Sports Centre/Fitness Centre: Tuesday, August 25 opened 6:00 am – 6:00 pm. Closing at 6:00 pm due to a planned power shutdown.

Work on a new extension at the south-east corner of the Robertson Library building, which will house a greatly enhanced and expanded preservation facility for the University Archives and Special Collections (UASC), will begin in September. While this will not significantly disrupt Library operations in the Fall 2026 academic semester, please note that a construction fence will be erected on Wednesday, August 19, to begin preparation work and to keep the site safe and secure.

It is anticipated that the fence will remain in place through to the end of 2027, requiring sections of the pedestrian pathway between RL and AVC and Parking Lot B to be closed (refer to diagram in full message on upei.ca). The construction entrance will be accessed from the road that leads to the Dean’s parking area at the Atlantic Veterinary College so at times there will be heavier traffic at this location. For more information, visit https://libraryupei.ca/renovations-2026

On Wednesday, August 26, ITSS will conduct maintenance on myUPEI Self Service and related services from 8:00pm to 12:00am. During this time, there may be intermittent access to and performance issues with Self-Service, Web Advisor, and Colleague.

As a reminder, you can access Moodle directly using https://moodle.upei.ca and Outlook email using https://outlook.office.com.

If you have any questions, please fill out our new Help Form: https://go.upei.ca/itrequest

Are you planning Fall or Winter courses with work-integrated learning components? Curious about how you could add engagement with a community or industry partner into an existing course? The Experiential Education department has two staff who can help! Shannon (smsnow@upei.ca) can help you with brainstorming, course planning, developing resources, and wraparound supports, while Jess (jecameron@upei.ca) can help with connecting with partners to suit your course objectives. Not sure what you want to do? Reach out, and we can have a chat!

All faculty, staff, students, and researchers who work with biological materials are invited to attend the upcoming Basic Biosafety and Biosecurity Training session.

Basic Biosafety and Biosecurity Training is required for all personnel working in Containment Level 2 (CL2) laboratories on campus and is strongly recommended for those working in Containment Level 1 (CL1) laboratories.

This training consists of both online modules and an in-person session. Participants are encouraged to complete the required online coursework prior to attending the in-person training to maximize learning and participation. 

Date: August 31, 2026
Time: 10:00 am
Location: To be determined

This training will provide an introduction to essential biosafety and biosecurity principles, including:

• Safe handling of biological materials
• Containment practices and procedures
• Incident reporting requirements
• Roles and responsibilities in maintaining a safe laboratory environment
• Biosecurity awareness and best practices

For additional information or to register, please contact biosafety@upei.ca.

Help us maintain a safe and secure research and learning environment by participating in this important training opportunity.

The University of Prince Edward Island is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Founders. Founders are members of the campus community—most often retired faculty and staff—who have contributed to UPEI’s mission in an exceptional way. Recognizing our Founders is an opportunity to celebrate our rich heritage and traditions, honouring those who have worked diligently and passionately to build the University into the highly regarded institution of higher education it is today.

Established by President Emeritus Wade MacLauchlan in 2000, the Founders award is presented to those who have played a direct role in

• supporting the vision, reputation, and continued success of the University, and/or
• creating a new era of educational, research, and/or service excellence at the University. 

If you wish to nominate someone as Founder, please fill out the online form or email your submission to communications@upei.ca. 

Completed nominations must be received by Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 11:59 pm AT.

If you are interested in learning more about this award and past award winners, please visit the UPEI Founders web page. 
 

The deadline for the Employee and Spouse/Dependent Tuition Waiver forms for the Fall 2026 semester is Friday, August 28, 2026.  We encourage you to have your tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in the timely processing. Tuition Waiver forms must be submitted electronically.

The online Tuition Waiver fillable forms can be found on the HR Portal of the myUPEI site, under Training and Development. 

Please note, the Employee or Spouse/Dependent must be registered in the course prior to applying for the tuition waiver. 

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at: (902) 566-0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca.

