The UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of January 19-25 are Darcy Zinck, Women's Basketball, and Mason Wilgosh, Men's Hockey. UPEI Athletics and Recreation showcases talented athletes on a weekly basis to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who: Darcy Zinck, Women's Basketball; and Mason Wilgosh, Men's Hockey

What: UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of January 19-25

Where: University of Prince Edward Island

Why: Zinck, a fourth-year Bachelor of Arts student from Halifax, Nova Scotia, had a dominant game on Friday night in the Panthers 60-40 win over the previously unbeaten Saint Mary's Huskies. Zinck had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 4 steals. On Saturday night, the 5'8' guard recorded 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal during the Panthers 57-49 win over the UNB Reds.

Wilgosh, a third-year Bachelor of Arts student from Winnipeg, Manitoba, scored two goals, including the game winner, in a 3-1 Panther win over the Saint Mary's Huskies on Saturday night. Saturday's win was a character effort led by team captain Wilgosh especially after Friday's penalty-filled, 5-1 loss to St. FX that resulted in the suspension of UPEI coach Forbes MacPherson.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

UPEI's Executive MBA program is pleased to announce that it will be offering a one-time special focus on public sector management targeted at provincial, federal and municipal public sector employees. This special focus offering will only be available for the upcoming program intake in September 2015.

Students who opt for the new public sector focus will take eight core courses in fundamental management topics and four specialization courses, including courses in Innovative Management in the Public Sector, Innovative Culture and Leadership, Public Policy, and Business and Government. In addition, each student will complete a signature project and be encouraged to pursue a topic in an area of public sector management.

The UPEI Executive MBA Program Office has been working with its counterparts in the provincial, federal, and municipal governments and has identified the need for new management education initiatives that are specifically targeted for the public sector. This new public sector focus has been tailored to address the changing needs of today's professional public servant.

'This new offering provides a fantastic opportunity for public sector managers looking for a public sector focus while simultaneously getting a full MBA experience,' said Dr. Don Wagner, director of UPEI's EMBA program.

'There are no existing options at the graduate level for public sector management on PEI, and we see this as a real opportunity to provide public servants with this focus,' said Dr. Susan Graham, coordinator of the UPEI Public Administration program since 2007. 'Management in the public sector presents challenges that differ from the private sector, and I believe that the public service would benefit from a curriculum that has a specific focus on public sector environments.'

Information sessions will be held in the coming weeks for public servants at the provincial, federal, and municipal levels.
Launched in September 2008, the UPEI Executive MBA program provides a unique opportunity for working professionals to advance their education while continuing to work. The UPEI EMBA program is a recognized pioneer in evidence-based management (EBMgt), teaching students how to use research findings to make more informed decisions.

For more information on the public sector management focus, or UPEI's executive MBA program, contact the Executive MBA Coordinator, Grace McCourt, at (902) 566-6474 or mba@upei.ca.

Not that long ago, novelist Craig Davidson, author of Cataract City, completed UNB's graduate program in creative writing and published his first book of stories, Rust and Bone (2005). Since then, this high-energy writer has been short-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize for fiction and seen the film version of a Rust and Bone story premier at the Cannes Film Festival. With imaginative drive similar to that of his admirer Stephen King, Davidson has published three literary novels and five novels in the horror genre under the pseudonyms Nick Cutter and Patrick Lestewka.

Davidson will read from his fiction on Thursday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Confederation Centre Art Gallery. His reading is sponsored by the UPEI English Department with support from The Canada Council for the Arts. A book signing will follow.

While he rapidly became a favourite of horror fiction fans, Davidson's literary writing gained the public's attention with the success of the French film Rust and Bone (De Rouille et D'os) at Cannes in 2012. The Giller nomination for Cataract City raised his profile, but the novel's artistic excellence and strong narrative appeal for readers are primarily responsible for his emergence in the literary limelight.

