On Monday, September 22 at 9:30 am in the Duffy Science Centre, Room 204, Kyle Knysh, BSc will defend his Master of Science thesis entitled: "Agricultural Land Use Impacts on Cool - Spring Flora and Fauna, With An Emphasis On Freshwater Invertebrate Diversity And Phenology in Spring Pools Of Eastern Prince Edward Island (Canada)." Everyone is welcome to attend.

UPEI faculty and staff are encouraged to remind undergraduate students to sign up for the Montreal Exchange University Partnership: Trading Simulation. Deadline to apply is Friday, September 19. Students interested in the securities market have the opportunity to get involved in an options trading simulation with a grand prize of $10,000, second place prize of $5,000, and third place prize of $2,500. Students are asked to build a team (one to four students) and sign up for an eight-week simulation held during the 2014 fall term. A UPEI classroom session will be held for registered teams on Wednesday, September 24, location TBD. To register, visit www.m-x.ca/sim This is an excellent opportunity for students to develop a better knowledge of options and discover securities trading. The best performing team at each university, as well as the top 50 teams registered, having fulfilled the mandatory components, will receive a certification of participation. No experience is required (education session will be available for students) and the simulation is free to register! For more information, please contact Ling Chen, Student Ambassador of the Montreal Exchange at upei.mx.ambassador@gmail.com

The Celebration of Student Success (formerly Deans’ Honours Night) for the Faculties of Arts and Science will be held on Tuesday, September 30 at 7:00 pm in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. At this prestigious event, arts and science students who are on the Dean’s List for the 2013-14 academic year, will be presented with a certificate recognizing their accomplishments. UPEI faculty and staff are encouraged to attend as we celebrate our first-class standing students. Student awards, with the exception of the Haines Academic Award of Merit, will be presented at another time.

We have our first Faculty of Education PhD dissertation defence happening this week! Please take a look at the highlights for information concerning the actual defence, guest speakers, and the celebration. We hope you can join us. Highlights: Thursday, September 18 Dr. Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez will present "The Problem of "Method" in Youth Participatory Action Research" from 10:00-11:30 am in the Young Lives Research Lab in Dalton Hall. Friday, September 19 Verne Lorway's Dissertation Defence - Please join us for the public component of the defence beginning at 10:00 am in AVC room 286A N. Title: "Disrupting the "maestro:" Tuneful youth insights for engaged music in education." Dr. Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez will present "Why the Arts Don't do Anything: Towards a New Logic of Cultural Production." This presentation will take place from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building. After the presentations, please join the Faculty of Education in celebrating Verne Lorway and the first doctoral defence in the PhD in Educational Studies program from 4:00-5:00 pm in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building.

​Accessibility ​Services at UPEI has approximately 300 students with disabilities who are registered for various types of accommodations, both physical and academic. These disabilities are often invisible, and can include mobility impairments such as back, knee or soft tissue injury, MS, cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia, lupus, and other disorders. There is an increased need for chairs and tables in the classrooms to accommodate the needs of these students. Accessibility Services asks for your assistance in not moving or using the chairs/ tables that are designated for these students. The tables have a wheelchair symbol on them, and need to be kept on an accessible level, especially if the classroom is theatre style; the chairs will be marked with a Reserved sign. We thank you for your assistance. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Cathy Rose at crose@upei.ca or (902) 628-4364.

This week we are looking at Dr. Terry Anderson's article "The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance and New Social Media Literacies." It explores different social spaces in which we interact and learn. It would be great to hear more about how these spaces are being used or how they are perceived by those of us here at UPEI. As a great way to explore two different social spaces, you can share your thoughts in the Moodle course: http://moodle.upei.ca/course/view.php?id=4809 or on the open UPEI blog: http://projects.upei.ca/terrytalks/

This Wednesday, September 17 the UPEI Multicultural Choir and Song Circle will meet in the Steel Building from 4:30-5:30 pm to SING! Last Wednesday was the group's first meeting, and it was a great success with 20+ students, a few faculty and staff members, and a few people from the community! The choir encourages both experienced singers and new singing enthusiasts to join in sharing world music and song from different countries and cultures. Rehearsals will take place on Wednesdays in the AIRS/CMTC Multimedia Room 104, basement of the Robertson Library. For more information and to join the email list, please contact Shannon Moore at smmoore@upei.ca. All are welcome!

