69´«Ã½

69´«Ã½and the City of Charlottetown are teaming up this weekend to present a jam-packed sports schedule at the university that will highlight some of the best student athletes in the province and offer an exciting opportunity for Islanders to show their support.

"We invite the public to come and enjoy an incredible line-up of games and some extra special events as well," says Ron Annear, 69´«Ã½Athletic Director. "It's going to be a real celebration of PEI sport and a great opportunity to recognize the partnerships that help our athletes on their way to the top."

The weekend kicks off Friday with the Women's/Men's soccer hosting MtA at 6:30/8:30 pm. At half-time of the women's game there will be special ceremony to honour 2005 CIS Player of the Year Amy Connolly by retiring her Number 8 jersey.

Events continue at 8:20 pm with a ceremony to celebrate the community benefits of the new artificial turf field. Representatives of the City of Charlottetown, UPEI, the PEI Soccer Association and the PEI School Athletic Association will strut their soccer stuff by taking a ceremonial kick on the new turf.

"The partnership between the City and 69´«Ã½has given us a top quality surface that enables Charlottetown to host provincial, regional, and national events," says Mayor Clifford Lee. "The playing season has been extended for soccer, field hockey, and football by allowing the sports to gain access to a field earlier in spring and later in the fall. The City of Charlottetown is pleased to have partnered in the construction of the artificial turf field venue, which has enabled us to host a number of sporting events since it opened in October 2005."

At the MacLauchlan Arena, play gets under way at 7:30 pm on Friday when the men's hockey Panthers take on StFx.

The Road to UPEI: PEI School Athletic Provincial Championships get going at 10 am on Saturday with the Senior Women's Soccer Gold event, followed by the Senior A Men's Soccer Gold at noon. Competitions continue in the afternoon with Field Hockey Bronze at 2 pm and Gold at 4 pm. The Senior AA Women's Soccer Gold is scheduled for 6 pm and the Senior AA Men's Soccer Gold kicks off at 8 pm.

There are two Panther hockey games scheduled for Saturday. The women's team plays StFx at 2:30 pm and the men meet Dalhousie at 7:30 pm. On Sunday, the weekend winds up with the women soccer Panthers against UNB at 1 pm, the men's hockey Panthers against Dal at 2:30 pm, and the men's soccer Panthers against UNB at 3 pm.

"It's going to be an amazing weekend and we invite everyone to come out to support sports excellence in the community and at the university," says Ron Annear. For more information on the schedule of events go to upei.ca/athletics.

Dr. Cecilia Moloney, NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the Atlantic Region, will be speaking at 69´«Ã½on Thursday, November 23. Her talk entitled "Thinking Yourself into a Scientist or Engineer" will be followed by an open discussion and refreshments. All interested members of the community are invited to attend. It takes place in the Atlantic Veterinary College Lecture Theatre D beginning at 4:30 pm with a short reception. The presentation begins at 5pm. Dr. Moloney is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Once again 69´«Ã½has moved up in the annual Maclean's rankings of the country's 21 primarily undergraduate universities. This builds on an upward trend that has seen 69´«Ã½climb steadily from 18th position in 2000 to the 8th position it has held during the past two years. Now it ranks number five in Canada.

The annual Maclean's rankings released this week place 69´«Ã½number one in the country for awards per full time faculty, fourth for the number of classes taught by tenured faculty, and fourth for the number of students winning awards.

"Our increasingly positive results reflect our commitment to providing students with an exceptional educational experience at UPEI," says Vice President of Academic Development Dr. Vianne Timmons. "The number five overall ranking also speaks to improvements and enhanced performance in all aspects of what we do at UPEI."

69´«Ã½students also welcomed the fifth place ranking as recognition of the many positive developments on campus. "It has been an incredible experience to see the transformational effects that a 69´«Ã½education can have on its students," says Student Union President Ryan Gallant, "and to see this small university become a more viable option for all students, not just for those from Atlantic Canada or from across the country, but for students around the world."

More than 4,000 students from 50 countries and every region of Canada now attend UPEI. Although the historic core of the campus proudly traces its roots back to 1804, most facilities have been newly constructed or recently expanded and renovated during a period of unprecedented development over the last five years.