Clive Barker, the popular fantasy and horror author and film director, writes 'There is a strikingly original tone to Mr. Davidson's stories. The prose is spare yet elegant, the insights are fresh and real, and best of all there is a boundless humanity...a love of life that is beautifully woven with an acute sense of its darkness.'

Davidson says on his website that he 'has written a few books... about boxing and dog fights and zombies and werewolves and lunatic prison inmates... and vampires and sex addicts.... Not all in the same book, mind you.'

Davidson will bring his potent blend - as Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club writes - of 'comedy and horror, cruelty and mercy' to the Island. 'Stay a spell,' writes Davidson on his website. You will be spellbound.

Research on Tap returns for its sixth season of public discussion, debate, and ideas presented by researchers from the University of Prince Edward Island. Join our next conversation on Monday, February 2 at 7:00 pm at the Haviland Club in Charlottetown. Dr. John McIntyre, an associate professor in the department of English, will lead a discussion entitled: Beyond Flanders Fields: Representing the Great War in Literature and Culture

The 2014-2015 season of Research on Tap is presented in cooperation with the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), Atlantic Chapter. The RSC is Canada's national academy and is the senior national body of distinguished scholars, artists, and scientists.

Research on Tap meets the first Monday of every month from October to April. The full schedule of speakers can be found at upei.ca/research/research-on-tap

The University of Prince Edward Island's Board of Governors recently accepted the recommendation of the search committee for the Dean of Science. Interim Dean Dr. Debbie MacLellan was successfully appointed.

'I look forward to continuing to work with Debbie on a number of initiatives that will enhance the overall student experience in the Faculty of Science,' said Vice-President Academic Christian Lacroix. 'Our University community as a whole will benefit from her experience as a faculty member, decorated professional, and researcher.'

In 2005, Dr. MacLellan received her PhD in Human Nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan. She holds a MSc (Nutrition) from University of Alberta and her BSc (Home Economics) from UPEI. She came back to UPEI in 1990 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Nutritional Sciences before becoming Associate Professor in 1998, and Professor in 2007.

Dr. MacLellan is also Adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University and serves as Graduate Faculty, supervisory status for the Master of Science at UPEI, and co-supervisory status for the Master of Education at UPEI. She has been Interim Dean of Science since July 2012.

A Registered Dietitian, Dr. MacLellan has been extremely involved in her profession, chairing the Board of Directors and serving on a number of national committees for the Dietitians of Canada. Her research is extensive and includes a variety of topics but recently has focused on the dietetic practice and policy development for elementary school nutrition.

In 2014, Dr. MacLellan received the Centennial Alumni of Influence award from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan and the Presidential Recognition Award of Merit for Teaching at UPEI.

'On behalf of the University community, I congratulate Debbie on her appointment as Dean,' said President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'The Faculty of Science, under her leadership, is poised to further distinguish itself and excel at providing students with experiential learning, research, and service opportunities. I thank the Vice-President Academic and other members of the University community for their dedication in serving on the search committee for the Dean of Science.'

She will begin her new role for a six-year term effective March 1, 2015.

Congratulations, Dr. MacLellan!

The University of Prince Edward Island's Board of Governors recently accepted the recommendation of the search committee for the Dean of the Atlantic Veterinary College. Dr. Greg Keefe was successfully appointed.

'On behalf of the University, I congratulate Greg on his appointment as Dean,' says President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'UPEI will certainly benefit from his leadership ability and his longtime service to AVC and to the broader community. I thank the Vice-President Academic and other members for their serving on the Search Committee.'

'I look forward to working with Greg as the AVC embarks on a period of increased funding stability with the recent signing of a 10-year interprovincial funding agreement,' adds Vice-President Academic Christian Lacroix. 'There are a number of initiatives that, under Greg's leadership, will be advanced to enhance the College's teaching, research, and service excellence.'

Dr. Keefe holds a Master of Business Administration, specializing in Agriculture, and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph; and a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Prince Edward Island.

