69´«Ã½

UPEI's Co-operative Education program celebrated National Co-op Week and its ‘Co-op Students of the Year Awards Ceremony' at a combined event, March 24.

Employers, students and faculty gathered at Don and Marion McDougall Hall to recognize the award recipients and enjoy a presentation from Laura Murphy, regional vice president of Arbonne Canada. Based in Charlottetown, Murphy focused on the importance of having a good team to create successes as well as the importance of following your passion and taking risks.

The recipient of the ‘2010 Co-operative Education Student of the Year Award for Physics' was Tyler Palmer from Charlottetown. Tyler is a fourth-year honours Physics co-op student and was nominated by his employer, Dr. Bill Whelan from the 69´«Ã½Department of Physics, where he worked as a Research Assistant in the Biomedical Optics Lab.

Dr. Whelan said, 'Tyler already thinks like a physicist, questioning his data and mulling over possible explanations and was able to generate tangible results that moved the project forward. He discovered that the optoacoustic signals generated by heated tissues increased substantially with temperature and was able to generate 2D images of thermal damage using the optoacoustic system. I am only aware of four published papers that have shown similar results. So we are considering publishing this data.'

So impressed by these research results, Whelan had Tyler submit an abstract that was accepted and presented at an international conference, ‘Optics Within Life Sciences,' in September 2010 in Quebec City. 'This is a remarkable achievement for an undergraduate student,' added Whelan.

In Computer Science, the recipient of the ‘2010 Co-operative Education Student of the Year Award' was Michael Berger of Charlottetown. Berger was employed with Timeless Technologies in 2010 for eight months completing his fourth, and optional fifth, work terms. During his employment with Timeless, Mike played an important role in helping the team complete a major project that was large in scope and complexity.

Berger's supervisor, Rodney MacLeod, noted, 'Mike is full of great ideas on functionality and processes and has been a great fit into the team here at Timeless-he works well on the project team and fits well with all the others in our office. He has brought with him a great deal experience and knowledge from his academic studies and his previous work terms.'

The ‘2010 Business Co-op Student of the Year Award' recipient was Allison MacLeod, a third-year student from Kinkora. Allison was employed with Imageworks Communication Group from May-August 2010 as a Marketing Event Manager where she completed her first co-op work term. MacLeod's main project was the 2010 Cavendish Beach Music Festival, where she was responsible for marketing, as well as organizing vendors, volunteers and media.

Jeff Squires, president of Imageworks, expressed his sincere appreciation for Allison's work. He said, 'During Allison's work term she impressed me with her skills and attitude. She had the ability to provide excellent customer service, demonstrated leadership, and worked very effectively and efficiently in dealing with our suppliers. Allison is intrinsically motivated, well planned, and is taking responsibility for the successful planning of her career path. She is the type of young professional who will continue to develop and become a valued member of society.'

Several co-op students in Business, Computer Science and Physics were nominated by their employers for outstanding contributions during their co-op work terms in 2010. Award recipients were selected based upon a variety of achievements-job performance, academic performance, academic/school involvement, accountability, responsibility, and in particular, their contributions to their employers during their Co-operative Education work terms.

For further information, please contact the 69´«Ã½Co-operative Education office at 902-628-4395.

The Honourable Allan Campbell, minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning, confirmed funding today of $300,000 per year for the at the 69´«Ã½.

Campbell made the announcement before a group of 69´«Ã½students, some of whom intend to apply to take the Kinesiology program this coming fall.

'By offering a degree program in Kinesiology,' Campbell says, '69´«Ã½is doing two important things-it is offering the opportunity to top-level training for careers in the sciences-and just as importantly, the program will train individuals to meet the health needs of Islanders.'

The program was approved by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission in 2010, pending funding from the provincial government. It will be housed in the Family and Nutritional Sciences department, in the Faculty of Science, and is a four-year Bachelor of Science program.

69´«Ã½President Wade MacLauchlan said, 'We thank the province for its support because we will be able to offer yet another high-quality program that allows students to acquire knowledge on the Island in this important field. This is another example of 69´«Ã½serving the educational needs of Islanders by providing a comprehensive education.'

Vice-President Academic Jim Randall added, 'The Kinesiology program will help provide a knowledgeable and skilled workforce, here on PEI, and in an area needing more and more qualified human resources, so we are very thankful for today's announcement.'

'We've been planning to add this area of study to our faculty for many years, as we know it will enhance our offerings in Family and Nutritional Sciences and, in general, health and wellness,' stated Dean of Science, Dr. Christian Lacroix. 'Kinesiology is a field that offers many opportunities for our students.'

Kinesiology, also known as human kinetics, is the science of human movement. It addresses the physiological, mechanical, and psychosocial mechanisms associated with human movement. Kinesiology graduates are exposed to a wide range of potential career opportunities in fields such as education, health promotion, rehabilitation, fitness assessment, and community program development. Students may continue their studies in graduate or professional programs such in physiotherapy, occupational therapy or education.

To apply to UPEI's Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology program, .

