All faculty members attending Convocation 2016 will need to register online on the UPEI Convocation webpage (https://www.buildagrad.ca/upeifaculty) from now through April 25, 2016, to preorder academic hoods and gowns through Gaspard Gown Service. 
The cost to rent convocation regalia is $25.00 + taxes.

Please note that the UPEI Accounting Office will be closed from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm on Friday, April 8 as employees are in training.

UPEI Research & Graduate Studies presents SPUR 2016: Summer Program for Undergraduate Research.

Undergraduate students working on a summer research project are invited to participate! Students will hear presentations by faculty members, learn about resources and be exposed to valuable information about careers in research.

WHEN: Wednesdays, May 11-August 10 (Weekly brown bag lunch sessions)
WHO: Open to UPEI students ONLY

Applicant Requirements:
1. Open to UPEI students following their first, second or third year
2. Students must register by Friday, April 22, 2016 
3. Students must attend 80% of lunch sessions to receive a $1000.00 stipend supplement.
4. No charge to participate

Program Details:
• Introductory/Orientation session will be held on Monday, May 9
• Brown bag lunch sessions will be held 12:00-1:00 pm weekly on Wednesday beginning May 11 with presentations by faculty members regarding their research careers
• Limited to 20 participants 
• Research mandatory poster symposium and reception at the conclusion of the program. Students may invite their lab partners, mentors, etc. to their presentations and to a reception following the poster symposium
• Prizes presented for the top 3 posters at the poster symposium; $500.00 grant to offset costs associated with attending an academic conference

TO REGISTER OR FOR INFO: cgallant@upei.ca
DEADLINE TO REGISTER: 4 pm on Friday, April 22, 2016 

The Atlantic Veterinary College is celebrating National Wildlife Week, April 10-16, 2016! On Wednesday, April 13, Fiep de Bie, AVC Wildlife Technician, will present “Giving Wings to Wildlife: Wildlife Care at AVC” in Lecture Theatre A at 12:30 pm. Falconer Jamie Stride will bring in two of his raptors and share information on falconry.

Raffle tickets will be available outside Lecture Theatre A from 9 am to 12:30 pm, featuring fabulous wildlife items and artwork (donated by Dr. Spencer Greenwood, Jamie Linthorne, and Jordi Seger). Wildlife cupcakes will also be available for sale. Monies raised will support renovations to the outdoor flight cage. Everyone is welcome!

This summer UPEI will be welcoming over one hundred students from around the world to our beautiful campus. These students will be here to participate in short-term intensive language camps, and enjoy summertime in PEI. Program lengths vary, and students will be here for anywhere from two weeks to four weeks. If you are interested in hosting one of these students, or would like to find out more about Homestay Host obligations and remuneration please contact Richelle Greathouse at rgreathouse@upei.ca.

Join us at Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall for our Impressions Catering Open House, doors open at 1:00pm on April 21, there will be samples, door prizes, catertrax online ordering system demo, meet & greet the catering team. Please RSVP Marc at marc.doiron@compass-canada.com.

The African Society of UPEI is organizing their annual event - African Gala 2016! The event will bring the African cultural experience to the community.

The Gala is on April 21. Doors open at 8pm.

Tickets can be bought online for $10 via the African Gala Facebook event here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1561486234161485/ or for $15 at the door.

The University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to host the Irish Ambassador to Canada, Dr. Ray Bassett, to our campus this month. President Abd-El-Aziz and Dean of Arts Kujundzic invite the entire community to a public lecture by His Excellency called:

The Northern Ireland Peace Process, up close

Monday April 11, 2016 at 12 noon
Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building

A question and answer period and post-lecture reception will follow the talk.

Ambassador Bassett was closely involved with the negotiation of the Good Friday Accord. An experienced diplomat, he has held various positions in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and over the course of his career has worked on major files such as Anglo-Irish relations, equality, and human rights and discrimination issues.

All are welcome! Céad míle fáilte!

The University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to host the Irish Ambassador to Canada, Dr. Ray Bassett, to our campus this month. President Abd-El-Aziz and Dean of Arts Kujundzic invite the entire community to a public lecture by His Excellency called:

The Northern Ireland Peace Process, up close

Monday April 11, 2016 at 12 noon
Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building

A question and answer period and post-lecture reception will follow the talk.