We have our first Faculty of Education PhD dissertation defence happening this week! Please take a look at the highlights for information concerning the actual defence, guest speakers, and the celebration. We hope you can join us. Highlights: Thursday, September 18 Dr. Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez will present "The Problem of "Method" in Youth Participatory Action Research" from 10:00-11:30 am in the Young Lives Research Lab in Dalton Hall. Friday, September 19 Verne Lorway's Dissertation Defence - Please join us for the public component of the defence beginning at 10:00 am in AVC room 286A N. Title: "Disrupting the "maestro:" Tuneful youth insights for engaged music in education." Dr. Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez will present "Why the Arts Don't do Anything: Towards a New Logic of Cultural Production." This presentation will take place from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building. After the presentations, please join the Faculty of Education in celebrating Verne Lorway and the first doctoral defence in the PhD in Educational Studies program from 4:00-5:00 pm in the Faculty Lounge, Main Building.

​Accessibility ​Services at UPEI has approximately 300 students with disabilities who are registered for various types of accommodations, both physical and academic. These disabilities are often invisible, and can include mobility impairments such as back, knee or soft tissue injury, MS, cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia, lupus, and other disorders. There is an increased need for chairs and tables in the classrooms to accommodate the needs of these students. Accessibility Services asks for your assistance in not moving or using the chairs/ tables that are designated for these students. The tables have a wheelchair symbol on them, and need to be kept on an accessible level, especially if the classroom is theatre style; the chairs will be marked with a Reserved sign. We thank you for your assistance. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Cathy Rose at crose@upei.ca or (902) 628-4364.

This week we are looking at Dr. Terry Anderson's article "The Distant Crowd: Transactional Distance and New Social Media Literacies." It explores different social spaces in which we interact and learn. It would be great to hear more about how these spaces are being used or how they are perceived by those of us here at UPEI. As a great way to explore two different social spaces, you can share your thoughts in the Moodle course: http://moodle.upei.ca/course/view.php?id=4809 or on the open UPEI blog: http://projects.upei.ca/terrytalks/

This Wednesday, September 17 the UPEI Multicultural Choir and Song Circle will meet in the Steel Building from 4:30-5:30 pm to SING! Last Wednesday was the group's first meeting, and it was a great success with 20+ students, a few faculty and staff members, and a few people from the community! The choir encourages both experienced singers and new singing enthusiasts to join in sharing world music and song from different countries and cultures. Rehearsals will take place on Wednesdays in the AIRS/CMTC Multimedia Room 104, basement of the Robertson Library. For more information and to join the email list, please contact Shannon Moore at smmoore@upei.ca. All are welcome!

UPEI faculty and staff are encouraged to remind undergraduate students to sign up for the Montreal Exchange University Partnership: Trading Simulation. Deadline to apply is Friday, September 19. Students interested in the securities market have the opportunity to get involved in an options trading simulation with a grand prize of $10,000, second place prize of $5,000, and third place prize of $2,500. Students are asked to build a team (one to four students) and sign up for an eight-week simulation held during the 2014 fall term. A UPEI classroom session will be held for registered teams on Wednesday, September 24, location TBD. To register, visit www.m-x.ca/sim This is an excellent opportunity for students to develop a better knowledge of options and discover securities trading. The best performing team at each university, as well as the top 50 teams registered, having fulfilled the mandatory components, will receive a certification of participation. No experience is required (education session will be available for students) and the simulation is free to register! For more information, please contact Ling Chen, Student Ambassador of the Montreal Exchange at upei.mx.ambassador@gmail.com

The Celebration of Student Success (formerly Deans’ Honours Night) for the Faculties of Arts and Science will be held on Tuesday, September 30 at 7:00 pm in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. At this prestigious event, arts and science students who are on the Dean’s List for the 2013-14 academic year, will be presented with a certificate recognizing their accomplishments. UPEI faculty and staff are encouraged to attend as we celebrate our first-class standing students. Student awards, with the exception of the Haines Academic Award of Merit, will be presented at another time.