After contract positions at AVC and the Ontario Veterinary College, Dr. Keefe returned to UPEI as a tenure-track associate professor in 1996 and was awarded accelerated tenure in 2000, becoming a full professor in 2005.

Widely published, Dr. Keefe's areas of research expertise include milk quality and mastitis, dairy production medicine, infectious disease epidemiology and Johne's Disease. He is an Innovation PEI Industry Chair and as Director of Maritime Quality Milk (MQM), he has grown the research and service program into one of the leading dairy health centres in Canada. In addition to farm-focused research activity, MQM develops and evaluates new animal health technologies and offers productivity and disease surveillance services to the industry, improving raw milk quality at the farm gate and decreasing health costs.

The University is very grateful to Dr. Dan Hurnik for his leadership and commitment while serving as Interim Dean over the past year.

Dr. Keefe will begin his new role for a six-year term effective March 1, 2015.

Congratulations, Dr. Keefe.

The University of Prince Edward Island Women's Hockey Panthers have received commitments from two recruits for the 2015 season.

Coach Bruce Donaldson announced today that he has signed Ashtyn Bartlett and Andie Boeckman.

Bartlett is an honours student at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The Durham Bridge, New Brunswick native started her hockey career at age five with the Stanley Bulldogs organization and has lived for the game ever since. Team Captain of the Bobcats, Bartlett is having a very strong start to her season, scoring nine goals and earning nine assists to date. Her team is currently in first place in the Lakes Region Prep school division. Bartlett earned a coveted spot on the All Tournament Team at the New England prep school Cushing Tournament in Ashburnham, Mass in December.

Bartlett comments, 'I'm thrilled to be returning to Canada to attend a first rate university like UPEI and play with a hockey team that will develop and become a top AUS contender'.

'Ashtyn will be a big addition to our program', says Coach Donaldson, 'She is gifted offensively and is presently playing in the US with Brewster Academy. Current Panther Jessie Howard played at Brewster as well. It's a strong program in a very competitive league. Ashtyn is a team leader who has great hands, see's the ice well, and is very creative in her playmaking skills'.

Bartlett is enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program and plans to earn her Bachelor of Education degree.

Coach Donaldson is excited to also add Andie Boeckman, a forward from The Edge Hockey Academy in Calgary. 'Andie will be great for our program-she brings a strong skill level and will add size, speed and offensive talent to our lineup.' The Edge program plays in Western Canada's Junior Women's Hockey League (JWHL), one of the most competitive leagues in the country.

For Boeckman, a move to Cochrane, Alberta in 2007 gave her the opportunity to make the jump from male to female hockey. 'I then played on my local female team until getting the chance to play on a bantam AAA team out of High River-the Rocky Mountain Raiders, ' she says. 'After winning the Alberta provincials with them, I was given the chance to play with the Edge School in my grade 10 year.'

She added about her decision to play for UPEI, 'All my life as a hockey player I have been working hard to see where hockey would take me, and I can't think of a better place to have ended up, it's the accomplishment of past goals, and the beginning of new ones. I cannot wait to start my life at the University of Prince Edward Island'. Boeckman is enrolled in the Bachelor of Science program.

The Panthers are in the hunt for a playoff position with three games remaining in the AUS regular season schedule.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

The UPEI Music Department's "Dr. Frances Gray Music Performance Competition Finals" were recently held at the Dr. Steel Recital Hall. The six music students chosen from the preliminary round to perform in the finals were: Rebecca Apps, soprano; Jillian Clow, mezzo soprano; Leah Inman, piano; Lucas MacPhail, alto saxophone; Kailey Norris, clarinet; and Hannah Rollwage, mezzo soprano.

After an exciting evening of performances, the judges' decision was announced by Dr. Karem Simon, coordinator of the 2015 competition and Dr. Andrew Zinck, Department Chair. Soprano Rebecca Apps was named the winner, while pianist Leah Inman came in second place and saxophonist Lucas MacPhail in third.

