A complete list of morning graduates and afternoon graduates are available online. Eastlink TV will rebroadcast the morning ceremony on Saturday, May 16 at 10 am. The afternoon ceremony will be rebroadcast at 2:30 pm.

The University of Prince Edward Island conferred degrees, diplomas, and certificates to more than 940 graduates today, as part of Convocation 2015. Among them were the first graduating students from UPEI's Bachelor of Science (Kinesiology) program, and the first two PhDs from the Faculty of Education.

The families and friends of the Class of 2015 gathered for two ceremonies today in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, the first at 10:00 am, and the second at 2:30 pm.

UPEI Chancellor Don McDougall led both ceremonies; President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Alaa Abd-El Aziz addressed both ceremonies with words of celebration and welcome.

'As a community, we are proud of your commitment to your studies and your achievements,' said Dr. Abd-El-Aziz. 'In the spirit of community, we humbly acknowledge that you have not come to this point on your own. Look around and find your family, friends, teachers, and mentors who have encouraged and supported you along your journey. On behalf of the UPEI community, including more than 23,000 alumni around the world, congratulations.'

The University also conferred honorary Doctor of Laws degrees to four recipients: The Honourable Catherine Callbeck, senator and former premier; Lennie Gallant, a multiple award-winning singer-songwriter; Patricia Mella, a former MLA, leader of the Official Opposition, and Provincial Treasurer; and, Father Charlie Cheverie, beloved pastor, member of the Queens County Fiddlers, retired professor, and former UPEI chaplain. Callbeck addressed the morning convocation ceremony; Mella spoke in the afternoon.

'Don't be a bystander,' advised Callbeck to the morning convocation. She then spoke words that she first uttered in 1974 at her first political nomination meeting: 'The strength of our society rests on the willingness and the ability of its citizens to share in the decisions which affect it.
Mella, speaking to the afternoon ceremony, welcomed the graduates into a group of alumni from UPEI and its predecessor institutions: Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan's University. 'You are joining men and women who live and work in all corners of the globe. You will be our ambassadors; you are our marketing team. Be proud of your own accomplishments, and be proud of your alma mater.

Ryan McCarvill of Kensington, who graduated with his Bachelor of Business Administration, was valedictorian of the morning convocation ceremony. Derrick Biso of Charlottetown, who earned his Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), addressed the afternoon convocation.

UPEI held its annual Senior Class Awards at a ceremony the day before, where a number of academic and student prizes were awarded. The complete list will be posted in the coming days at upei.ca/seniorclassawards. The Governor General's Academic Medals were presented during convocation ceremonies by the Honourable H. Frank Lewis, Lieutenant Governor of PEI. The Governor General's Gold Medal (graduate level) was awarded to Brittany Jakubiec, who graduated with her Masters of Education. The Governor General's Silver Medal (undergraduate level) was awarded to Michelle Trenholme, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology.

Best wishes to all graduates!

Everyone is invited to a public talk by Summerside's Dr. Tiber F. M. Falzett on Scottish Gaelic language and culture as passed down through generations on Prince Edward Island. Hosted by the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI, the presentation is Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 7:30 pm in the UPEI Faculty Lounge of SDU Main Building.

Through oral traditions, music, songs, poetry, newspaper articles, and census returns, attendees will be taken on a journey in the life of Scottish Gaels on Prince Edward Island from their arrival on these shores to the decline and eventual disappearance of the language from everyday Island life by the close of the last century.

Excerpts of field recordings made by Dr. John Shaw for the Institute of Island Studies in 1987, as well as earlier recordings made by others, will serve as primary vehicles in our explorations. Tiber will play these Gaelic recordings, which can be easily followed with the English translations he'll provide. This small but significant collection of recordings holds tremendous potential for the homegrown linguistic and cultural renewal of these local traditions at the communal level.

