Students within the Holland College journalism program took part in a mock media conference recently to learn more about science in journalism.

Hosted by the Atlantic Veterinary College, the event provided journalism students with the opportunity to participate in a realistic media conference while gaining experience in gathering and reporting on science-based stories.

Atlantic Veterinary College researchers Dr. Jean Lavallée (Clinical Research Scientist, AVC Lobster Science Centre), Dr. Michael Cockram (Chair in Animal Welfare), and Dr. John VanLeeuwen (Professor of Health Management) participated in the media conference. AVC researchers provided overviews of their research as it appears in the Atlantic Veterinary College’s 2008 Research Report – Creating Knowledge, and took part in interviews with the journalism students.

The journalism students then prepared science-based stories for review by their instructor and the Atlantic Veterinary College.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time for this great learning experience!

Researchers based at the University of Prince Edward Island are co-operating with the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada (PEIANC) on a new program called Connecting Families through Community that aims to increase the literacy levels of new Canadians whose first language is not English.

The researchers will work closely with immigrant families in Charlottetown to develop and implement a flexible literacy program that meets the families’ specific needs and is transferable to other newcomers in PEI and across the country. Their findings will strengthen the capacity of service providers to assist new immigrants by providing information, training, and resources on family literacy. The three-year program is funded by a $296,000 award from Human Resources and Social Development Canada.

“The PEIANC is excited to be partnering with UPEI on this important research project,” says Dr. Kevin J. Arsenault, Executive Director of the PEIANC. “This kind of focused research on the language and literacy challenges facing newcomers is very important and much needed. These are the most formidable barriers many newcomers must overcome if they are to successfully integrate and participate in Island life for the long term.”

The UPEI Faculty Coordinator for the project is Dr. Barbara Campbell, Director of the Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning. Campbell’s background is in nursing education. She currently teaches Global Issues at UPEI, and she has worked in the past with the PEI Multicultural Council.

Campbell says, “Connecting Families through Community is an important and innovative project that aims to strengthen newcomers’ abilities to function effectively in Canadian culture and contribute to the Prince Edward Island economy. I am very excited to be part of it.”

The lead researcher is Dr. Vianne Timmons, former V.P. Academic Development at UPEI, and now President of the University of Regina. Timmons’ UPEI-based research team will work in tandem with her researchers in Regina.

“The collaboration of universities in different parts of Canada will ensure that the program developed can be utilized in multiple settings,” says Timmons, who has partnered extensively with rural and Aboriginal communities to develop new family literacy programs across the Atlantic region.

Connecting Families through Community will begin later this year with a needs assessment to determine the literacy goals of members of the ESL community in PEI. In stage two, researchers will develop a family program in close consultation with the families who participated in the needs assessment. This will include an in-depth analysis of “culture shock” factors that affect new Canadians’ readiness to benefit from literacy programs. In the final stages, the research group will deliver and evaluate a pilot program based on the experiences of 20 immigrant families.

The final outcomes of Connecting Families through Community will include: a framework of supports that newcomers need in PEI, a published ESL family literacy program, and recommendations for support for newcomer families in PEI.

During this final week of Panther Sport at the end of an exciting fall semester, UPEI student-athletes are reaching out to help people in the community who are in need.

They are asking Panther hockey supporters who plan to attend Thursday night's game against SMU to make cash and food donations to the PEI Food Bank. And they are encouraging basketball fans who are going to the women's and men's games against SFX on Saturday, November 29, to show their support by donating to the Toys for Tots program.

In return, the UPEI Athletics Department will distribute Panther gift packages to everyone who contributes to these worthy community services. They include discount coupons and
complimentary tickets to Panther games coming up in January.

“Some of the great corporate sponsors taking part in the UPEI Heroes program are supporting the Panther gift packages,” says Ron Annear, Athletics Director. “The total value of each package is close to $100.”

The Panther community support week wraps up with a float in Saturday's Christmas Parade. UPEI student-athletes, coaches, newcomers to PEI, and young Panther fans are all taking part in the float.

For further information, contact Lynn Boudreau at 566-0991.

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is achieving its key targets, led by impressive gains in enrolment and research, but it cannot rest on its laurels, said President Wade MacLauchlan in his annual University Update on Thursday.

MacLauchlan spoke to university students, faculty and staff, and members of the public in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

Reflecting on 2008, MacLauchlan said that UPEI recorded its largest student numbers ever this fall at a time when total enrolment at universities in the region has declined by about seven per cent since 2005. The 4,245 full- and part-time students registered at UPEI this year represent a 5.5 per cent increase over 2007-2008.

