The excitement for this Saturday's Gold Rush draw is growing as big as the pot! With no winners in the last FIVE draws, the total pot has grown to more than $17,000, with half going to the winner of the draw.

Gold Rush is a virtual fundraising initiative that raises funds for UPEI’s athletic and recreation programs. You can now select a specific team, club, or program to direct your proceeds from each of your tickets. 

Play today and every week for a chance to win! Download the UPEI Panther Recreation app from the App Store or on Google Play, or play from your computer. The weekly draw is held at 8:00 pm every Saturday.

On Thursday, August 13, the offices for the following teams will be closed as all staff participate in an offsite training day:

• Research Services
• Research Partnerships and Innovation (RPI)
• Faculty of Graduate Studies
• Centre for Health and Community Research (CHCR)

For urgent matters during the closure, please contact: researchservices@upei.ca or, for CHCR, kcduffy@upei.ca 

All offices will reopen for regular operations on Friday, August 14.

We would like to invite all UPEI employees to join us for a plant and trimming exchange.

Join colleagues old and new for a casual plant and trimming exchange designed to welcome new employees, reconnect returning staff, and set the tone for a thriving year ahead. No green thumb required, just curiosity and conversation.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm in the campus Quad. Trade plants and trimmings with other staff and faculty, finally re-pot that office plant that is outgrowing its container, or offer slips and cuttings to folks looking to spruce up their office spaces!

Please bring what supplies you can, and even better if you have enough to share. Let us take care of our office greenery while enjoying a little visit with our coworkers.

What to Bring:

• Plant cuttings, slips, or trimmings to share or swap
• Your own pots or containers for repotting plants
• Seeds to swap (optional)
• A blanket or lawn chair if you'd like to sit and visit outdoors

We will have some cups and potting soil available. 

Rain location: McMillan Hall.

The Doctor of Psychology program invites all to attend the public presentation of Brenna Bagnell's dissertation defence titled "An Exploration of Relationship Doubts and Sexual Well-Being Among Couples."

When: August 17, 2026, 10:30 am
Where: Memorial Hall, Room 104

Please join us in supporting Brenna on this momentous occasion!

The Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) is offering a one-hour onboarding session for new and newer sessional instructors.

This session is an opportunity to learn about the resources, services, and teaching supports available to you at UPEI, including

• Instructional design support and professional development opportunities offered through the TLC
• A brief introduction to Moodle, UPEI’s Learning Management System
• The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and their application in post-secondary teaching
• Key elements of an effective and learner-centred course syllabus

Whether you're new to teaching at UPEI or simply looking to reconnect with available supports, this session will provide helpful information and practical resources to support your teaching. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at TLC@upei.ca. We look forward to welcoming you.

RSVP here

Add this Session to your Outlook Calendar

The deadline for Animal Care Protocol Submissions (new, renewal, or amendment) is Friday, September 4 for the September meeting. 

Please note that as of June 1, 2020 all animal user protocols must be submitted through UPEI Researcher Portal at https://upei.researchservicesoffice.com/Romeo.Researcher/

For new protocols select ‘applications’ and for renewal or amendment protocols select ‘events’.

To view any UPEI ACC SOPs and Codes of Practice, they can be accessed through myUPEI at https://portal.upei.ca/facultystaff/administrativeservices/AVCAnimalCare/Pages/default.aspx. 

Those protocols received after the deadline will be reviewed the following month.  The Committee requires at least one month for processing applications.

The Master of Arts in Island Studies program invites you to a thesis defence by Daria (Dasha) Kass entitled “What the Watershed Records: Social-Ecological Profiles on Prince Edward Island, 1960–2020.” Please join in person or on Teams (email brinklow@upei.ca for the Teams link). Everyone is welcome!

On Thursday, August 13, the offices for the following teams will be closed as all staff participate in an offsite training day:

• Research Services
• Research Partnerships and Innovation (RPI)
• Faculty of Graduate Studies
• Centre for Health and Community Research (CHCR)

For urgent matters during the closure, please contact: researchservices@upei.ca or, for CHCR, kcduffy@upei.ca 

All offices will reopen for regular operations on Friday, August 14.

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.

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. 

We would like to invite all UPEI employees to join us for a plant and trimming exchange.

Join colleagues old and new for a casual plant and trimming exchange designed to welcome new employees, reconnect returning staff, and set the tone for a thriving year ahead. No green thumb required, just curiosity and conversation.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm in the campus Quad. Trade plants and trimmings with other staff and faculty, finally re-pot that office plant that is outgrowing its container, or offer slips and cuttings to folks looking to spruce up their office spaces!

Please bring what supplies you can, and even better if you have enough to share. Let us take care of our office greenery while enjoying a little visit with our coworkers.