Creating a portfolio can be a life changing experience and UPEI's Bachelor of Integrated Studies 193 (BIS 193) can be the first step. For Islanders embarking in a new direction or starting a new profession, organizing one's achievements into a portfolio can lead to professional success.

There might be a lifetime of stories to tell and a portfolio allows those stories to be passed on to one's children and grandchildren. Students already attending university might want to take a course in the summer and not want to travel to Charlottetown. And then there are still others who are interested in going to university but want the learning that they gained in the workplace to count for academic credit. In fact, there are all sorts of reasons why Islanders might want to take UPEI's BIS 193.

Bachelor of Integrated Studies 193, offered in O'Leary in May and June, provides adults with an opportunity to take a university course where they use their prior workplace learning and knowledge to gain additional university credits. Using Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) principles, 69´«Ã½recognizes that Islanders have acquired many skills and competencies in their workplace. By developing a portfolio that captures these skills, Islanders can acquire a head start to earning a Bachelor's degree.

'For adults with work and family commitments, this is an ideal opportunity to begin taking university courses within West Prince,' said Dr. Richard Kurial, dean of Arts at UPEI.

Dr. Kurial noted that the University is interested in offering additional courses in West Prince, but this course has proven very attractive to many adult learners. Often, adults who have been thinking of going to university are hesitant to make that first step. The BIS 193 course makes the transition easy because developing a portfolio appeals to all kinds of people for many different reasons.

'The difference with the BIS 193 course is that beyond learning and sharing, this course is a lot of fun. When you think about it, we have already acquired significant knowledge and skills in our working lives. What this course does is give students an opportunity to share their knowledge too but in a format that highlights all those achievements.'

The course begins Tuesday, April 26 and runs every Tuesday from 6 to 9 pm through May and June. The location for the class is Future Tech West in O'Leary. It will be taught by Janice McKendrick, formerly of West Prince. Course registrations for the summer session at 69´«Ã½begin March 29th.

If you require further information, please contact Dr. Richard Kurial, Dean of Arts at 566-0310 or rkurial@upei.ca. for additional information for adult learners interested in applying for PLAR.

The 69´«Ã½Wind Symphony will perform its final recital of the academic year - Freebirds - on Thursday, March 31 at 7:30 pm at UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall to a sellout crowd. This has been a particularly successful year for the Wind Symphony with highly acclaimed performances of Angels in the Architecture, the release of its O Canada CD for Island public schools in February, and the receipt of the 2011 Music PEI Award for Best Classical Recording in January.

Two of Canada's finest clarinetists - Jana Starling, assistant professor at Arizona State University, and Wesley Ferriera, lecturer at Mount Allison University - will be featured in this recital performing Freebirds, a double concerto, by the American composer Scott McAllister. This happens to be one of several clarinet works of McAllister's which are somewhat jazz and rock-inspired. Freebirds takes its title and inspiration from the album by the iconic southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. A driving, ecstatic showpiece, the work begins with a cadenza-like passage for the soloists, takes the listener through some high beautiful lyrical passages and ends in a virtuosic cadenza. This piece grabs hold of the listener and never lets go.

This recital will also feature other contemporary works for the modern wind band by Canadian, English, American and Mexican composers. Frenergy, by Canadian composer John Estacio, gets its title from an amalgamation of the words 'frenetic' and 'energy'. The tempo for this short concert opener is brisk and the pacing of melodic ideas is frantic as befitting the title. John Mackey, an American, wrote a march titled Xerxes. Marches are prevalent in the wind band medium, typically cheerful and, in many cases, patriotic. Xerxes breaks this definition in that, like the nasty Persian ruler of the same name from 500 BC, it is angry. The dissonant harmonies, wide-skipping melodies, percussion colours, and soloistic passages make for an engaging listen. ‘The Courtly Dances' by English composer Benjamin Britten are written in Renaissance style. Taken from Brittten's opera Gloriana, these dances represent those typically found throughout the courts of sixteenth century Europe.

The Wind Symphony will have its first sojourn into the music of Mexico with its rendition of Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez. This contemporary Mexican music expresses and reflects on a dance style called danzón, which has its origins in Cuba but is a very important part of the folklore of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Influenced by the habanera and tango, listeners will be enthralled by the infectious, sexy salsa rhythms.

This recital will be the final Wind Symphony performance for three of its graduating students - Troy Martin, clarinet; Thayne Campbell, bass trombone; and, Miranda Godkin, trumpet. All three have made significant contributions to the Music Department, and the Wind Symphony in particular, throughout their undergraduate careers.

This recital has generated much interest and was sold out as of mid-March.

High school students are raring to study at the 69´«Ã½ according to current application statistics-confirming the importance students place on a post-secondary education offered by the Island's only university.

As of March 29, 69´«Ã½had received 4.3 percent more applications from Canadian high school students, and 7 per cent more applications from PEI high school students, compared with the same date last year. In total, of 15 public and private schools on PEI, 735 Island high school students-versus 687 last year-have already applied to UPEI.

