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.

The first two presentations in a series that explores how Prince Edward Islanders' experiences on small southern islands have influenced their lives and work will take place at the Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI, on January 17 and 18. Islands of the North to Islands of the South is a collaborative effort of Cooper Institute, the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI, and CUSO. The series features students, academics, and field staff of non-governmental organizations who have travelled south to work on small islands, engaging in environmental, community development and social justice projects. Their experiences are varied, and they have set out on these adventures in learning and living at all stages of life: as students, seniors, and mid-life professionals.

Laura Lee Howard and Chris Riley will be the presenters on January 17. Howard is a Master of Island Studies student at UPEI. In 1983 and 1984, she travelled to the island nation of Indonesia to work with Canada World Youth. While there, she did everything from building latrines to putting up health clinics. She gained a more global perspective and a new appreciation for the value of natural resources, especially water. Riley is a veterinarian who travelled to Haiti to do veterinary work in 2005. He discovered a deeply spiritual and humorous people there, and learned much about communicating with other cultures, the politics of development aid, and how people cope physically, economically, and spiritually with a limited infrastructure. Both speakers will elaborate on the personal impacts of their southern island experiences as part of a presentation in Lecture Theatre B at the Atlantic Veterinary College, beginning at 12:30 pm.

Chris Milley, the natural resources manager for the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI, will be the presenter on January 18. He has had a long love affair with tropical islands, spending many years as a researcher and community facilitator in fisheries conservation and management. This has influenced his life and work on PEI in many ways, and enriched his insights and approaches to issues of aboriginal rights and responsibilities in fisheries management in Atlantic Canada. Milley will speak of his experiences in the Caribbean at 12:30 pm in Lecture Theatre B, Atlantic Veterinary College.

The public is invited to attend these free presentations. More symposia will follow in late January and February in Charlottetown, New London, and Souris. Details are available at www.upei.ca/iis/NorthSouth.

A celebration to showcase four recent publications by professors in the UPEI Faculty of Arts took place at the University on January 20. The books reflect the significant contributions that UPEI faculty members are making to diverse areas of new knowledge, both nationally and internationally.

"The Faculty of Arts is extremely proud of the accomplishments of our scholars, both in terms of quantity and quality," said Richard Kurial, UPEI Dean of Arts.

Philosophy professors Malcolm Murray and Nebojsa Kujundzic co-authored "Critical Reflection: A Textbook for Critical Thinking" published by McGill-Queen's University Press. It highlights the role of reason in a world saturated by media-enhanced persuasion and complex scientific and technological jargon. The book effectively incorporates real-life examples and exercises drawn from media and politics.

Chair of the UPEI History department, Dr. Ian Dowbiggin is the author of "A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, Death, God, and Medicine" published by Rowman and Littlefield. The book traces the controversial record of mercy-killing. Dowbiggin examines evolving opinions about what constitutes a good death, taking into account the societal and religious values placed on sin, suffering, resignation, judgment, penance and redemption.

From the Political Studies department, professors Barry Bartmann, and Henry Srebrnik have teamed up with Tozun Bahcheli, professor of political science at King's College in London, Ontario to produce "De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty" published by Routledge.

The book discusses a large group of would-be sovereignties which are now seeking international recognition. The cases they describe are to be found throughout the world: Abkhazia and Chechnya in the Caucasus; Kosovo, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, and Transnistria in eastern Europe; Palestine and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the Middle East; Somaliland in Africa; and Bougainville in the Pacific.

Director of the UPEI Institute of Island Studies, Irenand#233; Novaczek, and Sociology/Anthropology professor Jean Mitchell have co-edited "Pacific Voices: Equity and Sustainability in Pacific Islands Fisheries" with Joeli Veitayaki from the University of the South Pacific. The book provides a fresh look, through a gender lens, at Pacific fisheries issues. This volume of case studies was researched and authored by Pacific Islanders in collaboration with UPEI academics. It is a new resource for coastal communities, politicians, government staff and NGO facilitators who are engaged in fisheries policy and coastal community development.

The professors who authored and edited these four new publications are members of a rapidly-growing pool of research talent at UPEI. The University has established itself as one of the top undergraduate research universities in Canada. Research Infosource Inc., a consulting firm which monitors Canadian universities' success in research development, designated UPEI as one of three "Research Universities of the Year" in 2005.

The Behavioral Neuroscience lab at UPEI has developed a promising new animal model for the study of temporal lobe epilepsy. The temporal lobes, part of the brain responsible for emotion and memory, are located on each side of the brain, at about ear level. Seizures arising from this region usually affect consciousness of the victim and are sometimes preceded by warnings of overwhelming feelings, memories, or hallucinations.

For obvious reasons, it is not possible to carry out exploratory research aimed at testing new therapies for disorders and diseases directly on humans. Laboratory animal models, in this case with rats, are set up to mimic as closely as possible the human situation. The model devised by the Behavioural Neuroscience team is currently under patent process in the United States. It could prove useful in the development of drug therapies for the prevention and control of this type of epilepsy.