What to Bring:

• Plant cuttings, slips, or trimmings to share or swap
• Your own pots or containers for repotting plants
• Seeds to swap (optional)
• A blanket or lawn chair if you'd like to sit and visit outdoors

We will have some cups and potting soil available. 

Rain location: McMillan Hall.

Lifelong learning starts here!

The new UPEI Alumni Access program replaces the former Alumni Premiere program and gives UPEI graduates continued access to a rich collection of library resources and services to support professional development, research, continuing education, and personal enrichment.

Through the program, alumni can explore 94 licensed databases across a wide range of disciplines, with access to scholarly journals, articles, and research tools. They can also make use of a librarian-curated collection of open access resources, expanding their access to trusted information from around the world.

Whether you are building your career, pursuing a new interest, conducting independent research, or simply staying informed, the Alumni Access program helps you remain connected to the resources and expertise that support life-long learning.

Discover how the new Alumni Access program can help you continue learning, exploring, and growing long after graduation!

The Doctor of Psychology program invites all to attend the public presentation of Ashlee Morrell's dissertation defence titled "Community as Hope and Harm: Group-Level Coping, Inequity, and Physical Health After General and Identity-Based Childhood Adversity in 2SLGBTQ+ Adults."

When: August 18, 2026, 2:00 pm
Where: Memorial Hall, Room 104

Please join us in supporting Ashlee on this momentous occasion!

The Doctor of Psychology Program invites all to attend the public presentation of Delrae Fawcett's Dissertation Defense titled:  "Beyond Food: A Relational and Embodied Framework of Eating Disorders" 

Date and Time: August 11, 2026 at 11:30am
Location: Memorial Hall, Room 104

Please join us in supporting Delrae on this momentous occasion!

The deadline for Animal Care Protocol Submissions (new, renewal, or amendment) is Friday, September 4 for the September meeting. 

Please note that as of June 1, 2020 all animal user protocols must be submitted through UPEI Researcher Portal at https://upei.researchservicesoffice.com/Romeo.Researcher/

For new protocols select ‘applications’ and for renewal or amendment protocols select ‘events’.

To view any UPEI ACC SOPs and Codes of Practice, they can be accessed through myUPEI at https://portal.upei.ca/facultystaff/administrativeservices/AVCAnimalCare/Pages/default.aspx. 

Those protocols received after the deadline will be reviewed the following month.  The Committee requires at least one month for processing applications.

The Department of Physics is once again hosting public viewings of the sun using our solar telescopes this summer. We invite you to join us on Friday, August 7, from 12:30-2:00 pm on the grassy area between Memorial Hall and Robertson Library. There you can view one layer of the sun's atmosphere (the chromosphere) through our ground-based telescope before climbing to the observatory and viewing another layer (the photosphere) through a different telescope. You'll get to see sunspots and prominences and learn about our nearest star.

If the weather is too cloudy on Friday, we will have to cancel this event, but we will be holding additional events later in the summer.

Check our website after 9:30 am on Friday for the status of the event.

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.

We would like to invite all UPEI employees to join us for a plant and trimming exchange.

Join colleagues old and new for a casual plant and trimming exchange designed to welcome new employees, reconnect returning staff, and set the tone for a thriving year ahead. No green thumb required, just curiosity and conversation.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm in the campus Quad. Trade plants and trimmings with other staff and faculty, finally re-pot that office plant that is outgrowing its container, or offer slips and cuttings to folks looking to spruce up their office spaces!

Please bring what supplies you can, and even better if you have enough to share. Let us take care of our office greenery while enjoying a little visit with our coworkers.

What to Bring:

• Plant cuttings, slips, or trimmings to share or swap
• Your own pots or containers for repotting plants
• Seeds to swap (optional)
• A blanket or lawn chair if you'd like to sit and visit outdoors

We will have some cups and potting soil available. 

Rain location: McMillan Hall.

The Doctor of Psychology program invites all to attend the public presentation of Ashlee Morrell's dissertation defence titled "Community as Hope and Harm: Group-Level Coping, Inequity, and Physical Health After General and Identity-Based Childhood Adversity in 2SLGBTQ+ Adults."

When: August 18, 2026, 2:00 pm
Where: Memorial Hall, Room 104

Please join us in supporting Ashlee on this momentous occasion!

The Doctor of Psychology Program invites all to attend the public presentation of Delrae Fawcett's Dissertation Defense titled:  "Beyond Food: A Relational and Embodied Framework of Eating Disorders" 

Date and Time: August 11, 2026 at 11:30am
Location: Memorial Hall, Room 104

Please join us in supporting Delrae on this momentous occasion!