Tiber has himself conducted more than a decade of fieldwork among Scottish Gaels in Cape Breton and the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles. He enjoys a good cèilidh, sharing Gaelic songs and tunes on the bagpipes. He recently completed his PhD in Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh and has now returned home to the Island, where he is now a Research Associate of the Institute of Island Studies. He looks forward to making connections with fellow Islanders interested in Scottish Gaelic in our province.

For more information, please contact Laurie Brinklow at (902) 894-2881 or brinklow@upei.ca.

Climate change, arguably the most pressing issue of our time, is most often discussed and examined from a scientific perspective. A conference hosted this month by UPEI will examine it through the focus of a humanities lens, and will seek to broaden our understanding of the ways in which climate and culture intersect. Climate Change in Culture runs May 28-31 at the Delta Charlottetown, and is generously supported by a Connection Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the PEI Department of the Environment, the University of Prince Edward Island, and the Institute of Island Studies.

Dr. Stephanie LeMenager is one of three conference plenaries. She is the Moore Endowed Professor of English and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon, co-founder of the Environmental Humanities journal, Resilience, and co-founder of the "Humanities for the Environment" workshop series. Her work on the cultural implications of climate change was recently featured in the New York Times and CBC's The Current.

Dr. Adam Fenech has worked extensively in the area of climate change since the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change First Assessment Report in 1988. He is the editor of seven books. He has represented Canada at international climate negotiating sessions and written policy and speeches for Canadian environment ministers. He has taught for more than 20 years at the University of Toronto and the Smithsonian, and is currently Director of the Climate Research Lab at UPEI.

Dr. Andrew Light is a professor and director of philosophy and public policy at George Mason University. He is currently on leave to serve as Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy on Climate Change for the U. S. Department of State. He is a member of the senior strategy team for the UN climate negotiations. He directs the U. S.-India Joint Working Group on Combatting Climate Change, and is chair of the U. S. Climate Change Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals. He is the author, co-author, and editor of 17 books.

'This conference draws together leading and emerging scholars from around the world, along with private-sector, governmental, and public policy stakeholders,' said Dr. John McIntyre, Associate Professor of English at UPEI and chair of the Climate Change in Culture conference. 'Participants include historians, political scientists, psychologists, literary critics, anthropologists as well as architects, land use planners, and private consultants. The four-day event will also showcase contributions from artists, musicians, and film-makers, thus drawing together a wide range of expertise bearing upon the cultural response to climate change.'

'UPEI is delighted to host this innovative and cross-cutting conference, one that builds on the university's current strengths in climate change research and provides new opportunities for our faculty in the humanities,' said Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies at UPEI. 'We look forward to hearing and learning from experts from around the world as they explore the interplay between climate change and the humanities.'

The conference is for registered attendees only, but community member day-passes are available for purchase at a cost of $25 at climatechangeinculture.com.

University of Prince Edward Island men's soccer coach Lewis Page is pleased to announce that Windsor Junction, Nova Scotia native Brett Strba has committed to join the Panthers for the 2015-16 season.

Strba was captain of the Lockview High School team for the past two seasons, and captain of the Suburban FC team for the past three. A key contributor to the two-time Nova Scotia provincial champion Suburban FC, Strba was also selected MVP and Heart Award winner with Lockview. A member of the Nova Scotia provincial team from U12 to U16, Strba also participated in the National Training Centre program. Brett is involved with youth development and has trained young players with the Suburban, Scotia, and Bedford Titans football clubs and during Soccer Nova Scotia camps.

Strba says, 'I was fortunate to have had interest from many universities but ultimately chose UPEI because of the smaller campus atmosphere and the opportunity to play for Coach Page. I am very excited to attend UPEI, I feel it will be a great fit for me, academically and athletically.'

'UPEI soccer is excited to have Brett join our squad,' adds Coach Page. 'He brings experience playing youth and senior soccer and a great attitude to our team. We look forward to him helping us build on our success from last season.'

Strba will be entering the Bachelor of Business Administration program.

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

Beginning this year, both new and returning UPEI students are able to register earlier for 2015-16 courses than ever before. Registration* for returning UPEI students opens in June as follows:

June 2 - fourth-year students
June 3 - third-year students
June 4 - second-year students
June 5 onward - first-year students, and registration remains open to all students

Registration can be completed via Campus Login or in person at the Registrar's Office from Monday to Friday, 8:30 am-4:00 pm. (NEW! To facilitate the transition to earlier registration dates, the $100 tuition deposit will be deferred until July 17 for current, returning students.)

Students' year of study will be updated under 'Registration Status' on their Campus Login before registration begins.

More information about early registration dates for the 2015-16 academic year can be found on the UPEI website.

New, first-year UPEI students can register for courses with the First-Year Advising office either during group sessions or individually with a first-year advisor. Contact beready@upei.ca or 902-628-4353 to schedule a time.

*Note: Some professional programs follow different registration dates. Please check with individual program for more information.

Canadian Catholic Campus Ministers host an annual lecture named for their first Episcopal Liaison, Bishop John Sherlock. The 2015 Sherlock Lecture speaker is Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ, Vatican Astronomer. The lecture will be Thursday May 28 at 7:00 pm in the Amphitheatre of UPEI's Duffy Science Centre. Admission will be by a free-will offering to support Brother Guy's work at The Vatican Observatory.

Thursday's lecture "At the Margins of the Universe: The Vatican's Astronomical Observatory" will include why the Vatican supports an observatory and how we do outreach to people on the margins who hunger to know about their place in the universe.

Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ is the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. A Jesuit brother and astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, his research is in meteorites and asteroids. He is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He received his BA and MA degrees from MIT, and earned his PhD in Planetary Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1978. Along with more than 200 scientific publications, he is the author of six popular astronomy books. In 2014 he received the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences.

UPEI's School of Nursing and Health PEI held their annual Nursing Research Day at UPEI's Don and Marion McDougall Hall on Friday, May 22, 2015. The theme of this year's conference was '21st Century Nursing: Challenges and Opportunities in Practice.' Nursing Research Day brings together practicing nurses, academic researchers, and students to hear and share the latest research from their respective fields of practice.

"I am very excited about our 2015 Nursing Research Day,' said Dr. Rosemary Herbert, Dean of UPEI's School of Nursing. 'This conference profiles nursing research and practice innovations, and brings together nurses from all settings as well as nursing students."

This year's keynotes included:

Dr. Kathleen Valentine is the Dean of Nursing at UNB. She comes to UNB from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professions where she served as associate dean for clinical affairs and community engagement. Her research focuses on the economic value of human caring, nurse managed primary care clinics, and inter-professional collaboration.

Dr. Shelley Doucet is the Jarislowsky Chair Inter-professional Patient Centred Care at the University of New Brunswick and is recognized as an emerging leader in inter-professional education and practice within Canada.

Kristen Cameron was born and raised in Charlottetown, PEI. She attended Bowdoin College where she played NCAA hockey and completed her degree in psychology. Kristen was named an All American her first year for her outstanding play. She coached one of the top hockey programs in the country at Mercyhurst University, where she served as an assistant coach. Kristen is currently working towards her goal of making the national wheelchair rugby team and representing Canada at the Paralympics. Kristen will speak about her experience as a patient.

Dr. Herbert says the 2015 Nursing Research Day couldn't have happened without the organizing committee, including Angela Carpenter, Karen Dunn, Audrey Fraser, Cheryl Gaudet, Rosemary Herbert, Dawn Inman-Flynn, Pat MacPhail-Darrach, Keri Thompson, Marla Townshend, Jessica Webster, Brenda Worth.

The University of Prince Edward Island released its 2015-16 Operating Budget today after it was approved at a meeting of the Board of Governors last night. The balanced budget, which is just under $107 million, includes a tuition increase of three per cent, keeping it among the lowest in the Maritimes, and sustains core program and services as well as UPEI's workforce.

'UPEI is so proud of the role we play in supporting student, faculty, and research success, and in contributing to the Prince Edward Island economy,' says President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'This budget strikes a balance between our University priorities and strategic investments for the future as outlined in our UPEI Strategic Plan.'

The budget plan was approved under the assumption that the provincial government's core operating grant, UPEI's single largest source of revenue, will increase by 1.6 per cent over last year's funding as the Government of PEI has not yet tabled its budget.

'We appreciate that post-secondary education continues to be a priority for the Government of PEI,' adds President Abd-El-Aziz. 'We arrived at this scenario after months of preparing for a number of possible situations, and working closely with senior government officials.'

Throughout the budget process, administrators across campus worked to minimize the impact on UPEI's most valuable resource-people-by continuing to reduce non-salary expenditures as much as possible. While the proportion of the operating budget allocated to salaries and benefits remains high at 72%, UPEI was able to sustain the workforce through vacancy management and attrition.

Anticipated flat enrolment numbers, normal inflationary effects, salary increments, pension commitments, benefit costs, heat, electricity, and deferred maintenance continue to be other cost drivers. University revenues are used to cover core-operating costs including wages, utilities, equipment replacement and supply cost increases. The principal sources of funding are the provincial government operating grant and student tuition.

Vice-President Administration and Finance Jackie Podger says, 'Though we recognize the rising costs of post-secondary education and do not want to overburden students, we did need to increase tuition rates to help counteract our significant budget pressures.'

The undergraduate tuition increase of 3 per cent represents $17 per course or $170 per year for a student taking a full course load. International student fees will also increase by 3 per cent.

UPEI Student Union President Dana Kenny says, 'While we cannot endorse a tuition increase of 3 per cent, we understand the challenges that the University faces when trying to balance the budget. We do appreciate the University putting the interests of students first and keeping fee increases to a minimum, but it is the continued opinion of the UPEI Student Union that annual increases to tuition be indexed to the Consumer Price Index.'

The operating budget does not include research funds, which are budgeted separately on a project-by-project basis but does include the budget of departments that provide support to research. Capital projects, such as the construction of the new School of Sustainable Design Engineering, are also budgeted on a project-by-project basis and reported within the capital assets fund.

UPEI's 2015-16 Operating Budget is posted online at upei.ca/publications.

The Department of Athletics and Recreation is inviting applications for the position of head coach for the UPEI Women's Basketball team as Mark English has accepted a position in St. John's, N.L.

Director of Athletics and Recreation Chris Huggan accepted English's resignation earlier this week.

'It's disappointing to lose Mark, especially after a great season that saw the Women's Basketball team achieve so much under his leadership,' says Huggan. 'But the opportunity to move back to his home province of Newfoundland presented itself, so we all wish him well.'

'I am confident we will find a candidate who will build on our recent success and inspire the Panthers to have another great year.'

The head coach position is full-time and responsible for building a competitive women's basketball program at the University of Prince Edward Island. The competition closes Friday, June 5.

Job posting on UPEI website

Beginning this year, both new and returning UPEI students are able to register earlier for 2015-16 courses than ever before. Registration* for returning UPEI students opens in June as follows:

June 2 - fourth-year students
June 3 - third-year students
June 4 - second-year students
June 5 onward - first-year students, and registration remains open to all students

Registration can be completed via Campus Login or in person at the Registrar's Office from Monday to Friday, 8:30 am-4:00 pm. (NEW! To facilitate the transition to earlier registration dates, the $100 tuition deposit will be deferred until July 17 for current, returning students.)

Students' year of study will be updated under 'Registration Status' on their Campus Login before registration begins.

More information about early registration dates for the 2015-16 academic year can be found on the UPEI website.

New, first-year UPEI students can register for courses with the First-Year Advising office either during group sessions or individually with a first-year advisor. Contact beready@upei.ca or 902-628-4353 to schedule a time.

*Note: Some professional programs follow different registration dates. Please check with individual program for more information.