The UPEI lab is run by Dr. Cathy Ryan from the Department of Psychology; Dr. Tracy Doucette from the Department of Biology; and Dr. Andy Tasker from the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Funding comes from a variety of national sources including NSERC and the Atlantic Innovation Fund.

"Animal models serve an important function in the development of new drugs to treat epilepsy. We are hopeful that our model will prove to be useful in predicting beneficial drug effects for some types of seizure disorders," says Dr. Ryan.

In fact, interest has already been shown by a pharmaceutical company in Denmark. Graduate student Daphne Gill has just returned from ten weeks in Europe, where she was working with the company to help characterize the model. "It was certainly an unforgettable learning experience, providing an exciting opportunity for further understanding of the model,and#148; says Gill.

Back at UPEI, the team, consisting of faculty, technical staff, undergraduate and graduate students, Paul Bernard, Melissa Burt, and Daphne Gill are now working to further expand their understanding and application of their epilepsy model.

Epilepsy is not the first disease model considered by the group. The team has recently completed projects where they expanded and improved upon sets of functional tests designed to detect behavioural deficits in both adult and neonatal animal models of stroke.

Strokes occur when the blood flow to a region of the brain is impaired, causing disability and even death. With funding from the Canadian Stroke Network, Drs. Ryan, Doucette, and Tasker have established structured methods for testing long-term effects of potential drug treatments for strokes. This work led to a promising drug trial last year in the adult stroke model.

Behavioural testing is a sensitive method for assessing brain function and the development of these extensive tests has many exciting applications. For example, the long term behavioural consequences of prenatal exposure to drugs and toxins and the screening of potential treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's can be addressed using these methods.

From fan, to volunteer, to financial supporter; Steve Connolly and his wife Marg have created the Steve and Marg Connolly Family Basketball Awards to be presented to members of the UPEI Men's Basketball Team each year.

"Marg and I know how difficult it is for student athletes to be at the top of their game while attending to their studies. Our family wants to acknowledge those players who demonstrate the highest level of sportsmanship while making a significant contribution to the success of the team. This is also a call for others to discover what they appreciate at our university and provide their support to it," says Steve Connolly.

An annual donation of at least $1500 to the UPEI Building a Legacy Campaign, matched by Manulife Financial, will support $500 awards for players in any year who have demonstrated a commitment to the team and a strong work ethic on the court during practices and games, and who have shown a consistent philosophy of putting others before themselves, even in the presence of personal challenges.

"Steve, Marg, and the Connolly family are great supporters of UPEI's Men's Basketball. Alumni and community financial support is vital in our ability to attract and recognize the best players for our teams. This generous contribution helps us to build a legacy of basketball excellence," says Athletic Director, Ron Annear.

Steve Connolly is a graduate of St. Dunstan's University who worked for many years as a teacher and counselor, then as a financial advisor in Charlottetown. Marg graduated from the Charlottetown Hospital School of Nursing. After many years working as a nurse, she has become a successful entrepreneur.

"The Connolly family realizes the advantage of a solid education and recognizes the benefit of athletics in building character and school spirit. This thoughtful gift is the most recent of many contributions from Steve, Marg, and their family to UPEI Basketball," says Kevin Lewis, Chief Development Officer at UPEI.

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 collectively given over $1 million to the University specifically for awards to assist students who achieve well academically and students who are in financial need.

To find out more about supporting student athletes at UPEI, please contact Kevin Lewis, Chief Development Officer (902) 894-2888. More information about the UPEI Building a Legacy Campaign is available at www.upei.ca/legacy/

One of the more important documents in the history of higher education in Prince Edward Island has just been added to the PEI Special Collection in the Robertson Library at UPEI. The document is Sister Bernice Cullen's 1941 Bachelor of Arts degree, the first degree ever granted by St. Dunstan's University (SDU). Before 1941, SDU was affiliated with Laval University and degres were granted in the name of that renowned institution. The fact that the first SDU degree was awarded, with honours, to a woman, at a time when relatively few women attended university, makes it all the more remarkable.

Sister Bernice Cullen is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha. Her SDU degree is part of a larger gift that she has made to the Robertson Library's University Archives that includes her certificates and diplomas from both St. Dunstan's University and Prince of Wales College (PWC).

"We are pleased to receive these important pages in the stories of our University's two forebears, and of Sister Bernice Cullen," says Simon Lloyd, UPEI's Special Collections Librarian.. "The fact that this impressive gift includes Sister Cullen's certificates and diplomas from both PWC and SDU is not only a tribute to her exceptional quest for knowledge, it is also a powerful reminder that Prince of Wales and St. Dunstan's were not, in fact, two solitudes, and that there were many students and faculty who, like Sister Cullen, participated in the lives of both institutions."

Before attending St. Dunstan's, Sister Cullen had already established herself as an outstanding scholar at Prince of Wales College. She twice won the Frank R. Heartz Prize, as the top student in both her first and second years of study, and, in 1933, won a high honour third-year diploma, the highest academic attainment possible at PWC at that time.

