This lecture is sponsored by the U.P.E.I. Faculty of Arts, The Centre for Christianity and Culture at U.P.E.I., and The Centre for Spirituality and the Workplace at Saint Mary's University.

Part of the AVC Community Workshop Series

The scholarships were presented to the students on January 20 during UPEI's second annual Diversity Week. More details about the John J. Sark Memorial Scholarships are available from UPEI Student Services.

The UPEI Music Department Recital Series will present the 2010 Music Performance Competition Finals Concert at the Dr. Steel Recital Hall, UPEI, on Thursday, January 28, at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is $8.00 ($5.00 for students and seniors). Tickets will be available at the door.

The concert will feature the six finalists chosen by a panel of seven Music Department faculty members at the preliminary round of the competition, held on Tuesday, January 19. This year's competition category was music composed between 1950 and the present day.

The finalists are Sara Arsenault, clarinet, a fifth-year Bachelor of Music Education major; Nathan Keoughan, bass, a fourth-year Bachelor of Music major; Echo Lau, piano, a first-year Bachelor of Music major; Kelly Leighton, mezzo-soprano, a third-year Bachelor of Music major; Troy Martin, clarinet, a fourth-year Bachelor of Music major; and Nicole Schieck, alto saxophone, a fourth-year Bachelor of Music Education major.

'We were all very impressed with the high calibre of performance and the initiative that these students showed in tackling repertoire often challenging both interpretively and technically,' says faculty member Dr. Frances Gray. 'We are very proud of their achievements and look forward to an interesting and rewarding Finals evening.'

The judges for the Finals competition have been selected from the musical community of Charlottetown. They include soprano Sylvia Abi-Khattar-Mutch, trombonist Doug Millington, organist Alan Reesor, clarinetist Melanie Walsh-Fraser and cellist Natalie Williams Calhoun. Works by Pierre Max Dubois, Kalmen Opperman, Paul Harvey, Samuel Barber, Alexina Louie, Alasdair MacLean, and Bela Kovacs will be featured during the concert.

The UPEI Graduate Students' Association (GSA) is seeking the help of the entire campus community to raise $10,000 for Haiti relief by Friday, January 29. To make a pledge or donation, please contact Ben Perry, GSA VP Finance.

The GSA began their fundraising on January 16, and with ten dozen cookies donated by Buns n' Things Bakery and the support of the UPEI Athletic Department, they kicked off the 'Ten Dozen Cookies to $10,000 Haiti Relief Effort' at the Panthers' basketball games. With the assistance of Haitian-born Prince Edward Islander Ephetas Norman, and Panther basketball fans, they raised $764 on that day alone.

The grad students added $525 of their own funds and challenged the rest of the campus to support this very important effort. By placing donation tins around campus and getting other groups involved, from student societies and administration, the GSA collected an additional $1,811 last week, bringing the total, as of January 22, to $3,082!

They are grateful to all UPEI students, staff, faculty, alumni and retirees who have been donating funds towards the relief effort and are still urging everyone to help them reach their goal of $10,000. All funds raised will be donated through the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Relief.

The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, announced funding on January 26 for seven research and development projects on Prince Edward Island - three of which are innovative projects of UPEI researchers.

'This is an exciting day for UPEI,' said Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI's Vice President of Research and Development. 'This funding affirms ACOA's commitment for fostering R&D in Atlantic Canada. It also builds on UPEI's growing reputation for research excellence - excellence that nurtures ideas into action.'

One of those projects, Discovery Space, created by University Librarian Mark Leggott, works to advance Canada's cyber infrastructure and to transform the way innovative research is conducted. The Discovery Space will continue to build on UPEI's Virtual Research Environments (VREs), transforming the way R&D data are managed and used. VREs create a collaborative environment to provide public and corporate groups with a platform to support the creation and management of data storage, transformation, discovery, and distribution.

