UPEI's Mental Health Week will include an event called "Let's listen", which will feature a safe-listening and non-judgmental environment to list and share personal experiences about mental health. We are looking for approximately eight speakers (students, faculty, or staff) willing to share their experiences in either personal or supportive situations. Interested? Email a brief summary describing what you would like to speak about to sdo@upei.ca by Wednesday, March 5.

The following is issued by the Office of the Vice-President Academic to faculty, staff and students. At a regular meeting of Senate on February 13, 2015, a motion was passed by a majority vote to extend the number of teaching days in the current semester (January–May 2015) due to recent storm/weather closures. As a result, please note: Classes will now end on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 (instead of Wednesday, April 8, 2015) providing instructors with 4 additional teaching days if needed: Thursday, April 9; Friday, April 10; Monday, April 13; and Tuesday, April 14. Instructors have the option of using these additional teaching days or not, but must communicate their plan for end of semester classes to their students by email or through Moodle. The exam period will now take place from Friday, April 17, 2015 to Friday, April 24, 2015 (instead of April 13 to 23). A final exam schedule will be produced and distributed by Friday, February 20, 2015. Course grades for fourth-year students must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by noon on Saturday, April 25, 2015. For more information, contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@upei.ca or (902)566-0439. Amended academic calendar dates (as approved by Senate) can be viewed at: http://news.upei.ca/media/2015/02/18/upei-adds-teaching-days-end-semest…

The Academic Planning Group will be conducting two open public consultation sessions in preparation for producing a draft of the academic plan. These consultations are aimed at elaborating on the core values laid out in our institution’s strategic plan and applying them to the academic plan. The Academic Planning Group has developed eight questions drawn from the feedback received during our survey in December 2014. We encourage every member of the UPEI community to participate in the process. Please sign up to attend a session in the Health Sciences Building, Rm 104 on February 20th (2:30 pm- 4:30 pm) or February 24th (10:00 am - 12:00 noon) using the link below. If you are unable to attend either date, the questions will be posted after the sessions for a limited time to allow for further feedback. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UyreVk1Uiq6hFamR9Rf4OW1a2FBXT4BpBZtghN… The academic plan is where our academic values get transformed into plans that can guide our future as a university. It will be the document of record for the things we believe in and the point of reference for the deployment of our efforts to support the pillars of the plan. It ‘reports’ on things academic to the strategic plan, and, in its own right, will inform an enrolment management plan to be developed at a later date. The academic plan is being created by the senate appointed ‘Academic Planning Group’ which is made up of people from across the campus community. Our projected deadline for completing the academic plan is the end of March. We are currently in the final phase of our data gathering and initiating the writing of the plan. We have two data gathering methods remaining: (1) the Program Survey Instrument which asks questions of our degree granting programs on campus, and (2) the public consultations, which will use eight questions to try and gather value positions from our campus community

Please note the pancake supper originally scheduled for today from 11:30-1pm has been rescheduled for March 3, same times.

Join us Friday, February 20 at 2 pm in the 2nd floor lounge of the Kelley Building for the Katherine Schultz Research Recognition Awards. Jan Coffin, Strategic Research Initiatives Manager, and Dr. William Whelan, professor of physics, will be honoured in thanks for their work to help promote the community of research and discovery at UPEI. The Katherine Schultz Research Recognition Awards were created out of a gift received from Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI’s first Vice-President Research. Under her tenure from 2001 to 2012, UPEI enjoyed a seven-fold increase in research funding and intensity. A small reception will follow.

Please note, due to the weather, tonight's Research on Tap scheduled for 7 pm at Brothers 2 Restaurant in Summerside has been postponed. A new date will be announced in the coming weeks. Contact: Dave Atkinson, datkinson@upei.ca

The Pancake Tuesday lunch originally scheduled for Mardi Gras, February 17 has been postponed to March 3, from 11:30 am to 1 pm. Served by Connection Point Christian Church.