Our Annual Back to School Sale is on all week from August 24 to 28. Save 20% on all regular priced clothing, backpacks, school supplies and giftware items. Shop online at upei.ca/bookstore 

The Office of Student Culture and Community Standards invites staff and faculty to get involved in the upcoming Welcome Week celebrations, which run over the first two weeks of September. We are working hard behind the scenes to finalize event details. If interested, in volunteering, please use this sign-up form to place yourself on the list. 

We look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks. Please contact Krissi Ewing kewing@upei.ca with any questions about plans for Welcome Week events. 

Calling all Panthers! Staff and faculty are encouraged to inform students about a new summer engagement series. The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Campus Life have partnered on the following events to help students build more connections on campus this summer. No sign-up is required. 

Contact Kendra Mellish at kmellish@upei.ca for questions about the research sessions.

Contact Krissi Ewing at kewing@upei.ca for questions about the social sessions. 

• June 19, 12:00-1:00pm | HSB 106 | Panther Link-Up: Research Focus Session #1 - Finding Research Funding Opportunities 
  Bring your lunch and hear from Leslie Cudmore, Research Grants Coordinator, about the range of funding opportunities available to support research-based graduate studies. Open to current graduate and undergraduate students, by drop-in.
• July 3, 12:00-1:00 pm| Meet in HSB 106 | Panther Link-Up: Picnic and Lawn Games - Sun, Fun and Luncheon 
  Bring your lunch, meet up with other students working, researching, and studying on campus this summer for chats and/or a round of lawn games. Open to current graduate and undergraduate students, by drop-in. Light refreshments provided.
• July 15, 12:00-1:00 pm | FSDE 205 | Certificate in University Teaching Quick Start  
  Bring your lunch and  join fellow graduate students for these interactive sessions with the opportunity to learn, reflect, and connect.
• July 17, 12:00-1:00pm | HSB 106 | Panther Link-Up: Research Focus Session #2 – Communicating Your Research: The Essentials 
  Bring your lunch and discuss with Julie VanLeeuwen, Research Navigator, the range of purposes, places, and ways to communicate your research, focusing on how to customize your communication to the audience and purpose. Open to current graduate and undergraduate students, by drop-in.
• July 22, 12:00-1:00 pm | FSDE 205 | Certificate in University Teaching Quick Start  
  Bring your lunch and  join fellow graduate students for these interactive sessions with the opportunity to learn, reflect, and connect.
• July 31, 12:00-1:00 pm | HSB 106 | Panther Link-Up: Getting Involved on Campus - Sun, Fun and Luncheon 
  Bring your lunch, learn about the many ways getting involved on campus improves your student experience (and your resume!) and the opportunities available. Open to current graduate and undergraduate students, by drop-in. Light refreshments provided.
• August 14, 12:00-1:00pm | HSB 106 | Panther Link-Up: Research Focus Session #3 – Developing a High-Quality Research Award Application 
  Bring your lunch and hear from Leslie Cudmore, Research Grants Coordinator, and a guest offering advice and top tips for developing an impactful research proposal for a research award application. Open to current graduate and undergraduate students, by drop-in.
• August 28, 12:00-1:00 pm | HSB 106 | Panther Link-Up: Show Your Panther Pride - Sun, Fun and Luncheon 
  Bring your lunch and join other students working, researching, and studying on campus this summer to show panther pride by becoming a campus leader. Open to current graduate and undergraduate students, by drop-in. Light refreshments provided.

As ITSS prepares to welcome a new academic year and support thousands of UPEI students, faculty, and staff, we are streamlining the submission of support requests. To help us route requests more efficiently, improve response times, and ensure requests reach the appropriate team, we ask that all IT requests be submitted through our online forms.

1. If you have lost access to your account, use our publicly accessible account recovery form at go.upei.ca/lostaccount
2. For all other support issues, submit a request at go.upei.ca/itrequest
3. For IT-related forms (account, computer, mobile, and printer requests), visit go.upei.ca/itforms or my.upei.ca
4. For self-service resources, knowledge base articles, and additional support options, visit go.upei.ca/itss or upei.ca/itss

Please note that helpdesk@upei.ca is no longer monitored for ticket creation purposes. Help requests submitted by email will not be processed. To ensure timely assistance, please use one of the methods listed above.