Veterinary Laboratory Quality Assurance Program Expansion (VLA-QAP) is a project of the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) led by C. Ann Muckle, AVC's Lab Director of Diagnostic Services. AVC will develop software and systems for web-based delivery of impartial, objective, verification program for veterinary labs to verify and assure diagnosis. This project assures quality assurance standards, and eliminates issues surrounding shipping biological materials across the border.

Biomedical Infrared Technologies is another project of the AVC, led by Dr. Christopher Riley, to create a series of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), which is a software-based infrared test to detect immunoglobulin (antibodies) in animals. This is a highly cost-effective technology, able to generate in minutes extremely sensitive, specific and accurate test results, where current technologies take hours.

This is the seventh round of AIF-funding announced by ACOA since the program began in 2001. This announcement brings UPEI's total number of funded project through AIF to 15.

UPEI has had a more than 600 per cent increase in external research funding over the last decade, ranking it number one in research income growth for the years 2002-2007 by Research Info$ource. Maclean's magazine ranked UPEI number two in research funding in 2009 for undergraduate universities in Canada.

Students in the University of Prince Edward Island's executive-style Master of Business Administration program will explore the topic of local food during a public event in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, McDougall Hall, on Saturday, February 6.

At 9:30 a.m., a panel of experts will present a local food challenge to the MBA students, who will be asked to come up with solutions, using the analytical and creative skills they have developed in their marketing management course. Audience members will also have the opportunity to share their perceptions about local food.

Members of the panel are Tim Carroll, associate professor at the UPEI School of Business; Phil Ferraro, Institute of Bioregional Studies; and Rob Paterson, The Renewal Consulting Group Inc. Ian Petrie, well-known as a CBC journalist who covered the agriculture industry for many years, will interview the panelists and moderate the discussion.

Carroll says that he selected the local food theme--the emerging trend among consumers to purchase locally produced food--because of the importance of agriculture to Prince Edward Island's economy and the challenges facing that industry.

'The most consistent change in agriculture in the last 150 years is the transition from ‘farming' to ‘business.' Farming and business can no longer be seen as two separate sectors,' says Carroll. 'Through this course, we are connecting the knowledge and resources of students and faculty in the School of Business to the province's agriculture industry.'

Following the panel discussion, the 34 MBA students involved will convene into groups to prepare their responses to the local food challenge. Each group will identify a potential market opportunity in local food and develop a marketing plan around it. Presentations will begin at 3 p.m. in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium.

'In marketing, we teach that businesses should follow consumer preferences instead of doing what they want to do,' says Carroll. 'If local food is a consumer preference, it really has the potential to change our food system.'

The event will also include food sampling, displays and videos from noon to 3 p.m. in McDougall Hall.

Launched in September 2008, the executive-style MBA program allows students to pursue their graduate studies while they continue to work. It uses an integrated approach, peer-to-peer learning and an emphasis on developing global perspectives to prepare graduates to act as leaders and innovators in the changing business environment.

For more information, please call Grace McCourt at 566-6474 or e-mail gmccourt@upei.ca . Light refreshments will be provided.

The faculty and staff of the University of Prince Edward Island are saddened to learn of the death on January 20, 2010, of Dr. Frances M. Frazer, a long-time faculty member at UPEI and wife of Dr. Ronald Baker, UPEI's first president.

Dr. Frazer taught in the UPEI English department from 1969 to 1992, serving as Chair from 1988 to 1991. She was acting Dean of Arts from 1989 to 1990. She also taught at the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, and Simon Fraser University. She is remembered as a fine scholar and a role model for students, especially women.

Long-time friend and colleague Michael Hennessey remembers Dr. Frazer with respect and affection.

'Fran was an excellent teacher, demanding but fair, who sought to instill a love of literature in her students. As a result, many of her students went on to graduate studies. She enjoyed life, liked a good sing-song, often peppered her witticisms with literary allusions, and absolutely loved ballroom dancing. She was Ron's anchor--they did everything together--and he will miss her greatly. Our sympathies are with Ron and their son Ted at this most difficult time.'

At the request of the family, donations in Dr. Frazer's memory may be made to the Robertson Library at UPEI or any university library.