Ethics protocols that involve ‘more than minimal risk’ must be reviewed by the full UPEI Research Ethics Board. The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday October 3. They will be reviewed at the October meeting. Protocols involving ‘more than minimal risk’ that are received after October 3 will be reviewed at the November meeting. Other ethics protocol submissions, including new applications that do not involve ‘more than minimal risk,’ renewals, and amendments may be submitted at any time. They will be sent for delegated review as soon as all necessary forms are received. Please ensure that you download and use the current forms from http://www.upei.ca/research/forms. Use Adobe Reader to complete forms. Submit one hard copy of the signed, original protocol and associated documents to 200 Kelley Memorial Building and send one e-copy of all documents to reb@upei.ca For more information, please contact Joy Knight at 620-5104.

The next deadline for submitting Biosafety Protocols including new applications, renewals and/or amendments, is Friday September 26. These protocols will be reviewed at the October meeting. Please ensure that you download and use the current forms from http://www.upei.ca/research/forms. Use Adobe Reader to complete the forms. Submit one hard copy of the original protocol with signatures, and associated documents to 200 Kelley Memorial Building and send one e-copy of all documents to reb@upei.ca Please note that protocols received after this deadline will be reviewed the following month. For more information, please contact Joy Knight at 620-5104.

Students, staff, and faculty are invited the Recognition of Founders Ceremony on Thursday, September 25 at 2:00 pm in the Quadrangle outside of SDU Main Building, to honour the 2014 Founders: Ms. Joy Ikede, Ms. Dulcinea Andrews, Dr. Frances Gray, and Dr. Ian Dohoo, Honourable Eugene F. Whelan Green Hat Award. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony in Schurman Market Square, Don and Marion McDougall Hall (rain location). RSVP by September 22 to Rebecca Gass, (902) 566-0949 or rjgass@upei.ca

First Semester Award Cycle - deadline OCTOBER 1 Over 40 scholarships, awards, and bursaries to apply for based on criteria such as program, year of study, campus/community activities, and financial need. Application Form: First Semester Award Cycle: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/award_cycle-first_semester.pdf *students only need to submit ONE application form with their package - just check off all awards that apply to you! MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing - deadline OCTOBER 6 Over 50 prizes available for returning undergraduate students based on effective writing excellence in the previous academic year Application Form: MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing - For Course Work: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/maclauchlan_effective_writing_upei_c… Application Form: MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing - For Community Audience: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/maclauchlan_effective_writing_extern… Application Form: MacLauchlan Effective Prizes for Writing - Webster Centre: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/maclauchlan_effective_writing_webste…

The Celebration of Student Achievement (formerly Deans’ Honours Night) for the Faculties of Arts and Science will be held on Tuesday, September 30 at 7:00 pm in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. At this prestigious event, students who are on the Dean’s List for the 2013-14 Academic Year, will be presented with a certificate recognizing their accomplishments. Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend as we celebrate our first-class standing students. Student awards, with the exception of the Haines Academic Award of Merit, will be presented at another time.

Students, staff, and faculty are invited the Recognition of Founders Ceremony on Thursday, September 25 at 2:00 pm in the Quadrangle outside of SDU Main Building, to honour the 2014 Founders: Ms. Joy Ikede, Ms. Dulcinea Andrews, Dr. Frances Gray, and Dr. Ian Dohoo, Honourable Eugene F. Whelan Green Hat Award. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony in Schurman Market Square, Don and Marion McDougall Hall (rain location). RSVP by September 22 to Rebecca Gass, (902) 566-0949 or rjgass@upei.ca

First Semester Award Cycle - deadline OCTOBER 1 Over 40 scholarships, awards, and bursaries to apply for based on criteria such as program, year of study, campus/community activities, and financial need. Application Form: First Semester Award Cycle: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/award_cycle-first_semester.pdf *students only need to submit ONE application form with their package - just check off all awards that apply to you! MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing - deadline OCTOBER 6 Over 50 prizes available for returning undergraduate students based on effective writing excellence in the previous academic year Application Form: MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing - For Course Work: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/maclauchlan_effective_writing_upei_c… Application Form: MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing - For Community Audience: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/maclauchlan_effective_writing_extern… Application Form: MacLauchlan Effective Prizes for Writing - Webster Centre: https://files.upei.ca/scholarships/maclauchlan_effective_writing_webste…