Ambassador Bassett was closely involved with the negotiation of the Good Friday Accord. An experienced diplomat, he has held various positions in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and over the course of his career has worked on major files such as Anglo-Irish relations, equality, and human rights and discrimination issues.

All are welcome! Céad míle fáilte!
 

The University of Prince Edward Island and TD Wealth Private Client Group would like to invite you to a panel discussion on Women & Philanthropy. This exciting session presents the findings of a TD report entitled "Time, Treasure, Talent: Canadian Women and Philanthropy" which was conducted independently by iNVESTOR ECONOMICS and provides reflections from the perspective of a unique group of female philanthropic leaders in our community.

Please join us for an insightful discussion on the findings of this groundbreaking report. Guest Panelists are Alicia Bremner, Catherine Callbeck, Kathy O’Rourke and Shauna Sullivan Curley while the featured keynote speaker and panelist is Jo-Anne Ryan, VP Philanthropic Advisory Services, TD.

Thursday, April 21, 2016
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Don and Marion McDougall Hall

Panel discussion followed by Cocktail Reception

RSVP by Thursday, April 7 to Jo-Ann Thomsen: jthomsen@upei.ca or 902 628 7984
(This is not a fundraiser. No cost to attend. Space is limited.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

With April being "Burger Love" on PEI, the GSA at UPEI has decided to go on a Burger Crawl. All students, staff, faculty, and friends are welcome to join us for any of the four dates:

Thursday April 7 at 6:30 pm 
Location: Piatto 
Burger: Bella Sirena

Wednesday April 13 at 6:30 pm 
Location: Gahan
Burger: The Hoppy John

Tuesday April 19 at 6:30 pm
Location: Terre Rouge
Burger: The Gaucho

Friday April 29 at 6:30 pm
Location: Old Triangle 
Burger: The Southern Belle

If you can make it, RSVP to gsa@upei.ca so that we can make a reservation ahead of time. 

Hope to see you all there!

SCENT blog post #9 is up and waiting your reading and comments! This one, by Jeff Noonan, is on the idea of "learning outcomes" as actually antithetical to teaching and learning, and asks us to consider what the push for such measures might mean to faculty, students, and academic freedom. Check it out at projects.upei.ca/scent

for more information, Ann Braithwaite, chair of SCENT, abraithwaite@upei.ca or Gerald Wandio, Faculty Development Office, fdo@upei.ca.

To: Department Heads, Chairs and all Account Authorities
From: Tara Judson, Comptroller
Date: April 4, 2016
Subject: Fiscal Year-End - April 30, 2016

1. Department Heads and Chairs are reminded that the University's fiscal year-end is April 30, 2016. To ensure that 2015-16 expenditures are recorded in the 2015-16 operating budget, all external requisitions (both electronic and hard copy) to be processed for purchase orders must be received by the Procurement Services office no later than 12 noon Friday, April 22, 2016. Our auditors require that goods charged to the 2015-16 budget must be both invoiced and received on or before April 30, 2016 and as such, requisitions will be reviewed for
acceptability prior to the April 22, 2016 final cut-off date. Please request your suppliers to forward their invoices to the Accounts Payable on or before May 6,2016.

2. Goods invoiced or received after April 30, 2016 will be charged to the next fiscal year (2016-17). The April 22, 2016 cut-off date will be strictly enforced, so please make your plans now for the remaining weeks of the 2015-16 fiscal year.

3. Hours worked and approved for the month of April will be charged to the 2015-16 fiscal year for students and other hourly-rate employees.

4. Project Beacon - As you are aware, effective the 2016-17 fiscal year, we will be using our new system (Colleague) and portal (myUPEI) for all purchases. Therefore, PO’s created using UIS in 2015-16, with remaining balances, will not be carried forward to 2016-17 fiscal year as in previous practice. For ongoing
commitments, a new PO will need to be issued for 2016-17. Training sessions for myUPEI will be schedule from April 18-29. Details for Registration will be released by the Project Beacon team on April 8).
Your cooperation on this matter will be appreciated by all concerned.
Thank you.