. In 1995, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. His company funds several valuable student awards, including two full-tuition scholarships that honour his parents, Earl and Annie Duffy, and his wife Joan=s parents, Percy and Helen Murphy. Annie Duffy and Helen Murphy attended Prince of Wales College in the Teacher Certificate Program in the 1920s.

The Duffy family's support of UPEI reaches back to the 1960s when Clair Duffy, Regis' uncle, made a substantial donation towards the construction of the Duffy Science Centre. Forty years later, UPEI has just completed a $7 million renewal of the Duffy Science Centre, supported, in large part, through gifts and pledges that businesses and individuals are making to Building a Legacy.

More information on Building a Legacy is available at http://www.upei.ca/legacy/.

UPEI is offering a new course in bioinformatics, developed by Dr. Yingwei Wang of the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology. It will be offered for the first time in the Winter semester, 2006. Bioinformatics merges computer science with molecular biology. Specifically, it is the use of computers to compile, analyze, and present vast amounts of biological data.

The introduction of this new course is timely. Bioinformatics is expected to play a key role within the growing biosciences sector on Prince Edward Island. Designed for upper level computer science and biology students, the course will also be open to suitably qualified people working within government and the private sector. Some of the topics to be covered in the course include biological databases, gene prediction, and phylogenetic analysis which looks at the evolution of particular species, genes, or even viruses.

It is Dr. Wang's hope to not only teach the students about the tools of today, but to instill in them the skills to approach new problems. "Nowadays, bioinformatics is an integral part of modern biology. Using powerful computational techniques, bioinformatics skills enable us to investigate and solve many new problems, both practical and theoretical," says Dr. Wang.

Dr. Wang's personal research is on genomic signatures. The idea is that each species - human, mouse, flower - has an individual "fingerprint" that may be identified by looking at even a small part of its DNA sequencing. These signatures can be represented as a computer generated picture, one that is the same for all members of that species. The long-term goal of this field is the development of a database of these signatures for all species, to be used the way the periodic table is used in chemistry, at a fundamental identification level.

Students in the new bioinformatics course stand to benefit as Dr. Wang brings his research expertise into the classroom.

The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, a supporter of the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) since 1996, has made another substantial contribution to the university through the Building a Legacy Campaign. The Company has made an unrestricted donation of $100,000, which means that UPEI can apply the funds to projects or programs that are top priority.

"The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company is one of the most active writers of general insurance in PEI. They have been established for generations and have distributed their insurance policies through a number of local independent agencies, which have also supported the campaign," says Fred Hyndman, member of the UPEI Board of Governors and Building a Legacy Campaign Cabinet.

Canadian owned and operated, The Dominion has been serving Canadians since 1887, when Sir John A. Macdonald became the company's first president. Since then, The Dominion has grown to be one of the country's largest property and casualty insurance companies.

"Participating in the enhancement of the communities in which we invest and do business is a core value of The Dominion," says George L. Cooke, president and chief executive officer of the Company. "Prince Edward Island has always provided a stable business environment, and we have enjoyed excellent relations with policy holders, independent brokers, business partners, and government officials. We are honoured to have the opportunity to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the province by supporting UPEI."

The Building a Legacy Campaign is a $50 million fundraising campaign to support enhanced academic programs, capital expansion, increased scholarships and bursaries, new research chairs, and a range of improvements across the campus. Building a Legacy is the most comprehensive and ambitious campaign in the history of UPEI. The campaign's objective is to generate widespread support, locally and across the country, to strengthen the University's capacity as an institution devoted to academic and research excellence.

In 1963, Kinkora native Dr. St. Clair Duffy made a substantial leadership gift to UPEI to help construct a new science centre on the campus. Dr. Duffy was an alumnus of St. Dunstan's University (SDU'20). He obtained an MD from McGill Medical School in 1926 and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. Dunstan's in 1963. His valuable legacy to generations of PEI science students continues over four decades later, through the commitment of his widow, Margaret Duffy. Mrs. Duffy, who lives in Montreal, has donated $500,000 to the UPEI Building a Legacy Campaign to assist with the costs of a complete refurbishment of the Duffy Science Centre that began last year.

"We are very appreciative of Mrs. Margaret Duffy's support, and of that of her late husband," says UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan. "As UPEI continues to grow and develop, it is very impressive to see the extent to which our provincial university is being built through the success and generosity of our own people across the generations."