Enrolment of international students continues to increase, and 28 per cent of Island high school graduates consistently come to UPEI, he said. He anticipates that the number of Island students coming to UPEI will grow to 30 per cent or higher in the near future.

The university continues to rank as one of the top ten primarily undergraduate universities in Canada. And it recently was named the top undergraduate university in Canada for research income growth from 2002 to 2007.

UPEI is ahead of the region and the country in the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) released earlier this fall. The survey revealed that first- and fourth-year students have a high degree of satisfaction with their experience at UPEI.

The university is a leader of development and achievement within the Island community, he said. He highlighted the rejuvenation of the campus, the importance of UPEI’s community partnerships, its involvement in the 2009 Canada Games, and the progress of its Building a Legacy fundraising campaign which will conclude in February of 2009.

He noted that it is important for the Island community to know that they can contribute to the university in many ways, whether they come to see the rejuvenated campus, contribute to the Build a Legacy campaign, support UPEI athletics teams, or participate as research and educational partners.

Looking ahead to the future, MacLauchlan said that while UPEI is doing well, there is room to improve and continue to excel, even in challenging economic times.  

“We are true to the culture of this place, which is to live within our means, to achieve the most that we can with the resources we have, and to show the university community and the people of the province that we produce a good return on investment.”

To view details of the University Update, please visit upei.ca and follow the link on the UPEI home page.

Students in the University of Prince Edward Island’s cooperative education program were recognized recently for their excellent work during an awards ceremony held in the Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of the annual co-op student of the year awards.

Johanna Egan, who graduated with her business degree in May of 2008, won the 2007 Business Student of the Year award. She worked as a co-op student on Tourism Atlantic’s Competitiveness through Best Practices program in the summers of 2006 and 2007. She was responsible for researching and organizing tourism best practices missions throughout North America for Atlantic Canadian tourism operators. Egan is currently a tourism officer in the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) Tourism Atlantic section.

The Computer Science Co-op Student of the Year award went to YunPeng Bai, who worked with Canada Mortgage and Housing Agency (CMHC) in Charlottetown during the summer of 2007. During his work term, he modified the design of an existing database to provide additional reports and data needed for changes to programs and procedures. In January 2008, he returned to CMHC for a second work term and then completed a third this summer for a power supply company in his home town of Chaotian, China. He will graduate in the spring of 2010.

Willy Gauthier won the Donald G. MacCormac Leadership Award for a student who has demonstrated leadership in his academic and co-op studies. Gauthier served as vice-president of finance for the UPEI Student Union in 2006/2007 and as president in 2007/2008. He was also president of the university’s Adult Connections in Education (ACE) program in 2007/2008 and vice-president of finance for ACE in 2006/2007. He did his first co-op work term with the Provincial Treasury and then two more with Grant Thornton in Charlottetown. Other awards include the National Futures Fund CEO of the Year, the Regis Duffy Award for Academic Achievement and Leadership in the University Community, the Peake and McInnis Prize in Business and the Class of 1998 Leadership Award. He graduated in May of 2008 and is employed with Grant Thornton.

On an earlier occasion, Brian Bylhouwer received the 2007 Physics Co-op Student of the Year award. Bylhouwer completed two four-month work terms in the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre at National Research Council-Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, B.C. He then joined Satlantic where he worked on a project to build a novel underwater sensor, a digital video camera that measures radiance at each pixel in the image. He graduated with a BSc with a major in physics in May 2008.

Dr. Vianne Timmons, who served as vice-president Academic Development at UPEI from 2001 to 2008, has named one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2008.

Timmons joined UPEI in 1996 as dean of the Faculty of Education and was named vice-president Academic Development in 2001. She became president and vice-chancellor of the University of Regina in July of 2008. She will chair the Canadian Bureau for International Education starting in November 2009.

Her research is focused in the area of education with emphasis on literacy and learning and their roles in establishing healthy vibrant communities. She was lead investigator of a three-year collaborative research project looking at six rural communities’ need to address the issues their children are facing. This research has been published in academic journals and presented at conferences, as well as in the book Voice of the Community, featuring the work of social documentary photographer Carlos Reyes-Manzo.

Currently, she is leading a team of researchers at UPEI and the University of Regina to develop a program designed to increase the literacy levels of new Canadians whose first language is not English. The project involves working closely with immigrant families in Charlottetown and Regina to develop and implement a flexible literacy program that meets the families’ specific needs and will be transferable to other newcomers in P.E.I. and across the country.