Please review our guidance on ticket criticality and then if you are experiencing a live critical issue significantly impacting classroom learning, patient care, or core university operations, contact ITSS at 902-566-0465, press 2, during regular business hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm AST). Users calling about non-critical issues will be directed to submit a support request through the appropriate online form. 

Students requiring assistance may contact ITSS at 902-566-0465 and press 3 during regular business hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm AST).

For after-hours global IT emergencies, contact UPEI Security Services at 902-566-0384.

Kind regards,

IT Systems and Services (ITSS)

Work on a new extension at the south-east corner of the Robertson Library building, which will house a greatly enhanced and expanded preservation facility for the University Archives and Special Collections (UASC), will begin in September. While this will not significantly disrupt Library operations in the Fall 2026 academic semester, please note that a construction fence will be erected on Wednesday, August 19, to begin preparation work and to keep the site safe and secure.

It is anticipated that the fence will remain in place through to the end of 2027, requiring sections of the pedestrian pathway between RL and AVC and Parking Lot B to be closed (refer to diagram in full message on upei.ca). The construction entrance will be accessed from the road that leads to the Dean’s parking area at the Atlantic Veterinary College so at times there will be heavier traffic at this location. For more information, visit https://libraryupei.ca/renovations-2026

On Wednesday, August 26, ITSS will conduct maintenance on myUPEI Self Service and related services from 8:00pm to 12:00am. During this time, there may be intermittent access to and performance issues with Self-Service, Web Advisor, and Colleague.

As a reminder, you can access Moodle directly using https://moodle.upei.ca and Outlook email using https://outlook.office.com.

If you have any questions, please fill out our new Help Form: https://go.upei.ca/itrequest

The flags near Kelley Memorial Building and at UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place and the Artificial Turf Field have been lowered to half-mast in memory of UPEI Founder Dennis Clough who passed away on August 16, 2026.

The UPEI community extends its condolences to his family, friends, and former colleagues. Read more

The Robertson Library team is looking forward to welcoming UPEI campus community members and visitors to our newly renovated spaces—the main lobby and adjoining all-gender washrooms, the central staircase, and the upper landing—this fall. Thanks to the efforts of the project contractors and UPEI Facilities Management (Capital Projects), work has been progressing well, but there have been a few delays. The full library reopening is now scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2026.

Since May, the Robertson Library has been operating a temporary service point in Library Annex, Room 235, from 9 am– 5 pm, Monday–Friday, and this will continue through Friday, September 18, 2026.

Evening and weekend printing/scanning support will remain unavailable until the Library’s main Service Desk reopens September 21, so please plan accordingly; if you have time-sensitive printing/scanning needs outside of the Room 235 service point hours, the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre (downtown) or the Staples Printing Centre may be able to assist.

In addition, McMillan Hall in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre has been booked for use throughout the day and evening as a student study space during the month of September. Remember to check out the new UPEI new UPEI Support Services Campus Map, created by UPEI Welcome Week and the UPEI Student Culture and Community Standards teams; the green icons on this map highlight buildings offering student study spaces. For more information, visit https://libraryupei.ca/renovations-2026

Supervisors of campus student staff are invited to register their students for a half-day of in-person facilitated student training on Tuesday, September 1, from 9 am to 1 pm in MCDH 242. The training is designed to prepare student staff with common skills needed for on-campus roles; it will not replace the role-specific training conducted by supervisors. The goal is to equip student staff with the skills they will need to confidently and professionally represent your departments. 

