President's Statement on the passing of Ralph Manning
UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz issued the following statement today about Ralph Manning, chief physiotherapist for the University's varsity athletics teams, who passed away earlier today in hospital after suffering a heart attack last Thursday:
"Our University has lost a great friend and champion.
Shortly after arriving at UPEI, I had the pleasure of meeting Ralph and over the years enjoyed our conversations. He was a very committed and dedicated individual and put UPEI and its student-athletes first, offering professional and kind service. Even when he wasn’t officially “on duty”, Ralph was either at the rink, on the pitch, at the field, or at the gym cheering on our Panthers.
On behalf of the entire UPEI community, I pass on my most sincere sympathies to Ralph’s wife, Tara, his extended family, friends, and colleagues—and to our student-athletes who felt his impact and received his care."
The UPEI Women’s Hockey game scheduled for tonight at MacLauchlan Arena versus UdeM has been cancelled and flags will be lowered to half mast in memory of Manning. UPEI Student Affairs will be offering walk-in counselling appointments all day Thursday and Friday to support student-athletes who are dealing with this tremendous loss. Appointments can also be made by calling 902-566-0488.
