The PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada (PEIANC) and the UPEI Men's and Women's Basketball Panthers have teamed up to host 'UPEI Culture Sharing Day' on Sunday, November 28. The UPEI Men's and Women's Basketball teams will take on St. FX, and PEI newcomers will be there to cheer them on! Join the festivities when newcomers and Islanders come together to share their cultures and show their Panther Pride!

This event will feature two basketball games (the women at 2:00 pm and the men at 4:00 pm). Newcomers will extend greetings to the crowd in their native languages; the Korean Drum Band Ra On Je Na will provide half-time music, and information about the PEIANC Host Program and fun facts from around the world will be shared throughout the games.

Marilenne Urena with the PEIANC Host Program says, 'An event like this connects newcomers to the community, promotes cross-cultural sharing and allows Islanders to learn more about the amazing volunteer opportunities available at the PEIANC.'

The PEIANC would like to thank the UPEI Athletics Department for providing game passes, transportation, face paint and noise makers to all newcomers and PEIANC volunteers attending this event.

The PEIANC was incorporated in 1993 as non-profit charitable organization with a mandate to provide short-term settlement services and long-term inclusion and community integration programs for new immigrants in the province of PEI. The Association speaks publicly on immigrant issues and advocates on behalf of newcomers.

For more information, contact Rosalie Murphy at 628-6009 or rosalie@peianc.com.

The UPEI Alumni Association recently elected several new members to its Board of Directors, including President Perlene Morrison (BA '94), partner at law firm Stewart McKelvey. She replaces Betty Johnston (BA '87) who provided leadership to the Association over the past two years.

The UPEI Alumni Association is comprised of graduates of UPEI, and seeks to facilitate and constantly improve relations amongst alumni of all ages and between alumni and the University.

The Association is gearing up for a very productive 2011, starting with its annual New Year's Levee on January 1, 2011 at Don and Marion McDougall Hall on the UPEI campus, through to Reunion Weekend in July, and Homecoming in September. The Board of Directors will focus its efforts on building partnerships with businesses that can serve alumni, building a 3-year strategic plan, and implementing programs and activities based on feedback received through a survey conducted earlier this year.

Any UPEI, SDU, or PWC alumni who wish to learn more about the activities of the UPEI Alumni Association Board of Directors, or would like to get involved as a volunteer during activities or on committees can get in touch with the UPEI Alumni Office at alumni@upei.ca.

Besides Morrison (President) and Johnston (Past-President), other members of the UPEI Alumni Association Board of Directors include Mark O'Halloran (Vice-President), Bruce Davison (Secretary), Jeff Somers (Treasurer), Alicia Bremner, Trevor Lawson, Andrew MacPherson, Walter Bradley, William Stanish, Rob Livingstone (Student Union President), and Sjors Reijers (UPEI Alumni Office Representative).

Today, Premier Robert Ghiz announced that government will not be proceeding with changes to the University Act and new degree granting arrangements on PEI. The University of Prince Edward Island appreciates this decision and Premier Ghiz's leadership in finding a path forward, together with the underlying affirmation of UPEI's role and mandate as our provincial university.

UPEI commits, as it has done for 42 years, to provide excellence in educational programs, research, and service to PEI and the world, and to work with potential partners to pursue new opportunities consistent with the University's mandate and resources, as we endeavour to advance our home province and put UPEI and Prince Edward Island on the map, nationally and internationally.

UPEI sincerely appreciates the groundswell of support from the community, as demonstrated by more than 1,300 citizens signing their names and making substantive comments to a letter penned by the UPEI Alumni Association. In addition, there have been innumerable letters, emails, and private conversations, together with support from Senate, the Board of Governors, and UPEI students, faculty, staff, graduates, Opposition Leader Olive Crane and MLAs from both parties and across PEI, and many individual Islanders. This resounding vote of confidence and pride in UPEI is profoundly gratifying, and will fuel the ongoing achievements and successes of our provincial university.

The University of Prince Edward Island congratulates Dr. Michael van den Heuvel on the renewal of his Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Watershed Ecological Integrity.

"The Canada Research Chairs program is about research excellence and leadership,' said Dr. Christian Lacroix, UPEI's Dean of Science. 'Dr. van den Heuvel has excelled in both; I congratulate him on a well-deserved renewal."

UPEI first recruited Dr. van den Heuvel for this prestigious chair five years ago from New Zealand.

'It's an honour to be renewed, just as it was an honour to be named a chair in the first place,' said Dr. van den Heuvel. 'In my first five years, I think we contributed science towards generating some real environmental targets for the reduction of nitrate in our streams and estuaries. That information is informing policymakers today. The chair allowed me to expand to some other exciting areas as well, and I'm proud that this renewal will allow for me to expand in these directions.'

Dr. van den Heuvel is also working with an internationally recognized research team focussed on the reduction of endocrine disrupting compounds in pulp and paper effluents. Dr. van den Heuvel has recently shifted some of his research focus toward northern Alberta, where he's investigating the viability of man-made lakes to remediate waste from oil sands projects.

"Dr. van den Heuvel's research program has been a tremendous asset to the Department of Biology,' said Dr. Larry Hale, Chair of the Department of Biology. 'His record in training promising young scientists at all levels (undergraduate, masters, doctoral, post-doctoral) is one we are very proud of."