"Sister Cullen's first- and second-year certificates carry the signatures of her professors, including such well-known figures as Samuel Robertson, JD Steele, J.H. Blanchard, and Eleanor Lowe. Seeing the names of so many educational leaders and#150; not least Sister Cullen herself and#150; together on a single page forcefully illustrates how the legacy of learning passes from one generation to the next," explains Lloyd. "The certificates, and the third-year diploma, also record the marks Sister Cullen achieved in each course. Anyone familiar with the famously tough marking at PWC would surely be impressed."

After graduating from PWC, Sister Cullen taught in local schools. In 1935 she became a professed member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha, and in 1941 she completed her Bachelor of Arts at SDU. By the time she had finished her studies, she was one of the best-educated women in Prince Edward Island. She received her doctorate in Sacred Doctrine from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana in 1958 and joined the faculty of St. Dunstan's, to teach Religious Studies, in 1966. She remained at the University for 13 years, seeing the amalgamation of SDU and PWC through its founding years. Now in her nineties, she remains devoted to her congregation, her community, and her Alma Mater.

Sister Cullen recently attended a special ceremony at UPEI to recognize the historic importance of the documents she has donated to the Robertson Library. Claire Trainor, conservation technician with the Archives Council of Prince Edward Island, had used her expertise in archival best practices to 'relax', unroll, and press the documents, safely preparing them for display at the ceremony. Special Collections Librarian Simon Lloyd expressed the University's appreciation of the gifts.

"Taken together, these and other documents in the collection provide a unique and valuable insight into the outstanding Island education of an outstanding Islander," he said. "On behalf of the Archives' users, we thank Sister Cullen for her vision and generosity in entrusting this legacy to us."

In 2000, Sister Cullen was recognized as an important contributor to the development of post-secondary education in PEI by being named among the first group of and#145;Founders' to be honoured by UPEI. The University also recognized her, together with the other members of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha, through an honorary degree in 2005.

The four-member team from the UPEI Department of Engineering has won this year's Atlantic Engineering Student Competition, beating out eight other teams from the region. Daniel Palmer, Hannah Sutherland, Caleb Curtis, and Gabriel Landry took first place in the team design category of the competition held in Halifax recently.

The challenge was to build a machine that would propel itself off a table, fall to the floor, and then continue to go the farthest. UPEI's machine went a full half metre beyond the closest competition. Daniel Palmer says it was very exciting to be part of the competition. "This has taught us a lot about what it is to be an engineer. Having to start without prior knowledge of the challenge and complete a task in a very short time-frame is routinely expected of a professional engineer. Being able to do this convinced me that I made the right career choice."

Professor Don MacEwen, Chair of the Department of Engineering is not surprised at the first-place finish. "We all should be very proud of our UPEI engineering students. They have already demonstrated that students from our university are second to none. I would not be surprised to see them place first or at least very high at the national level as well," he says.

This Atlantic win, a first for UPEI, gives the students a chance to represent UPEI at the National Engineering Student Competition. The team is now fundraising to pay its way to the Nationals to take place in Montreal from March 9 to 12.

The University of Prince Edward Island's first ARTC student, Beverly Gerg, successfully defended her Master's thesis recently. In May, Gerg will be UPEI's first graduating student in the Master of Applied Health Services Research (MAHSR) program, offered through the Atlantic Regional Training Centre (ARTC).

Gerg's thesis focused on teenagers with diagnosed intellectual disabilities. Her research concluded that families were the primary advocates and social groups for the children in this study. Gerg found that generally, parents believed their children were well included during the elementary school years. However, as their children transitioned from elementary to junior and senior high schools, parents felt that their children became distanced from their social groups due to segregation and a decrease of similar interests between their child and their peers.

Gerg is delighted to have defended her thesis and is proud to have been a part of the ARTC program."I am very excited to be the first MAHSR student to graduate from UPEI. It was a diverse and challenging endeavour, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful program."

The ARTC is a partnership of the four Atlantic provinces and their four major universities: the University of Prince Edward Island, Dalhousie University, the University of New Brunswick, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. The Centre aims to develop a critical mass of health services researchers who will conduct applied health services research throughout Atlantic Canada.

The ARTC is funded by The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, and a recent review of the program has resulted in renewed funding for the remaining six years of the program (until 2011). The reviewers were impressed with the structure and organization of the ARTC and its accomplishments: "The ARTC can serve as a model of interprovincial collaboration not only in higher education, but in other fields as well. . . .The Centre possessed an all-too-rare upbeat and constructive tone making interactions with it a very positive experience."

Dr. Vianne Timmons, Vice-President Academic Development at UPEI, and one of the Principal Investigators of the ARTC is Gerg's supervisor. Timmons is thrilled to celebrate Gerg's completion of the program: "The ARTC is an innovative venture, being a partnership of four universities, and UPEI is delighted to recognize Beverly Gerg's accomplishment in such a highly regarded program."

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