The Academic Planning Group will be conducting two open public consultation sessions in preparation for producing a draft of the academic plan. These consultations are aimed at elaborating on the core values laid out in our institution’s strategic plan and applying them to the academic plan. The Academic Planning Group has developed eight questions drawn from the feedback received during our survey in December 2014. We encourage every member of the UPEI community to participate in the process. Please sign up to attend a session in the Health Sciences Building, Room 104 on February 20 (2:30 pm–4:30 pm) or February 24th (10:00 am–12:00 noon) using the link below. If you are unable to attend either date, the questions will be posted after the sessions for a limited time to allow for further feedback. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UyreVk1Uiq6hFamR9Rf4OW1a2FBXT4BpBZtghN… The academic plan is where our academic values get transformed into plans that can guide our future as a university. It will be the document of record for the things we believe in and the point of reference for the deployment of our efforts to support the pillars of the plan. It ‘reports’ on things academic to the strategic plan, and, in its own right, will inform an enrolment management plan to be developed at a later date. The academic plan is being created by the senate-appointed ‘Academic Planning Group’, which is made up of people from across the campus community. Our projected deadline for completing the academic plan is the end of March. We are currently in the final phase of our data gathering and initiating the writing of the plan. We have two data gathering methods remaining: (1) the Program Survey Instrument which asks questions of our degree granting programs on campus, and (2) the public consultations, which will use eight questions to try and gather value positions from our campus community.

The Academic Planning Group will be conducting two open public consultation sessions in preparation for producing a draft of the academic plan. These consultations are aimed at elaborating on the core values laid out in our institution’s strategic plan and applying them to the academic plan. The Academic Planning Group has developed eight questions drawn from the feedback received during our survey in December 2014. We encourage every member of the UPEI community to participate in the process. Please sign up to attend a session in the Health Sciences Building, Rm 104 on February 20th (2:30 pm- 4:30 pm) or February 24th (10:00 am - 12:00 noon) using the link below. If you are unable to attend either date, the questions will be posted after the sessions for a limited time to allow for further feedback. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UyreVk1Uiq6hFamR9Rf4OW1a2FBXT4BpBZtghN… The academic plan is where our academic values get transformed into plans that can guide our future as a university. It will be the document of record for the things we believe in and the point of reference for the deployment of our efforts to support the pillars of the plan. It ‘reports’ on things academic to the strategic plan, and, in its own right, will inform an enrolment management plan to be developed at a later date. The academic plan is being created by the senate appointed ‘Academic Planning Group’ which is made up of people from across the campus community. Our projected deadline for completing the academic plan is the end of March. We are currently in the final phase of our data gathering and initiating the writing of the plan. We have two data gathering methods remaining: (1) the Program Survey Instrument which asks questions of our degree granting programs on campus, and (2) the public consultations, which will use eight questions to try and gather value positions from our campus community

Please note the pancake supper originally scheduled for today from 11:30-1pm has been rescheduled for March 3, same times.

Join us Friday, February 20 at 2 pm in the 2nd floor lounge of the Kelley Building for the Katherine Schultz Research Recognition Awards. Jan Coffin, Strategic Research Initiatives Manager, and Dr. William Whelan, professor of physics, will be honoured in thanks for their work to help promote the community of research and discovery at UPEI. The Katherine Schultz Research Recognition Awards were created out of a gift received from Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI’s first Vice-President Research. Under her tenure from 2001 to 2012, UPEI enjoyed a seven-fold increase in research funding and intensity. A small reception will follow.

Please note, due to the weather, tonight's Research on Tap scheduled for 7 pm at Brothers 2 Restaurant in Summerside has been postponed. A new date will be announced in the coming weeks. Contact: Dave Atkinson, datkinson@upei.ca

The Pancake Tuesday lunch originally scheduled for Mardi Gras, February 17 has been postponed to March 3, from 11:30 am to 1 pm. Served by Connection Point Christian Church.

