On Monday, March 25, UPEI students-Sara Ashnaei, Honeylyn T. Gubalane, Bita Saffary, and Yuki Lee-organized a film showing of 'Education Under Fire,' a documentary on the decades-long persecution endured by Iran's Bahá'í which featured interviews with members of the community and human rights activists. Members of the university community and the general public attended to show support for education equality.

Sara and Honeylyn welcomed the crowd and introduced the international campaign addressing the Iranian government's continued denial of the right to higher education to its citizens. A brief overview was given in relation to how the Iranian government systematically excludes individuals from pursuing their education as a form of punishment for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

UPEI's Dean of Education Dr. Miles Turnbull spoke and emphasized Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which confirms that everyone has the right to education and education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial, or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

'UPEI must advocate for, and speak out against, violations of the UN's Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Women and children, especially, are being denied access to education in many parts of the world and for many different reasons including gender and religion. This is just plain wrong.'

The documentary's compelling story of the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) also depicted rare historical footage. Parisa B. who is a former BIHE student also shared her story to support the campaign of 'Education Under Fire,' as it is vital for the academic community and universities across Canada to be aware of the Iranian government's actions.

The event ended with hopes that the Canadian government will continue to take immediate steps to end all efforts to deny Iranian citizens, of whatever background and religion, access to higher education and to allow members of the Bahá'í community, and any others so deprived, the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills that will allow them to contribute more fully to the betterment of Iran and the world.

The event was sponsored by UPEI's Faculty of Education. UPEI professors, students, and members of Canada's academic community are invited to add their names to the open letter to the Iranian government. If you wish to add your name, please send an email with your name, title, and affiliation to gfilson@cdnbnc.org.

View the open letter by visiting http://educationunderfire.com/Open-Letter-from-Canadian-Academics.pdf

UPEI's Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) recently recognized two professors as Island Studies Teaching Fellows-Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan and Dr. Barry Bartmann. Both have been instrumental to the program in the public eye and behind the scenes.

'This honorific title [Island Studies Teaching Fellow] was created to recognize the long-term, high-quality teaching and mentorship provided to students by dedicated faculty. I can't think of anyone who is more deserving of this honour than Drs. Nagarajan and Bartmann,' said Dr. Jim Randall, Coordinator of the MAIS program.

Dr. Nagarajan has provided a reputable public face to the island studies program through regular and thought-provoking contributions to local media that assess what kind of society and economy we collectively envisage for our future. Nagarajan is a long-time member of the economics department at UPEI and is an emeritus professor. In his over 40 years of teaching at UPEI, and before that, at St. Dunstan's University, Nagarajan has taught courses in all major areas of economics, including graduate courses on public finance, advanced macroeconomics, and economic development strategies for small islands.

He maintains a regular interest in the transformations of the PEI economy and in the state of developing countries with a special focus on fiscal systems and trade. His more recent concerns have dealt with sustainability and sustainable development strategies from interdisciplinary perspectives and systems analysis, particularly for small islands economies. In this journey that spans almost half a century, he describes his transition and conversion to an ecological economist. He has been a vocal advocate of the island studies program, a member of its steering committee, and he has vocally championed the MAIS program and continues to support it through teaching and mentoring thesis students.

Dr. Bartmann is known for aiding in the development of the MAIS program over the past two decades as it was the academic entrepreneur and creative thinker in him who recognized three discrete but inter-related niches waiting to be tapped, and that UPEI was well-placed to seek and consolidate leadership in all three areas-the emergence of an optimistic school for the development prospects of small jurisdictions, the recognition of the North Atlantic as a region, and the birth of island studies as a legitimate area for academic research and teaching.

In 1999, during his role as chair of the political studies department at UPEI, an island studies minor was introduced, and in 2003, a master of arts and a dedicated Canada Research Chair in island studies was introduced. He is a recognized authority on sub-national island jurisdictions and the international relations of small (or micro) states. Bartmann has been pivotal to the MAIS program offering two courses annually, serving on the steering committee, and mentoring thesis students.

