The campus community is invited to a Retirement Reception in honour of Myrtle Jenkins-Smith, Director of Institutional Priorities and Government Relations, and former Executive Director of Development and Alumni Engagement. After years of dedication and commitment to UPEI, it's time for Myrtle to plant the seeds for her next project—retirement!

Please join us to extend best wishes and enjoy light refreshments.

Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 2:30-3:30 pm
Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship
Robertson Library Annex

The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) is very pleased to be collaborating with the UPEI Student Union, Robertson Library, and Residence Life for Love & Sex Week 2026 (February 9 – 13)! Make sure to visit the Love & Sex Week Displays:

• In September, you wrote Love Letters to Survivors and we asked you what makes a relationship feel safe.  At the Robertson Library Display, you will see the Love Letters collage and photos of your friends sharing their thoughts on safe relationships. You can also grab a fun Word Search Puzzle and check out a great Love & Sex Week reading list.  
• In November, we asked you about green flags and red flags in relationships (signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships) - come see what you told us at the Student Union Building Display. Your responses were combined into flag banners!

On the evening of February 10, SVPRO will be hosting Undeadies!  This is a collaboration with Residence Life. Together, we will make strange and unusual creatures from thrifted stuffed animals (all supplies are provided) and we'll chat about communication and consent. You'll make a great gift for a bestie or your Boo! For more information, email: sv-pro@upei.ca (spaces are limited)

Keep an eye out for the Love & Sex Week schedule of events from the Student Union - there will be lots of fun opportunities to take part!

Don't forget that one of the most powerful ways to show love to your partners, friends, family, and your community is to prioritize consent, communication, and respect in all your interactions. Let's continue to build our culture of consent at UPEI. 

SVPRO is here to help. If you experience sexual violence or sexual harassment, you are not alone. You can reach us at sv-pro@upei.ca or 902-620-5090

This annual competition is a public recital showcasing five of the UPEI Music Department’s outstanding emerging artists who were selected in a preliminary round. This year's finalists are Seth Cudmore-Gallant (trombone), Sadie Ghiz (soprano), Amy LeBlanc (flute), Emi Smith (soprano), and Nathan Wright (alto saxophone). The top awards include a cash prize, and will be chosen by an adjudication panel consisting of distinguished members of PEI's musical community.

Friday February 6, 7:30 pm

SDU Stage at Steel Recital Hall (SB 224)

Admission is by donation at the door. FREE for all UPEI students with a valid ID.

Calling all Panthers! On Friday, February 13, we’re inviting students, staff, faculty, and alumni to join us at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre for a Paper Airplane Toss during halftime at the Women’s basketball game! 

UPEI Alumni and Experiential Education has partnered with Provincial Credit Union to provide the opportunity for UPEI students interested in banking and finance to connect with employees working at Provincial Credit Union.

Remember to RSVP on UPEI Connect to receive FREE game snacks and drinks for you and your friends and family.

Arrive as early as 5:15 pm to talk with students/alumni and start crafting your winning plane. At halftime, it's time to see whose plane flies the furthest. 

This is a fun, laid-back chance to connect with the UPEI community, boost your Panther pride, and build lasting connections. 

Friday, February 13 | 6PM
Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre
Students, get your game tickets online - https://upei.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1485
Airplane-making materials provided
Prizes for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place

***Please note: To receive your complimentary FREE game snacks and drinks, you must sign up for the event via UPEI Connect. You can register here. 

In honour of Apukna'jit and Indigenous Story Telling Month, we are hosting a "Sharing Our Stories and Apukna'jit Spirit Ceremony" event with local knowledge keepers, community members, and UPEI staff and students on Wednesday, February 10, from 12:30-3:30 pm in McMillan Hall, Room 110. Four local knowledge keepers will share stories in a sharing circle.

Apukna'jit is the spirit of the winter. In some ways, the tradition involves making offerings to Apukna'jit with the hope of a light winter and an early spring. We do so by making tobacco offerings and a plate of food to feed Apukna'jit. 

We have 30 seats available; others may stand outside the circle.

This semester's highly anticipated Bioscience Ecosystem Tour is happening on Thursday, February 19!
Presented in partnership with the @peibioalliance, this semester's ecosystem tour is looking more engaging than ever!