Other research work includes improving the lives of children in India; development of rural and Aboriginal family literacy programs in Atlantic Canada; and the effectiveness of programming and services for children with autism in P.E.I.

The Top 100 Award is an initiative of the Women's Executive Network (WXN) and is co-presented by the Richard Ivey School of Business and Scotiabank.

Wireless internet access is now available in all academic buildings on the University of Prince Edward Island’s campus.

To extend wireless access across UPEI, Computer Services increased the number of wireless access points on campus from 25 to 100. Prior to this expansion, which was completed in early November, wireless access was available only in select areas on campus, such as the Robertson Library, W.A. Murphy Student Centre and the Kelley Building Student Lounge.

“This gives students, faculty and staff greater flexibility in their ability to use the technology available at UPEI to conduct research, teach and do their work,” says Blair Vessey, Operations Manager at UPEI Computer Services. “They are no longer restricted to having to work in particular places on campus.”

As well, UPEI now has multiple wireless network services available through the new equipment, aimed to make it easier to connect a wide variety of devices. New services will allow people such as visiting scholars to access the campus’s wireless system using a guest username and password, without having to install software or configure security settings on their computer.

Computer Services will monitor the wireless system and expand it where necessary, based on feedback from users. While coverage was planned to include as many areas as possible, there may be locations where signal strength will need to be increased to handle the demand as more people begin to use the network. More access points will be added in these areas.

Over time, Computer Services plans to increase the number of campus services available through the wireless system, such as printing and file sharing. They are also working with the residences to incorporate wireless internet in all three residence buildings by the fall of 2009.

Computer Services worked with Cisco Systems Inc, a leading supplier of networking equipment and network management for the Internet, to expand the wireless network at UPEI.

In May 2008, teams from the University of British Columbia and Atlantic Veterinary College excavated the 20-year-old remains of a blue whale near Tignish.  Join us as AVC Wildlife Pathologist, Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, speaks about his experience, using the excavation to illustrate some remarkable adaptations of these magnificent animals to their environment.  A question and answer session will follow the presentation, and some biological specimens will be available for viewing.

The presentation will take place on Thursday, December 4, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Lecture Theatre A at the Atlantic Veterinary College.  Everyone is welcome. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Donations to the Friends of AVC will be gratefully accepted.

For information, call (902) 566-0589 or visit upei.ca/avcnews.

Part of the AVC Community Workshop Series     

The Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network invites the public to attend a wine and cheese reception on December 12, from 3 to 5 p.m. in Schurman Market Square in Don and Marion McDougall Hall at the University of Prince Edward Island.

This event will showcase poster presentations on work that is done through community-university research partnerships here on P.E.I. and across Atlantic Canada on the theme of inclusion and empowerment.

With today’s economic uncertainty, it is an important time to focus on community-based organizations working to build sustainable communities and a vibrant social economy. The Institute of Island Studies coordinates a group of community and university researchers who focus on building capacity in, and awareness of, the social economy, and creating a solid information base to improve the lives of marginalized people on the Island.

Projects underway deal with topics relevant to building a strong social economy on P.E.I., such as the inclusion of immigrants into society and the economy, gender equity, aboriginal rights, educational opportunities for people with learning disabilities, alleviation of poverty, empowerment of small-scale organic farmers through partnerships, services for victims of family violence, and services for youth at risk.

The goal for Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network Subnode 2 (P.E.I.) is to contribute to the theory and practice of the social economy in the Atlantic region. The network brings community partners and academics together to do research and to produce a range of outcomes and knowledge dissemination activities, with particular focus on the inclusion and empowerment of marginalized people in the social economy of Atlantic Canada.

For further information, please contact Irené Novaczek at inovaczek@upei.ca, or visit www.upei.ca/iis/socialeconomy.

Health Minister Doug Currie, and Charlene Stevenson and Brian Doucette, of the Canadian Paraplegic Association-PEI Division (CPA-PEI), recently presented Paul Cudmore, UPEI Accessibility Committee, with a cheque for renovations to Main Building.

With financial assistance from the CPA-PEI, UPEI will make the Main Building, the oldest building on campus, more accessible for people who have disabilities. The funding will allow the university to make the second-floor bathrooms more accessible by widening the doors and lowering the mirrors, sinks and urinals.

These upgrades to the Main Building fall under UPEI’s seven-year plan launched in December 2007 to make the campus more accessible to people with disabilities. Other improvements that will be made to the building include upgrading the elevator, widening doorways and renovating the first-floor bathrooms.

For more information about accessibility services at UPEI, please visit the Accessibility Services website.