Congratulations to Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan and Dr. Barry Bartmann!

Two UPEI students, Alexandra Thompson and Jennifer White, took part in a cultural trip to Sri Lanka through the University of Prince Edward Island's Department of Fine Arts. The following relates some of their insights and experiences.

The University of Prince Edward Island would like to congratulate the following UPEI athletes and coaches who were nominated for 2013 Sport PEI awards.

'We are very proud of our UPEI nominees for Sport PEI's annual awards,' commented UPEI Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman. 'It's a wonderful reflection of the quality of our high performance Panther programs. Best of luck to our nominees.'

UPEI swimmer Janet Gamble has been nominated for the 'Senior Female Athlete' award. Gamble, a former Olympian, is a swimming sensation who has done something few athletes have accomplished-she is a three-time winner of university female athlete of the year awards (twice at McMaster and once at UPEI). She is the only swimmer in UPEI history to receive the Female Athlete of the Year award. She has been honoured five times as a national swimming all-star throughout her career. She holds eight individual swimming records at UPEI and contributed to two team records. She received three gold medals at the AUS Championship-50m fly, 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke. She also claimed a silver medal in the 100m freestyle. She broke AUS records for both the 50m fly and 50m free. While competing at the CIS championships, she competed in four events and ranked in the top 7 out of over 50 swimmers.

Jimmie Mayaleh, a fifth-year soccer senior, was one of the sport's best. He is nominated for Sport PEI's 'Intercollegiate Male Athlete' award. Mayaleh finished the 2012 regular season tied for third in the league in scoring and tied for third in the league in overall points. He was a first team AUS All Star and a second team CIS All-Canadian. He was named UPEI Male Athlete of the Week twice last year. He is the one threat every other AUS coach talks about. One AUS coach was quoted: 'We knew if we stopped Jimmie, we would win the game.'

UPEI head coaches Bruce Donaldson of the women's hockey team, and Bill Calhoun of the UPEI and Charlottetown Bluephins swim teams, were both nominated for Sport PEI 'Coach of the Year.'

Donaldson has been a cornerstone for women's hockey in PEI. This past year it paid off, as the UPEI women's hockey team won their first ever AUS Championship and went on to compete at the CIS Championship. Donaldson was named the AUS 2012 Women's Hockey Coach of the Year making him the first UPEI women's hockey coach to receive the honour. Donaldson fundraises nonstop for, and spends countless hours on building the program. He also runs the annual Paderno Cup Hockey Tournament for women over 35 years old, and that raises money for cancer research. The tournament attracts from all over the Maritimes. He is also a past Canada Games hockey coach.

Calhoun has excelled at coaching both the UPEI and Charlottetown Bluephins swim teams and is integral to the success of both teams. Calhoun's success at UPEI was clear as he coached two prestigious swimmers-Janet Gamble and Eric Beaton. Calhoun was named head coach for the 2013 Canada Games swim team.

The UPEI women's hockey team has been nominated for Sport PEI's 'SCORE Team of the Year' award. This season's players were an incredible group of individuals who came together to win UPEI's first AUS Championship Women's Hockey banner in style. Losing to Dalhousie in game 1 in overtime which gave them a point, they then went on to defeat St.FX in game two in overtime, and advanced to the finals. UPEI faced Mount Allison University in the championship game defeating them 3-0. The team then went on to compete at the CIS Women's Hockey Championship where they finished 6th in the country.

Sport PEI will name the winners at the annual awards banquet on Wednesday, April 9, at the Rodd Royalty in Charlottetown. Congratulations and good luck to all UPEI nominees!

This week marks Adult Learners' Week in Canada and UPEI's Centre for Life-Long Learning continues to provide mature students with flexible course schedules and support services year-round.

The Centre has many programming options available for adult learners. Whether they are looking for degree, diploma, certificate, or professional development programs, the Centre for Life-Long Learning can help them determine a path that works best.