Registration for the tour opens on Friday, February 6 at 1:00 PM AST, with the first 20 students who sign up being invited to attend. Make sure you apply as soon as registration opens! 

Any full-time UPEI student is eligible to apply to participate, and there is no cost associated with participating. Transportation between field sites is available, and lunch is provided by the Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Register here on February 6 at 1:00 pm: https://forms.office.com/r/bsqMKcPDJL

There will be a scheduled maintenance of the UPEI internet access on Saturday February 7, 2026.  The maintenance will result in an internet access outage and will start at 9:00 am and is scheduled to last one hour.  Internet access is scheduled to be available again by 10:00 am

During the maintenance, all inbound and outbound access of the internet from the UPEI campus as a whole will be unavailable (both the UPEI wired and Wi-Fi/wireless networks).  The outage will impact email, Teams, and any other internet based services including remote access from outside the UPEI network.  

Internal UPEI access to internal UPEI resources will not be impacted.

The Faculty of Education invites members of the campus community – students, faculty, and staff – to attend a public presentation by Elizabeth Blake outlining her research agenda and how the work contributes to and advances the field of French Education and related fields.  Elizabeth Blake is candidate for the conversion of a term position to tenure-track position in French Education (B2.6b). 

The presentation takes place on Monday, February 9 at 3:00 pm in Memorial Hall, Room 417. 

A Microsoft Teams link is available here: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/25590255599880?p=8PWl2TS7sLsaySxVA4

Meeting ID: 255 902 555 998 80

Passcode: BY7Zg9Se

For further information, contact Karen-Anne O’Halloran.

The UPEI departments of Human Resources and Athletics and Recreation are excited to invite staff and faculty to two Panther Pride events— “Why We Walk” on Thursday, February 5, and “Panther Sport Night and Employee Social” on Friday, February 6, 2026.

Why We Walk, hosted by the UPEI Men’s Basketball Panthers
Thursday, February 5, 2026     11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Why We Walk is a campus-wide walk created to raise awareness and show unified support in the ongoing fight against breast cancer, bringing athletes, students, and the UPEI community together in a meaningful and visible way. This guided walk will take place around the campus beginning at a central location and ending at a final gathering point. Along the route, participants will stop at three interactive stations, each designed to encourage reflection, expression, and awareness.

Panther Sport Night and Employee Social
Friday, February 6, 2026

This high-energy night of sport will bring our campus community together to cheer on the UPEI Panthers as they near the finals—while also supporting an important cause. 

The UPEI Women’s Basketball Panthers will host Shoot for the Cure, a fundraising initiative in support of breast cancer awareness and research. Dedicated to advancing breast cancer research and awareness, Shoot for the Cure has become a longstanding tradition in Canadian university sport, uniting athletes, coaches, and fans around a common cause.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK!

Join us February 12, at 4:00 pm in SDU Main Building, Room 117 for the first SMCS Pizza Seminar of the semester! Dr. Alexander Alvarez will present his talk entitled "Does God Play Dice with Mathematics?" about the role randomness can play in our study of mathematics. There will be free pizza to follow. 

The Faculty of Science's Seminar Series invites the campus community to Dr. Brent Robicheau (Department of Biology) presentation entitled "Marine nitrogen fixers - a new era of understanding emerges". 

February 6, 12:30 pm, Duffy Science Centre, Room 204

Everyone is welcome.

Beginning at 9:00 am on Monday, February 2 and until further notice, anyone accessing electronic resources (e-journals, e-books, databases, etc.) subscribed to by the Robertson Library will be prompted to enter their UPEI username and password, even when connected to a UPEI computer network. Logging in with UPEI credentials is a long-standing requirement for accessing Library e-resources from off-campus, but not on UPEI computing networks. The need for a temporary  “on-campus login” arrangement at this time arises from an initiative led by ITSS to consolidate UPEI-owned IP addresses. This has, in turn, made it necessary for the Library to reconfigure the EZProxy server that we use to manage access to our e-resources. 