'Dr. van den Heuvel's research is making a real difference in the world,' said Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI's vice-president of Research and Development, 'from northern Alberta, to the rivers and streams of Prince Edward Island. This is a perfect example of research making an impact on public policy leading to improved health of the environment.'

The Canada Research Chairs program was established ten years ago by the government of Canada to attract and retain some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds. Chairs aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They improve our depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen Canada's international competitiveness, and help train the next generation of highly skilled people through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers' work.

As part of Computer Science Education Week, the Department of Computer Science & Information Technology at UPEI is running a video game development competition.

Aimed at PEI junior high and high school students who have gone the through the ‘GameForce program', the contest asks participants to create a game using Game Maker software. On Wednesday, December 1, a game concept will be unveiled and students will have until midnight December 8, 2010 to develop and submit their working video game entry.

The competition is open to junior high school or high school students in the PEI school system (including homeschoolers). Prizes will include a paid summer internship with a Charlottetown-based video game company, bursaries to UPEI and Holland College, gaming consoles and computer equipment. A full prize list will be announced by December 1, 2010.

Entries will be judged by a panel including video game industry professionals and prizes will be awarded at UPEI on Saturday, December 11 at 12 noon in Cass Science Hall, Room 305. More information about the competition can be found at http://www.csit.upei.ca/makeagame/.

Posters advertising the competition have been sent to schools that participate in the GameForce program and announcements about the competition were made at the Impact Expo a couple of weeks ago. GameForce is a designer bootcamp coordinated by the Province of PEI that offers basic 2D game design courses at junior high schools and basic 3D at senior high schools.

For more information, call Dr. David LeBlanc, Department of Computer Science & Information Technology at (902) 566-0429.

REMINDER! S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violence Everywhere) invites the campus community to 'Remembering the Past for a Better Future,' Tuesday, December 7, 2010, at 7:00 pm, in the W.A. Murphy Student Center. Dedicated to both remembering and acting against violence in our lives, the event features the public unveiling of a large purple ribbon and poster to commemorate people who have suffered and died because of violence, a number of speakers (including Dr. Philip Smith and Dr. Ann Braithwaite from UPEI faculty), musical performances by Richard Wood and FACES, a song and slideshow by S.A.V.E. members and UPEI students, and a memorial candle lighting. Everyone welcome! For more information, contact Ann Braithwaite, abraithwaite@upei.ca.

All are welcome to enjoy free hot chocolate and seasonal singing by UPEI Music Department students on Wednesday, December 8 from 2:00 - 2:30 pm at Meincke Plaza (in front of the W.A. Murphy Student Centre).

What would you do if one of your employees had made disparaging remarks about your organisation on facebook? This was the ethical dilemma put to UPEI business students Tanya Martin, Hayley Beer, Jeff McKenzie and Kyle Smith in the first round of the Dalhousie University Business Ethics Case competition held last month in Halifax.

With only four hours to analyse, then brainstorm a solution and make recommendations through a presentation, the students were tested in a pressure situation similar to that faced by highly paid consultants. The team then had fifteen minutes to present their solution to a panel of judges to sway them to accept their proposal.

This was the first time a team from UPEI participated in this international competition which attracted a broad field including Indiana's Purdue University and the University of Arizona, in the United States and well-known Canadian universities such as Queens, Simon Fraser, Wilfred Laurier, Trent, Bishops, and the home team from Dalhousie University.

With the competition spread over two rounds, and the top four teams competing in a head-to-head final, the pressure over the weekend was intense. Much to the excitement of the UPEI team, they made it to the final four. Tanya Martin said, 'Even competing was a huge thrill for us. Being that it was the first time we had entered, we were not sure how we would fare. Making it to the final four was a great accomplishment.'

The final case consisted of marrying the ethics and values of profit and non-profit organisations working together in partnership. Teams were judged on their ability to effectively balance the ethical, financial, legal, and social consequences of their decisions. The final round proved to be very competitive with all teams presenting comprehensive and impressive case analysis. It was in this environment that the UPEI School of Business team was announced the winners.

Professor Edward Gamble, case team coach and mentor said, 'These students have worked very hard to prepare for this event. The case competition class presents the top business students with the challenge of pulling together all their accumulated knowledge and making real life business recommendations in a pressure situation. The ability to synthesize the issues, make decisions, and coherently present the outcome is a key skill that we are aiming for through this class.'

Dr. Roberta MacDonald, dean of the UPEI School of Business states, 'Winning this competition, against teams from such esteemed institutions reconfirms the quality of students we have at UPEI. It is also an indication of the excellence and dedication of the faculty who are able to impart the skills and knowledge that make our students competitive with the best throughout North America. We are very proud of their achievement.'

Many students at the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI belong to Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB), a Canadian charitable organization with a mission to work for, and with, communities in need to foster the health of animals, people, and the environments that sustain them. Other members come from private veterinary practice, academia, government agencies and non-government agencies.

One of the organization's campaigns is 'One World Gifts', an e-gifting campaign and website where you can donate online to help improve the health and wellbeing of people and animals in need.

UPEI's VWB junior representative, student Kelleigh Waters, says, 'This year's One World Gifts collection features six wonderful e-gifts - each supporting a different VWB program. These e-gifts can be emailed and/or printed and the donation amount is completely up to you! Celebrate the people in your life; give a One World Gift in their name!'

For more information, click here.