Recognizing the unique needs of adult learners and their busy schedules and lifestyles, the Centre for Life-Long Learning offers an increasing number of courses after 4:00 pm, as well as online. Pat MacAulay, the Centre's director, invites mature students to UPEI and notes that 'over the past number of years, the University of Prince Edward Island has seen an increase in the number of adults continuing their education. The decision to return to school is not an easy one, but the Centre for Life-Long Learning is pleased to be able to help adult learners navigate their path and make that return easier.'

Marc Masson is a soon-to-be graduate working to complete his bachelor of business administration, after studying at UPEI for nine years as a mature student. In May, Masson will join his wife and two children as UPEI alumni. 'It is humbling to say that for some of my classes, I would not have been able to pass without the help and tutelage of my children,' he said.

'From a spouse's perspective, it has been a long road for Marc to get his degree,' said Bonnie Masson, Marc's wife. 'It takes a totally different level of commitment for a mature student. When you have to divide yourself between being a husband, father, maintaining a household, and holding down a full-time job, you have to be very committed and never fall short of the long-term goal of your degree. It takes an enormous amount of determination to be able to keep at it and not give up. I am very proud of Marc for attaining his goal.'

A key to UPEI's success in attracting adult learners is through the adoption of Prior Learning and Assessment Recognition (PLAR), a process that identifies and recognizes learning acquired from many sources including informal study, non-credit and workplace courses, work experience, volunteering, and hobbies. This allows adults with experiential learning to gain recognition for it, and reduce the number of credits they need to complete programs.

The Centre is hosting two information sessions on the various programming available to adult learners on Thursday, April 11, in Schurman Square, Don and Marion McDougall Hall, 6:00-7:00 pm, and on Tuesday, April 16, at the Loyalist Lakeview Resort in Summerside, 12:15-1:15 pm.

Session attendees will hear about UPEI's bachelor of integrated studies program; the PLAR process; certificates in business, accounting, entrepreneurship, and public administration; and professional development programming that are designed to fit into the busy work and home lives of adult learners.

For more information on the sessions, contact the Centre for Life-Long Learning at (902) 566-0336, lifelong@upei.ca or www.upei.ca/lifelonglearning.

Global Pet Foods PEI, a division of the largest Canadian-owned chain of specialty pet food and supply stores which carries a selection of natural, organic, holistic, and raw pet foods was UPEI's most recent client for Business 391: Strategic Management's annual case presentation.

'Having students work with real clients in developing strategies allows them the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge from all business disciplines,' said Gary Evans, associate professor in UPEI's School of Business. 'Having clients like Global Pet Foods helps engage our students and the research done by the student teams is always impressive. My sincere thanks to Global Pet Foods for the opportunity to work with them and congratulations to all of the teams for their outstanding work.'

Three teams-J.JABS Consulting, Strategy Gurus, and Core Consulting-were chosen to compete in the class competition on April 4 where they presented their ideas and strategies to Global Pet Foods PEI clients Linda Keane and Josh Blinder.

Blinder appreciated working with the business students as it gave Global Pet Foods PEI value and the opportunity to think outside the box. 'We received some creative and innovative ideas that we can implement within our business,' said Blinder. 'It allowed us to step back and look at what's going on in our business and observe what will help propel us in the future.'

Keane and Blinder presented the winning cheque of $1,000 to the Strategy Gurus team whose objectives for Global Pet Foods PEI included increasing consumer education, loyalty, and competitive advantage; using online advertising and social media opportunities; decreasing operating costs; and increasing growth in sales. The team, consisting of Aniqa Zahoor, Emonigho Abamwa, Carol Craswell, Dominic Avishigh, and Manoj Khandavelli, provided insightful recommendations for the clients and provided a short-and long-term timeline for consideration.

'I'm a pet owner and current customer of Global Pet Foods so it was interesting to work with Josh and get totally inside the business,' said Craswell. 'We were excited to be selected as one of the final groups to provide our recommendations to the client, and as a group, we used a lot of the strategies, tools, and techniques we learned in Gary's class to come up with our final recommendations. The most satisfying part was hearing that Global Pet Foods was happy with our work and was actually going to be implementing some of the strategies we had suggested.'