The Duffy Science Centre has been completely redesigned. A new apartment-style residence has transformed the south face of campus. The National Research Council Institute for Nutrisciences and Health brings a remarkable new science platform, to be joined by a $32 million expansion of the Atlantic Veterinary College now under way. And the new School of Business and Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship has begun construction, promising to become a hub of business innovation on Prince Edward Island.

Today the School of Business at the 69´«Ã½ celebrated the progress made on its new state-of-the-art facility that has been under construction since early October. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, dignitaries and friends attended a morning reception at the Faculty Lounge. 69´«Ã½President Wade MacLauchlan and School of Business Dean Roberta MacDonald offered remarks, noting the impact the new home for the Business School and Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship will have on business education, research, and service.

"The new building is an exciting and historic milestone for the students, faculty, staff and alumni," said Roberta MacDonald. "It will be a major centre for business education and research for Prince Edward Island and beyond. We are thrilled with this exciting development."

The new building will see Marian Hall, which has been part of the University landscape since 1959, renovated and extended to provide 48,000 square feet of space. "This building will provide students with a cutting-edge interactive environment," said Dean MacDonald. "It will house classrooms, meeting spaces, public areas, offices, labs, and the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship."

Small and medium business has always been a focus at the School of Business Administration, and the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (CEE) will enhance offerings to Island industries. The Tourism Research Centre, the PEI BioAlliance, and the ACOA Seed Capital program will be based in the CEE, creating links with the ground floor of PEI's major economic opportunities.

PEI Premier Pat Binns offered a toast to the future of the Business School, recognizing the importance of entrepreneurship on PEI. The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency sent written remarks, noting that the creation of a Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at 69´«Ã½is an important initiative for the Island. Michael Schurman, chair of the 69´«Ã½Building a Legacy campaign, and Tim Banks, co-chair of the Business School's portion of the campaign, advocated strengthening relationships between the business community and the university for the benefit of all.

Professor Crystal McLeod and students Alicia Bremner and David McKenna presented the contents of a time capsule, created by business students, which will be positioned in the new building. Following the reception, student marshalls, led by a piper, took guests on a tour overlooking the construction site.

The School will increase its offerings to include new streams of undergraduate programs such as specializations in Entrepreneurship and Biotech Management, and proposed graduate degrees in Innovative Management and Biotech Management "I'm very excited about the new building," says third-year student T.J. Cummiskey. "It will create excellent opportunities and advantages for students and the business community alike."

With the growth of the Biotech industry on PEI, opportunities are being created in the and#145;business of science.' Dr. Tony Lucas is the Executive-in-Residence for Biotech Management, and is the liaison between the School of Business and the science-business community to help identify the needs of this industry. "The School of Business with its enhanced capabilities and new Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship will play a critical role in developing the necessary skills and people who will catalyze innovation for the growing bio-industry here and in the world," said Lucas.

The campaign to generate $6 million in private financial support for the development is being led by Tim Banks, President of the APM Group, and Dr. Roberta MacDonald. Banks has announced his own $100,000 pledge to the campaign and Chancellor Bill Andrew has made a private donation of $100,000. The provincial government has committed $4 million as part of a $25 million commitment for capital renewal at 69´«Ã½over 10 years. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is contributing $1.69 million to the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.

Island Studies Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2006 is now available online. This journal issue packs 100 pages of information, consisting of three academic articles, a review essay, and an extensive book reviews section. Article and review essay contributors are included from Tasmania, Finland, Fiji, and Canada. One essay of particular interest to PEI readers relates to strategies for effective 'cold water' island tourism.

"69´«Ã½has an obvious international advantage in spearheading the study of islands on their own terms," says Dr Godfrey Baldacchino, Canada Research Chair (Island Studies) at 69´«Ã½and the Executive Editor of the Journal. "The Journal continues to position us as a world centre for the critical study of island affairs. The work of various academics the world over who submit and review manuscripts and who pen book reviews is testimony that the journal has widespread credibility and recognition." The island studies website, where the journal is located, received over half a million hits in its first year of operation.

Island Studies Journal is the only regular scholarly journal published by UPEI's Faculty of Arts. It is peer reviewed, electronic, and freely downloadable from .