The Academic Planning Group will be conducting two open public consultation sessions in preparation for producing a draft of the academic plan. These consultations are aimed at elaborating on the core values laid out in our institution’s strategic plan and applying them to the academic plan. The Academic Planning Group has developed eight questions drawn from the feedback received during our survey in December 2014. We encourage every member of the UPEI community to participate in the process. Please sign up to attend a session in the Health Sciences Building, Room 104 on February 20 (2:30 pm–4:30 pm) or February 24th (10:00 am–12:00 noon) using the link below. If you are unable to attend either date, the questions will be posted after the sessions for a limited time to allow for further feedback. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UyreVk1Uiq6hFamR9Rf4OW1a2FBXT4BpBZtghN… The academic plan is where our academic values get transformed into plans that can guide our future as a university. It will be the document of record for the things we believe in and the point of reference for the deployment of our efforts to support the pillars of the plan. It ‘reports’ on things academic to the strategic plan, and, in its own right, will inform an enrolment management plan to be developed at a later date. The academic plan is being created by the senate-appointed ‘Academic Planning Group’, which is made up of people from across the campus community. Our projected deadline for completing the academic plan is the end of March. We are currently in the final phase of our data gathering and initiating the writing of the plan. We have two data gathering methods remaining: (1) the Program Survey Instrument which asks questions of our degree granting programs on campus, and (2) the public consultations, which will use eight questions to try and gather value positions from our campus community.

Join us Friday, February 20 in the 2nd floor lounge of the Kelley Building for the Katherine Schultz Research Recognition Awards. Jan Coffin, Strategic Research Initiatives Manager, and Dr. William Whelan, professor of physics, will be honoured in thanks for their work to help promote the community of research and discovery at UPEI. The Katherine Schultz Research Recognition Awards were created out of a gift received from Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI’s first Vice-President Research. Under her tenure from 2001 to 2012, UPEI enjoyed a seven-fold increase in research funding and intensity. A small reception will follow.

Research on Tap, the successful series of public discussions featuring research and ideas from the University of Prince Edward Island, is hitting the road in 2015. The first stop is Tuesday, February 17 at 7 pm at Brothers 2 Restaurant in Summerside. The tour will kick off with a bit of patriotic zeal to Uncle Sam and friends. Dr. Richard Kurial, associate professor of history at UPEI, will lead a discussion entitled: The Debt of Western Civilization to the United States of America. “In the modern era,” argues Kurial, “all the freedoms enjoyed in the west—our political development, our economic well-being, and our safety—relies on the United States. We owe them a huge debt, and can repay that debt by endeavouring to understand the basis of their policies and initiatives.” Kurial will lay out his arguments in a brief talk, then open the floor to discussion and debate. “And I expect a healthy debate,” says Kurial with a wry smile. “These are not popular sentiments outside of the U.S., but we’d be worse off were it not for their compassion, vision, and generosity.” This season of Research on Tap is presented in cooperation with the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), Atlantic Chapter. The RSC is Canada’s national academy and is the senior national body of distinguished scholars, artists, and scientists.

There will be no Mass this Sunday February 15 at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre. Mass (12:05 pm) is also cancelled on Islander Day, February 16. The following events will take place at the Chaplaincy Centre from February 17-19. Tuesday, February 17 – Pancake Tuesday at 11:30am-1:00pm. Wednesday, February 18 - Ash Wednesday Mass with distribution of ashes at 12:05 pm and 4:30 pm. Thursday, February 19 - Mass at 12:05pm.

Grant Curtis from AVC's Biomedical Sciences will defend his Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) thesis Friday, February 13, from 1:30-3:30 pm in AVC Lecture Theatre B. Grant's presentation is entitled "Stepping Stones to the New World: Islandness and Migration from Southeastern Ireland to Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and the Miramichi of New Brunswick, 1700-1850." Grant's supervisors are Dr. Ed MacDonald and Dr. James Moran, from the Department of History. Everyone is welcome to attend.

There will be no Mass this Sunday February 15 at the UPEI Chaplaincy Centre. Mass (12:05 pm) is also cancelled on Islander Day, February 16. The following events will take place at the Chaplaincy Centre from February 17-19. Tuesday, February 17 – Pancake Tuesday at 11:30am-1:00pm. Wednesday, February 18 - Ash Wednesday Mass with distribution of ashes at 12:05 pm and 4:30 pm. Thursday, February 19 - Mass at 12:05pm.

Grant Curtis from AVC's Biomedical Sciences will defend his Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) thesis Friday, February 13, from 1:30-3:30 pm in AVC Lecture Theatre B. Grant's presentation is entitled "Stepping Stones to the New World: Islandness and Migration from Southeastern Ireland to Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and the Miramichi of New Brunswick, 1700-1850." Grant's supervisors are Dr. Ed MacDonald and Dr. James Moran, from the Department of History. Everyone is welcome to attend.