Greetings from the Office of the President

The following message was issued to UPEI faculty and staff by email on June 3, 2024

Hello UPEI colleagues,  

I am honoured to assume the office of President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island today. I wanted to let you know how excited I am to join the UPEI community. It is my privilege to take us forward on the next steps in our journey. I want to thank the selection committee, everyone who participated in the selection process, and everyone who has extended such a warm welcome since I arrived on the Island. I have had the opportunity to tour the beautiful campus, and the new medical building—there are many very exciting initiatives unfolding!

The University is emerging from its own challenges in a time of global challenges that have highlighted the need for education, for respect, and for diversity. UPEI is answering that need through its scholarship, teaching, learning, and research, and through its own internally focused work on culture and process. I have been impressed with the strength and integrity of UPEI's approach to addressing its challenges and am honoured to take that work forward. 

I am passionate about higher education and the entire post-secondary sector. Developing critical thinkers, skilled knowledge users, and supporting scholarship, performance, research, and inquiry of all kinds is critical, and it's exciting. I am also passionate about inclusion, equity, diversity, and Indigenization, and believe these are all crucial components to a sustainable future. UPEI embraces the values of education in supporting people to reach their full potential: equity, inclusion, Indigenization, academic freedom, rigour, accountability, integrity, and excellence—all key to the success of post-secondary education and of communities. I am committed to excellence in all University activities, including its administration. UPEI is important to the province and country and there is no UPEI without its staff, faculty, and students—all of us. The University is situated in a beautiful province at the intersections of critical industries and resources, geographical and social relevance, and its success will have broad impacts.

A few priorities for the coming weeks will be to listen and engage with all of you, and learn more about the community, the province, and your exciting ideas and initiatives, as well as what is needed to ensure a sustainable future for all. The implementation of the UPEI Action Plan will be a top priority for the coming years; and there are ambitious goals laid out based on the extensive work already done by the entire campus community and a dedicated advisory committee. EDI, Indigenization, dignity, and respect will be key values embedded in the work to come. In the near future, we will start a strategic planning process to set the course for the next five years. Work will continue to develop the new medical program in collaboration with Health PEI and Memorial University, and we will look to continue to grow UPEI's research intensity and impact. We will continue to work with our government, college, and community partners to ensure our work is relevant, effective, and we are connected to needs, local and beyond.

I hope to spend the next several weeks meeting as many of you as possible, and continuing to get to know the campus, the city, and the province.

With very best wishes,

Wendy