During the EZproxy reconfiguration, the only way to reliably access databases and other e-resources will be through the links on the Library's website. ​​If you have saved or bookmarked links that do not include the word "proxy" in the URL (web address), please note that these will not work during this time. You can fix those URLs using our Creating Persistent Links to Content in Library Databases tool.

If you encounter any difficulties accessing Library e-resources during this EZproxy reconfiguration, or have questions about it, please contact us. For information about the broader UPEI IP initiative, please contact Graham Nixon, Manager, Infrastructure and Technology, ITSS. For updates see Change in Online Access to Library Resources.

You're invited to the Robertson Library Book Club! Throughout Winter Term 2026, we will read and discuss three books on the topic of indigeneity in the region of Turtle Island known as Canada. Book club meetings will be co-hosted by Morgan Varis, a sessional instructor from IKERAS (Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies). These meetings will take place on the last Monday of each month from January - March and will be held in the Robertson Library lobby at noon (12pm); light refreshments will be provided. 

Our next meeting is Monday, February 23, 12pm-1pm, discussing Out of the Depths: The Experiences of Mi’kmaw Children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia by Isabelle Knockwood (nonfiction)

"Daring to break the code of silence imposed on Aboriginal students, residential school survivor Isabelle Knockwood offers the firsthand experiences of forty-two survivors of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. In their own words, these former students remember their first day of residential schooling, when they were outwardly transformed through hair cuts and striped uniforms marked with numbers. Then followed years of inner transformation from a strict and regimented life of education and manual training, as well as harsh punishments for speaking their own language or engaging in Indigenous customs. The survivors also speak of being released from their school — and having to decide between living in a racist and unwelcoming dominant society or returning to reserves where the Aboriginal culture had evolved." -Fernwood Publishing

Copies of all three books are available to borrow from the Robertson Library (courtesy of PEI Public Library/Service des bibliothèques publiques ÎPÉ and their book club kit program):

Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
Out of the Depths by Isabelle Knockwood
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Hope to see you there!

The sixth meeting of the UPEI Senate will take place on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in Room 102 at Alumni Hall (618 University Avenue). To view the 2025-2026 calendar of Senate meetings or documents for the upcoming meeting, click here. (Posted one week before the meeting)

All meetings are open to members of the University community, although certain in-camera items (e.g., granting of degrees) may require the Senate to go into a closed session. Only members of Senate are permitted to address the Senate unless otherwise recognized by the chair. 

For logistical purposes, members of the UPEI community who wish to attend the open session of a UPEI Senate meeting are asked to contact senate@upei.ca one week prior to the meeting. While Senate is an in-person meeting, members of the University community may request a virtual connection when they are unable to attend in person. 

To begin Black History Month, the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) is highlighting a regional resource that centres Black histories in Atlantic Canada. The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia offers historical context on African Nova Scotian experiences, including settlement, resistance to racism, and key figures for instructors across disciplines.

This annual competition is a public recital showcasing five of the UPEI Music Department’s outstanding emerging artists who were selected in a preliminary round. This year's finalists are Seth Cudmore-Gallant (trombone), Sadie Ghiz (soprano), Amy LeBlanc (flute), Emi Smith (soprano), and Nathan Wright (alto saxophone). The top awards include a cash prize, and will be chosen by an adjudication panel consisting of distinguished members of PEI's musical community.

Friday February 6, 7:30 pm

SDU Stage at Steel Recital Hall (SB 224)

Admission is by donation at the door. FREE for all UPEI students with a valid ID.

Calling all Panthers! On Friday, February 13, we’re inviting students, staff, faculty, and alumni to join us at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre for a Paper Airplane Toss during halftime at the Women’s basketball game! 

UPEI Alumni and Experiential Education has partnered with Provincial Credit Union to provide the opportunity for UPEI students interested in banking and finance to connect with employees working at Provincial Credit Union.

Remember to RSVP on UPEI Connect to receive FREE game snacks and drinks for you and your friends and family.

Arrive as early as 5:15 pm to talk with students/alumni and start crafting your winning plane. At halftime, it's time to see whose plane flies the furthest. 

This is a fun, laid-back chance to connect with the UPEI community, boost your Panther pride, and build lasting connections. 