UPEI's Vice-President Academic Jim Randall says, 'We have been following recent reports that indicate university enrolment in Canada has reached record levels and are encouraged that students are continuing to look to 69´«Ã½to meet their post-secondary education goals. We now need to keep working to make 69´«Ã½the university of choice for these applicants. I am confident that the growing reputation of UPEI, both in terms of quality of instruction and greatly expanded program choices, will continue to make the difference for these students.'

Even more significant than provincial applications are those coming out of Ontario showing that 33% more high school students have applied to study at 69´«Ã½as compared with last year. This follows a rising trend in Ontario-in a report released in January by the Ontario Universities Application Centre, it indicated a 2.2 per cent increase in Ontario university applications, even after the double cohort years when there were Ontario high school graduates from both grades 12 and 13.

'Although the number of high school graduates in PEI is expected to drop in the coming years, experts predict overall enrolment numbers to continue to rise across the country as students of all ages recognize the numerous career and social benefits a university degree offers,' Randall added. 'With the rise in applications, especially from PEI and Ontario, we are focusing recruitment and conversion efforts to continue this trend into future years for UPEI.'

This Monday, April 4th, the Faculty of Science will hold its annual Graduate Studies Day at the K.C. Irving Chemistry Centre, room 104.

Beginning at 10:00 am, opening remarks by 69´«Ã½President Wade MacLauchlan, AVP Graduate Studies Dr. Brian Wagner and Dean of Science Dr. Christian Lacroix will set the stage for a day-long event that showcases the best of graduate student research in the Faculty of Science.

Dr. Sunny Hartwig, assistant professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College, will deliver the keynote address 'Understanding kidney stem cells and disease' followed by five student oral presentations and a poster presentation session on topics ranging from insect ecology to applied optics.

For a list of titles and abstracts, . To see the promotional flyer, .

Graduate Research Day for the was held on March 10. Upcoming graduate research events include:

• Education, April 27, Rodd Royalty Hotel, Charlottetown
• Atlantic Veterinary College, May 12-13, AVC Lecture Theatre
• Graduate Research Recognition Day, May 25, Don and Marion McDougall Hall, UPEI

Sharon MacLeod, brand-building director for Unilever Canada and the creative expert behind the Dove Canada brand will be the guest speaker at the fourth instalment of the ‘Spotlight on Student Engagement Series.' The event will take place on Tuesday, April 5, 2:30 pm in AVC Lecture Theatre A.

In her presentation entitled, The Way a Woman Leads, MacLeod will share how Dove challenged conventions with the ‘Campaign for Real Beauty' and helps girls reach their full potential through the Dove self-esteem fund. She will share her experience as a marketer, leader, and businesswoman.

MacLeod is best known for her expertise in consumer behaviour and her creativity. A true visionary in her field, MacLeod challenges traditional marketing and business practices, believing that professionals like her can extend the power of brands to positively impact the lives of women everywhere.

But the story doesn't end there - in fact, MacLeod's passion for helping women overcome obstacles, be proud of who they are, and aspire for something greater in their own lives started at a very early age.

Having lost her mother as a young child and growing up in a small town with three older brothers, MacLeod worked hard to follow her own path. She became the first person in her family to graduate from university, earned a Master of Science in Consumer Studies, and went on to teach the subject at Wilfred Laurier University.

Her work with Unilever has been recognized by consumers and industry peers alike. Accolades include two Grand Prix awards at Cannes Advertising awards for Dove's digital film Evolution and the title of ‘Brand of the Decade' for Dove by Strategy Magazine.

Today, as the director for Dove, Skin Care and Household Cleaning in Canada, MacLeod continues to blaze new trails and educate and inspire women.

For more details about the Student Engagement Speaker Series, please . Everyone is welcome.

Valerie Compton, born and raised on PEI, has recently published her first book, Tide Road, a historical novel set on the Island. She will give a public reading on Monday, April 11, at 7:30 pm, in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building at UPEI. A book signing and reception will follow. Her reading is sponsored by the 69´«Ã½English Department.

Sonia, the main character of Tide Road, is a widowed farm wife and former lighthouse keeper. When her daughter Stella disappears, leaving her toddler and husband behind, Sonia faces the possibility that her daughter may not have slipped through the ice. She may have been pushed. Sonia's past, a flotsam of lost dreams, bruised hopes, and buried love, wells up to meet her. Confronted with her own history of choices and failures, Sonia is compelled to revise her perception of her daughter's life and dramatically change the way she lives her own.

Through Sonia's memories, struggles, and transformation, Compton vividly re-creates a half-century of authentic Island life. Her characters vibrate with the reality of human experience. Compton is a strong new voice of the Island, joining J.J. Steinfeld, Michael Hennessey, Elaine Hammond, David Helwig, Hugh MacDonald, Orysia Dawydiak, Margie Carmichael, Steven Mayoff, and others imaginatively evoking Prince Edward Island in their fiction.

Compton now lives in Halifax, where she writes and teaches fiction writing. Her stories have appeared in numerous literary journals, and her articles and reviews have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Gourmet Magazine, The Ottawa Citizen, and Quill & Quire.