Early childhood educators now have an opportunity to advance their studies and enhance their careers, thanks to the launch of the new Bachelor of Child and Family Studies degree offered jointly by the 69´«Ã½ (UPEI) and Holland College.

"In the past, graduates of the Early Childhood Care and Education program at Holland College who wanted to go university, had to start over, since many universities, including UPEI, did not accept college level courses," says Dr. Lori Weeks, Associate Professor of Family and Nutritional Sciences at 69´«Ã½and the architect behind the degree. "For many, starting their education over is not realistic, so going to university simply wasn't an option."

Two years ago, Weeks recognized this education gap and set out to make university an option for early childhood educators, 98 per cent of whom are women according to the Organisation of Economic and Co-operative Development.

In January, 69´«Ã½will begin accepting students who have graduated from Holland College's Early Childhood Care and Education program to the new two-year university program.

"We're very proud of this partnership with Holland College. Now, students can transfer the entire two-year block of early childhood care and education courses from Holland College to 69´«Ã½and finish their degree in two years," says Dr. Vianne Timmons, Vice President of Academic Development at UPEI. "It's an example of the Island community pulling together to meet the changing needs of students and the community."

Students will be admitted on a competitive basis, based on their education and related work experience and can complete the degree either as a full- or part-time student. To further augment the hands-on learning experience in the Holland College program, the degree incorporates real-world experience through a series of applied placements in their last two years with UPEI.

A comprehensive, nationally recognized diploma program with stringent quality standards, Holland College's Early Childhood Care and Education program features content based on National Guidelines for Early Childhood Education programs.

"For many years, the college's early childhood educators have played a significant role in the first educational experiences of Island children," said Dr. Brian McMillan, President of Holland College. "For those educators who wish to pursue it, the degree program is a wonderful opportunity to further their learning."

Graduates from similar college programs other than Holland College will also be considered for acceptance into the degree program.

69´«Ã½and Holland College have other educational partnerships including the Applied Degree in Print Journalism, the Bachelor in Education Degree in Human Resource Development, and various articulation agreements.

An anthropology graduate from East Bay, Cape Breton who is an intern with the Institute of Island Studies at the 69´«Ã½, in collaboration with the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI, has been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with the Williche people in Chile.

With the support of the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Atlantic Council of International Cooperation, Dolores Le Vangie leaves Canada on December 31 to begin a five-month international internship on the Island of Chiloand#233;. There, she will work with Bosque Modelo Chiloand#233; and the Williche Council of Chie to help identify potential uses of seaweed for indigenous economic development.

"This internship allows me to work among the Mi'kmaq people on Prince Edward Island and the Williche people on the Island of Chiloand#233;, Chile. Both of these indigenous groups have traditionally used marine plants as a form of medicinal healing and food," she explains.

Through interviews and participant observation, Dolores is collecting information on how the two indigenous cultures have traditionally used, and still use, seaweed today. "The Mi'kmaq people have helped me develop skills in documentation of traditional indigenous uses of marine plants. With these skills I will be able to help the Williche as well," Dolores explains. "The Williche people still have a large amount of traditional knowledge on their uses of marine plants and they want to be able to share their knowledge through educational displays and cultural exchanges."

She adds that there is also the potential to develop a cottage-scale industry in Chiloand#233; where the Williche would be able market value-added food, health, beauty, or agricultural products based on their traditional knowledge of seaweed as well as modern scientific information provided by the Institute of Island Studies.

Dolores' internship in Chile is just one example of a growing range of international opportunities that 69´«Ã½students are pursuing. The university has an agreement with CUSO and agreements with universities in Australia, Sweden, and the US that allow students from all faculties to earn credits in these countries towards their 69´«Ã½degrees. Similar agreements are being developed for New Zealand and Japan. In addition, there are numerous program-specific arrangements in place at 69´«Ã½for international work and study. Through the Faculty of Education alone, students specializing in international education have taught in over 20 different countries, from Thailand and Iceland to Russia and the Dominican Republic.