This joint initiative was developed by the Office of Student Culture and Community Standards and representatives from various departments involved in a student training committee. Together, the committee developed and has secured facilitators for the following topics: 

• Representing UPEI as a Student Leader
• The Basics of a Trauma-Informed Approach
• Referral and Boundary Setting
• Interrupting Harm
• Conflict Resolution
• Professional Communication 

A supplementary information package will accompany these mini sessions. Students and supervisors will be invited to provide feedback on the training's relevance and to recommend future training opportunities. We hope that supervisors and students see this as an opportunity to better connect with campus peers and resources, and to inform future engagement opportunities. 

If interested, please register your student staff here. The registration deadline is Thursday, August 27. We ask that supervisors register all of the students they supervise who will be participating. This helps us ensure that students have approval to attend, track attendance, and ensure that we have enough space, materials, and refreshments for everyone. Questions can be directed to kewing@upei.ca. 

All faculty, staff, students, and researchers who work with biological materials are invited to attend the upcoming Basic Biosafety and Biosecurity Training session.

Basic Biosafety and Biosecurity Training is required for all personnel working in Containment Level 2 (CL2) laboratories on campus and is strongly recommended for those working in Containment Level 1 (CL1) laboratories.

This training consists of both online modules and an in-person session. Participants are encouraged to complete the required online coursework prior to attending the in-person training to maximize learning and participation. 

Date: August 31, 2026
Time: 10:00 am
Location: To be determined

This training will provide an introduction to essential biosafety and biosecurity principles, including:

• Safe handling of biological materials
• Containment practices and procedures
• Incident reporting requirements
• Roles and responsibilities in maintaining a safe laboratory environment
• Biosecurity awareness and best practices

For additional information or to register, please contact biosafety@upei.ca.

Help us maintain a safe and secure research and learning environment by participating in this important training opportunity.

The University of Prince Edward Island is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Founders. Founders are members of the campus community—most often retired faculty and staff—who have contributed to UPEI’s mission in an exceptional way. Recognizing our Founders is an opportunity to celebrate our rich heritage and traditions, honouring those who have worked diligently and passionately to build the University into the highly regarded institution of higher education it is today.

Established by President Emeritus Wade MacLauchlan in 2000, the Founders award is presented to those who have played a direct role in

• supporting the vision, reputation, and continued success of the University, and/or
• creating a new era of educational, research, and/or service excellence at the University. 

If you wish to nominate someone as Founder, please fill out the online form or email your submission to communications@upei.ca. 

Completed nominations must be received by Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 11:59 pm AT.

If you are interested in learning more about this award and past award winners, please visit the UPEI Founders web page. 
 

The deadline for the Employee and Spouse/Dependent Tuition Waiver forms for the Fall 2026 semester is Friday, August 28, 2026.  We encourage you to have your tuition waivers submitted as soon as possible to assist in the timely processing. Tuition Waiver forms must be submitted electronically.

The online Tuition Waiver fillable forms can be found on the HR Portal of the myUPEI site, under Training and Development. 

Please note, the Employee or Spouse/Dependent must be registered in the course prior to applying for the tuition waiver. 

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at: (902) 566-0514 or hrgeneral@upei.ca.

We are launching the first of three pulse surveys that will take place over the coming months. Pulse surveys are short, focused surveys that help us gather timely feedback on specific topics. Our first pulse survey is focused on Sharing Information and Communications. The survey aims to better understand the effectiveness of UPEI's communication channels, how employees prefer to receive information, and where opportunities exist to improve communication across the University. The information gathered will help inform the campus-wide communication strategy, led by the Communications and University Relations unit in Marketing and Communications, and improve the ways we share news, updates, events, and important information.

Survey Details

• The survey takes approximately 5–7 minutes to complete.
• The survey can be completed on a computer, or by using a mobile device.
• The survey is completed via the TalentMap survey platform we used in the previous employee engagement survey.
• The survey can only be completed once and must be completed in one sitting.
• Responses are anonymous. No personal information is collected, and individual responses cannot be connected to any employee.
• The deadline to complete is Friday, August 21, 2026, by 4pm.

Survey Link

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Your input helps us better understand the employee experience and supports our ongoing efforts to make meaningful improvements across UPEI.