The revitalized Duffy Science Centre provides undergraduate and graduate students with first-class learning facilities and enables faculty and students in the Biology and Physics departments to carry out their research programs in modern laboratories. A computer-operated greenhouse has also been added for propagating wild roses as part of the University's regional research on the health benefits of naturally-occurring compounds.

When the Duffy building officially opened in May 1967, Dr. St. Clair Duffy's leadership gift was acknowledged by a special plaque. When the refurbished Duffy Science Centre officially opens in the spring of 2006, a new plaque will re-dedicate the building to both Dr. St. Clair Duffy and Mrs. Margaret Duffy to acknowledge the ongoing generosity and support of the Duffy family.

After Dr. St. Clair Duffy graduated from St. Dunstan's University and McGill Medical School he went on to build a successful career as a surgeon. He spent three years interning at Montreal General Hospital before joining the surgery department of St. Mary's Hospital, Montreal where he worked until his retirement in 1961. Throughout his career, he remained involved in the well-being of St. Dunstan's and he was often quoted as saying he wanted to give back to the institution that had given so much to him. In his words he "could never do enough for St. Dunstan's." Now his widow, Margaret Duffy, is continuing his legacy of giving at the University of Prince Edward Island.

The Building a Legacy Campaign aims to raise $50 million through private donations to UPEI. More information is available at http://www.upei.ca/legacy/.

UPEI has initiated disciplinary action against Professor David Weale to address concerns related to grading practices in History 322, The History of Christianity from the Reformation to the Present. Pending resolution of the matter, Dr. Joe Velaidum, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the UPEI Centre for Christianity and Culture, will be teaching the third-year course.

In announcing the action, UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan stated, "It is of paramount importance to ensure the highest standard of academic integrity and attention to student welfare for which UPEI is known. The UPEI community has been especially proud of the fact that our professors rank number one in the country for awards and our students rank third. We are working together to maintain that high reputation."

President MacLauchlan added, "Underpinning the sustained success of UPEI, its faculty and students, is a commitment to hard work, intellectual rigour, and pride in our collective achievements."

Dr. Joe Velaidum took over the History of Christianity course on January 26.

The University of Prince Edward Island's Faculty of Education is spreading its wings across Canada. In February, UPEI will deliver its Master of Education program (MEd) in Leadership in Learning to teachers in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The program provides experienced educators with the knowledge and skills required to become effective educational leaders. Meanwhile, 19 students will be graduating this spring from the UPEI MEd program they have just completed in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Four years ago, UPEI was approached by a School Board superintendent in Alberta who was interested in having a Master of Education program offered for teachers in Grande Prairie. The school system had been unsuccessful in getting universities in Alberta and the United States to offer on-site Master's degrees. Dr. Gerry Hopkirk, Coordinator of Graduate Studies in the UPEI Faculty of Education, worked with the Alberta school system to plan and deliver the program.

"Due to the small size of the Faculty and the University, we have the creativity and flexibility to respond to alternate approaches to program delivery. The Registrar's and Comptroller's offices were very supportive in helping our Faculty of Education to successfully implement this program," says Dr. Hopkirk.

UPEI organized the schedule so that Alberta teachers could complete the Master's program without having to leave their jobs. Unlike most distance education programs, which are solely web-based, this one was offered on-site and in person. Courses were taught on weekends and in the summer when UPEI professors could fly to Alberta. At other times, students and professors remained in touch through email and other internet media. "This program is a win-win for all concerned and#150; Fort McMurray school systems, Alberta teachers, and for UPEI," says Dr. Graham Pike, UPEI Dean of Education. "We are delighted to be able to offer our Master's degree in other locations across Canada."

Comments from the Grande Prairie program evaluations show that the participants were equally delighted: "Thank you [to UPEI] for the opportunities given to me for personal and professional growth. The professors have been wonderful, enthusiastic mentors," said one graduating student. Another stated, "The instructors were truly outstanding and showed their passion for learning and teaching. Their compassion and grace are contagious. Our class has been truly blessed."

Since the beginning of the program, a significant number of the participating teachers have been appointed to leadership positions within Alberta. A graduation ceremony will be held in the early spring in Grande Prairie. Courses are scheduled to begin in Fort McMurray on February 26. UPEI will be working cooperatively with the public and Catholic school boards in Fort McMurray. The program will take two years to complete.

For further information please contact the Dr. Gerry Hopkirk, Graduate Studies Program Coordinator, UPEI Faculty of Education, at 902 566-0622.