Island writer and 69´«Ã½English Department sessional lecturer Deirdre Kessler has been selected by the Tasmanian Writers' Centre for the 2007 Tasmanian-Prince Edward Island island-to-island writers' exchange. During the month-long residency Kessler will stay at a writers' retreat in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Deirdre Kessler teaches creative writing, children's literature, and composition with the 69´«Ã½English Department, and is author of many books for young people and fiction and poetry for adults. She is past recipient of the Prince Edward Island Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Literary Arts; in 2005 a chapbook of her poetry, "Subtracting by Seventeen," first-prize winner of the Milton Acorn Poetry Award, was published by Saturday Morning Chapbooks. This Christmas two of her stories were published in a new collection by Nimbus.

During the winter/spring 2007 semester, Kessler is teaching English 486: Advanced Creative Writing with a focus on writing for young people and English 245: Introduction to Children's Literature.

The Prince Edward Island-Tasmania writers' exchange was initiated in October 2006, when Austalian writer Danielle Wood spent a month at 69´«Ã½as writer-in-residence.

The writers' exchange is co-sponsored by the 69´«Ã½English Department, 69´«Ã½Institute of Island Studies, 69´«Ã½Dean of Arts, PEI Writers' Guild, and the Tasmanian Writers' Centre.

Today, the 69´«Ã½ hosted a welcome reception for the two Canada Research Chairs (CRC) within the Faculty of Scienceand#151;Drs. Russell Kerr and Michael van den Heuvel.

"69´«Ã½and Prince Edward Island benefit from the intellectual leadership that comes with the appointment of Dr. Kerr and Dr. van den Heuvel," says Wade MacLauchlan, President of UPEI. "Their strong research programs, scientific creativity and extensive collaborations add important dimensions to our very impressive portfolios of environmental and health research."

Dr. van den Heuvel, Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, studies the effects of agriculture and chemical use on freshwater and near-shore marine environments. With half its land area used for agricultural, PEI is a fitting place for van den Heuvel to uncover the impact of chemicals on fishes and help the province to better protect its river systems.

Dr. Kerr, Department of Chemistry, explores the ocean for organisms that produce natural products with therapeutic potential. Two general areas of research are the discovery of new medicines from marine organisms, and the development of biotech production methods of marine-derived medicines whose development has suffered due to the lack of a commercial supply.

For more information on their research please check the CRC website at

"The Canada Research Chair Program nurtures world-class scientists and cultivates a new generation of research talent. Top-notch researchers like Kerr and van den Heuvel provide strong research training for young scientists at UPEI," says Christian Lacriox, Dean of Science, UPEI.

Established in the year 2000, the Canada Research Chairs Program works to attract and retain the world's top researchers in Canada. These researchers work to address significant medical, scientific and social problems.

The PEI Home Economics Association donated copies of its new book today to all Island schools that offer home economics courses. The 350-page book documents the evolution of home economics in Prince Edward Island during the past century. Entitled "Who We Are: Our Heritage and Horizons," it includes stories of home economists and over 260 photographs. The book was written by members of the Home Economics History Committee: Estelle Reddin (editor), Heather Henry-MacDonald, Helen Bartlett, Doris Anderson, Irene Burge, and Dr. Jean Halliday MacKay (deceased).

Heather Henry-MacDonald, who served as chair of the 69´«Ã½Home Economics Department (now Family and Nutritional Sciences) until 1996, said the book is a comprehensive account of the tremendous contribution that home economists have made to Island life. The story begins in the early 1900s when the first domestic science class was offered at the Macdonald Consolidated School in Mount Herbert and continues through to the development of the vibrant Family and Nutritional Sciences department that exists today at UPEI.

"Home economists made a tremendous contribution to life in Prince Edward Island over the past century and we felt it was important to share their stories," she said. "Our book highlights their activities throughout four eras: the pioneer days of early North America, the two world wars and the great depression, the years between 1950 and 1969, and today's modern technological era."

She added, "Although the term home economics is rarely used today, people trained in the profession, whether they are teachers, dietitians, researchers or consultants, continue to make a tremendous contribution to Island families and communities."

Education Minister Mildred Dover said students will benefit from being able to access the rich information contained in the new book. "We are very pleased to add this book to our school library collections. It is not just an excellent history of the home economics profession, but it is also a wonderful account of Island life which is beautifully told by some very esteemed Island women," she said.

For more information on the book, contact Heather Henry MacDonald at 902 569 2391 or bpd@pei.sympatico.ca