Friday, February 13 | 6PM
Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre
Students, get your game tickets online - https://upei.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1485
Airplane-making materials provided
Prizes for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place

***Please note: To receive your complimentary FREE game snacks and drinks, you must sign up for the event via UPEI Connect. You can register here. 

In honour of Apukna'jit and Indigenous Story Telling Month, we are hosting a "Sharing Our Stories and Apukna'jit Spirit Ceremony" event with local knowledge keepers, community members, and UPEI staff and students on Wednesday, February 10, from 12:30-3:30 pm in McMillan Hall, Room 110. Four local knowledge keepers will share stories in a sharing circle.

Apukna'jit is the spirit of the winter. In some ways, the tradition involves making offerings to Apukna'jit with the hope of a light winter and an early spring. We do so by making tobacco offerings and a plate of food to feed Apukna'jit. 

We have 30 seats available; others may stand outside the circle.

We’re excited to share a fantastic lineup of Spring 2026 Professional Development opportunities offered by the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development (OCEPD) at UPEI — designed to help you grow your skills, expand your expertise, and elevate your impact.

UPEI Staff Special Rate:
A reminder that UPEI staff and faculty are eligible to take select OCEPD Certificate programs at a reduced tuition rate of just $995 — a great way to invest in yourself and your professional journey. 

Spring 2026 Certificate Programs

• Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/occupational-health-and-safety
  • Starts: April 21, 2026
  • Certificate Goals: Build confidence in identifying risks, preventing incidents, and strengthening workplace safety practices.
• Certificate in Introductory Data Analytics: Bridging Qualitative and Quantitative Analytics - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/introductory-data-analytics
  • Starts: April 22, 2026
  • Certificate Goals: Build foundational data skills to inform decision-making, enhance reporting, and bring data insights into your work.
• Certificate in Mental Health and Well-Being - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/certificate-in-mental-health-and-well-being
  • Starts: April 28, 2026
  • Certificate Goals: Enhance your understanding of workplace mental health strategies that support wellness, resilience, and a positive organizational culture.
• Certificate in Conflict Resolution - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/conflict-resolution-certificate
  • Starts: April 30, 2026
  • Certificate Goals: Sharpen practical skills for managing and resolving workplace conflict, turning challenging conversations into constructive outcomes.
• Certificate in Professional Communications - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/professional-communications-certificate
  • Starts: May 4, 2026
  • Certificate Goals: Develop high-impact communication skills — from workplace writing to effective interpersonal exchanges — essential in every role.
• Certificate in Marketing and Branding - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/certificate-in-marketing-and-branding
  • Starts: May 13, 2026 (three-course sequence)
  • Certificate Goals: Learn how to craft compelling messaging, utilize social media strategically, and strengthen your personal or department brand.
• Certificate in Motivational Interviewing - https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates/certificate-in-motivational-interviewing
  • Starts: June 4, 2026
  • Certificate Goals: Gain practical conversational techniques to support behaviour change, coaching, and supportive dialogues across teams.

Why Take a Certificate?

Each of these OCEPD Certificate programs is practical, evidence-informed, and directly applicable to your work at UPEI. Whether it’s enhancing communication, boosting team morale, improving safety, strengthening analytics, or fortifying wellbeing — these Certificates are designed to give you the skills to improve in your role and contribute to stronger well-being. 

Ready to enroll or learn more?
Visit the full OCEPD Certificate listings on UPEI’s Professional Development site: https://www.upei.ca/professional-development/certificates

Feel free to reach out if you’d like help selecting the right program for your goals — we’re cheering you on as you continue your professional development journey!

This semester's highly anticipated Bioscience Ecosystem Tour is happening on Thursday, February 19!
Presented in partnership with the @peibioalliance, this semester's ecosystem tour is looking more engaging than ever!

Registration for the tour opens on Friday, February 6 at 1:00 PM AST, with the first 20 students who sign up being invited to attend. Make sure you apply as soon as registration opens! 

Any full-time UPEI student is eligible to apply to participate, and there is no cost associated with participating. Transportation between field sites is available, and lunch is provided by the Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Register here on February 6 at 1:00 pm: https://forms.office.com/r/bsqMKcPDJL