UPEI men's basketball Head Coach Tim Kendrick is pleased to announce that 6'9', 230lb, Serbian centre Stefan Vujisic has committed to attend the University of Prince Edward Island for the 2013-2014 basketball season and beyond.

'Stefan is a perfect fit for our program. His skills are solid, he has great hands and competes at a high level,' said Kendrick. 'He comes to us with tremendous potential and will be a fixture in our program for years to come. He possesses a great attitude about education.'

Vujisic, whose hometown is Kragujevac, is currently attending the Luxembourg Basketball Academy (LBBA) in Luxembourg. The academy is a development program where young talent develop their basketball skills, improve their physical capabilities, as well as strengthen their mental abilities in order to help them reach the next level. Vujisic is having a strong year, playing in nine exhibition games averaging 15.2 points per game, along with 10.3 rebounds.

'We are pleased that Stefan will become a Panther,' said UPEI Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman. 'We will do everything possible to have Stefan excel both academically and athletically.'

'I'm very excited and thankful for the opportunity that Coach Kendrick and UPEI have given me,' said Vujisic. 'I'm really looking forward to becoming a better basketball player, as well as becoming a solid student and person. It's my pleasure to commit to the UPEI Panthers.'

To see Vujisic in LBBA action, click here

After placing first in the local competition, UPEI's Jill Harris was then chosen by a national selection panel to take part in the 2013 National Nicol Entrepreneurial Award Competition and Gala Dinner held in Ottawa recently. Harris, a mature student in her fourth-year of the UPEI business studies program, was one of six finalists selected among students from 17 participating universities across Canada to present at the prestigious Ottawa event.

Harris, an avid gardener and full-time student, was told by the judges that she had a great pitch, Q&A period, logo design, and brand name for her business idea which introduces a nutrient-rich, organic mulch and soil conditioner packaged as a premium light-weight product for the gardening market, both on a regional and national scale. During her studies, Harris compiled information from research that revealed a valuable commodity to the horticulture industry. This business also presents an opportunity for a new manufacturing and employment venture for rural PEI.

She continues to pursue the research and development of her business idea, and although it's still in the preliminary stages, Harris anticipates starting the business upon finishing her degree in the fall.

'The courses I studied during my program such as integrated communications, managerial accounting, corporate finance, project management, operations, and marketing strategy gave me the knowledge and skill-set to feel confident enough to present any product to potential consumers,' said Harris. 'Competing and being judged by a distinguished panel of seasoned entrepreneurs in the Nicol competition was verification that my idea may indeed be viable.'

UPEI's Dean of the School of Business Alan Duncan believes entrepreneurship is a key engine that will drive future prosperity in Prince Edward Island. 'The Nicol competition is a fantastic forum that encourages students to take their ideas to the next stage. Jill has demonstrated knowledge and passion, and has convinced both local and national judges that she can transform her concept into a successful business,' he said. 'Just watch her succeed and thrive. We are fortunate to have such students here at UPEI.'

The Nicol Entrepreneurial Award is a national program designed to generate and reward interest in entrepreneurship on the part of undergraduate students in any faculty or field of study at participating universities across Canada. Launched in 1997, this program now awards over $100,000 in prize money each year to individual students or student teams who submit winning plans for their entrepreneurial business ideas.

The 2013 first place prize was awarded to University of Waterloo's Emily Peat and her business idea 'EcoPlace Organics.'

UPEI is receiving a number of calls regarding what happens if a storm occurs during the exam schedule.

Storm closure procedures are administered by the Office of the Vice-President Administration and Finance. Any decision to postpone or cancel morning classes or exams due to poor weather will be made by 7:00 am, if possible, on the day in question. Announcements of this decision will be made on the UPEI website, Campus Closure and Alert Line and to local radio stations. The website will also include information on when exams will be rescheduled as soon as it becomes available.

Please check upei.ca for updates.