Originally from St. Catharine's, Ontario, Rebecca Apps is currently in her final year of the Bachelor of Music program at UPEI, majoring in voice under the tutelage of Professor Sung Ha Shin-Bouey. She holds a Diploma in Musical Theatre Performance from St. Lawrence College (2010).

Rebecca has been a featured soloist with the UPEI Concert Choir, the UPEI Chamber Ensemble, the UPEI Jazz Ensemble, the Kirk of St. James Senior Choir, and the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble. Rebecca's master-class experience has allowed her to work with some of Canada's top classical musicians. Her hard work and dedication to the craft have led her to numerous competitive opportunities, including the CFMTA National Voice Competition (2013), the Atlantic Young Artist Tour Competition (2014) and the UPEI Music Performance Competition.

Congratulations to all finalists and winners!

UPEI Athletics and Recreation has scheduled the eighth annual Shoot for the Cure fundraiser for Friday, February 6 with a series of activities leading up to, and during, the UPEI women's basketball game starting at 6:00 pm versus the Acadia Axewomen.

Shoot for the Cure is a fundraising initiative by the CIS Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) and other related charities.

The women's basketball team is honoured to have breast cancer survivor Marg Connolly, a long-time booster of the UPEI Green and White basketball club along with other members of the Connolly family, participate in the game's ceremonial tip-off.

Connolly says, 'I am thrilled to have been singled out for this great honour. It is through initiatives like this student-athlete fundraiser that we are paving the way toward a cure for breast cancer. I encourage all Islanders to visit the donor website and help the UPEI Panthers achieve success with this campaign.'

The entire Panther team is involved in the local fundraising effort, with a committee led by student-athlete Danielle MacDonald. The campaign goal has been set at $6,000 and will be achieved through the sale of Shoot for the Cure t-shirts and paper icons, a bake sale, a 50/50, ‘chuck a puck', and a ‘Gofund' donation webpage. In addition, the men's and women's hockey teams are showing their support once again by hosting 'Pink at the Rink' nights at home games. The women's hockey Panthers host Université de Moncton on Wednesday, February 4, while the men's team host CIS number-two ranked UNB on Friday, February 6.

The national campaign has been an overwhelming success since it was launched in the fall of 2007, raising over $760,000 in donations. This season, for the fourth year in row, all 47 CIS women's basketball schools are participating.

At the 2014 CIS championship in Windsor last March, the WBCA presented a cheque for $112,898 to the CBCF while an additional $25,463 was collected by universities that donated their raised funds to local or provincial organizations. The overall Shoot for the Cure total of $138,361 in 2013-14 made it the most successful edition to date. Overall donations since 2007 now stand at $761,309, including $633,304 to CBCF.

Everyone is encouraged and welcome to attend.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
  
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
  
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
  
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
  
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

The UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of January 26-February 1 are Kiera Rigby, Women's Basketball, and Ellis Ffrench, Men's Basketball. UPEI Athletics and Recreation showcases these talented athletes to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who: Kiera Rigby, Women's Basketball, and Ellis Ffrench, Men's Basketball

What: UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of January 26-February 1

Where: University of Prince Edward Island

Why: Rigby, a second-year Bachelor of Science student from Charlottetown, PEI, had a great weekend for the Panthers. The 5'11' forward had a breakout game in Saturday's 69-67 win over Cape Breton finishing with 14 points, 5 rebounds and scoring the game winning basketball with under 45 seconds remaining in the game. During Friday's 66-60 loss to Cape Breton, Rigby had 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Ffrench, a fifth-year student from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, was pivotal in both Panther games this weekend. In Friday's 98-85 loss to Cape Breton, Ffrench recorded 12 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. On Saturday, with his team battling injuries and sickness, Ffrench led the way with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists , and 1 steal while playing all 40 minutes, only committing 1 turnover and going 154/16 from the foul line.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation

• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas