The University of Prince Edward Island announced the creation of a new position today: Vice-President Student Affairs. This role enhances relationships between the departments and areas that serve and support students, ensuring that a dedicated voice supporting positive student experience operates directly within the senior management team.

Dr. Wendy Carroll, currently Associate Professor in the School of Business and Faculty Director of the MBA program, has agreed to accept the position of Vice-President Student Affairs on an interim basis, commencing immediately, while a formal search process gets underway.

Students see the new role as a positive move and in keeping with the structure of most other Canadian universities. UPEI Student Union President Rob Livingstone said, 'It is very encouraging to see UPEI create this position-it clearly shows that senior administration understands that a quality experience for students contributes to the successful operation of the University. This is something we have been hoping for a long time now and we are glad to see it implemented.'

Reporting to the President and working collaboratively with the Vice-Presidents and Deans, this new Vice-President will lead a portfolio encompassing: the Registrar's Office, Athletics and Recreation, Student Services, and the Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning. Strategic planning in relation to improving the overall quality of the student experience throughout the entire student life cycle i.e. recruitment, retention through to graduation and beyond, will be the immediate priority.

The Office of the Vice-President Student Affairs will be located in Student Services in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre.

Five business students recently took part in the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) hosted at Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario. UPEI brought an ethics team and a business policy team to compete in Canada's premier undergraduate business case competition.

The ethics team, consisting of Duncan Sturz and Kathleen Van Ekris, were awarded second place, while the business policy team, consisting of Alana McKie, Becky Arnold, and Janell MacDonald, were finalists. The competition's preliminary round brought together 165 submissions from 38 universities across Canada and around the world in eight divisions including: accounting, business policy, debate, ethics, finance, HR, marketing, and management information systems.

Sturz enjoyed preparing for and competing in the competition, 'It's been an excellent learning, networking, and team-building experience,' he said. 'And although the UPEI School of Business is small relative to most universities who attended the competition, I can confidently say I felt no disadvantage representing our ambitious Island university.'Sturz' teammate Van Ekris agreed, 'It was a lot of hard work but it was nice to be able to show that such a small school can still perform on a national scale.'

This was UPEI's first year applying to the competition and the case team was delighted to have two preliminary round submissions selected to compete in the competition's final round. Alan Duncan, dean of UPEI's School of Business was thrilled to learn of the students' success. 'Their motivation and dedication highlights the benefits of hard work.' Professor Duncan also believes the win reflects UPEI's ability to successfully compete against other universities, regardless of their size. He added, 'These results, coming from this environment, continue to illustrate the unique benefits that UPEI provides. These students make all of UPEI proud of the experiences we share.'

More information on the I.C.B.C. competition

UPEI Faculty supervisor: Edward Gamble, Assistant Professor, UPEI School of Business

UPEI advisors: Kyle Smith and Ashley Adams

Finalist teams in ethics: Concordia University, Dalhousie University, Okanagan College, Saint Mary's University, University of Calgary, and UPEI

Finalist teams in business policy: Concordia University, Okanagan College, Queensland University of Technology (Australia), University of British Columbia, UPEI, and the University of Regina

For more information: http://icbconline.ca/

The Canada-Wide Science Fair is coming to Prince Edward Island this year for the first time ever! UPEI will host CWSF 2012 from May 13 to 18.

The Host Committee is planning a Community Launch for the fair with an opportunity to sign up as a volunteer. Information about the CWSF and volunteer roles will be presented, as well as fun activities. This will take place from 4-6 pm on Thursday, January 19, at the Atlantic Veterinary College McCain Foundation Learning Commons.

UPEI will be celebrating its fourth annual Diversity Week, January 23-27, with all events open to the public. The 2012 theme will be 'Celebrate, Educate, Motivate' with an aim to celebrate the rich diversity at UPEI, further educate and motivate the public about diversity, and personal promotion of inclusion.

The UPEI men's soccer team is pleased to present its second annual dinner and roast on Friday, March 2. Bruce Norton will be the featured guest/‘roastee.'

The event is hosted by the UPEI Friends of Men's Soccer, a group representing alumni, members of the soccer community, and PEI soccer supporters.

Dr. Michael van den Heuvel, UPEI's Canada Research Chair in Watershed Ecological Integrity, has been awarded funding by the Canadian Water Network (CWN) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to construct a long-term monitoring program in the watersheds in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, including the Northumberland Strait.

Dr. van den Heuvel will lead a team of researchers across five universities and government departments to develop a program that measures how land-use affects the overall health of the species and estuaries within the Southern Gulf.

'We'll focus on two key sources of stress related to land-use: nutrients and sediments' said Dr. van den Heuvel. 'And we'll determine how to best monitor how these things affect the fish, invertebrates and vegetation in the waters of the southern gulf.'

Dr. van den Heuvel's team--made up of researchers at the Universities of New Brunswick and Québec, as well as DFO and Agriculture Canada--has three years in which to establish the science behind this monitoring program. As they work, he says they must bear in mind several important factors.

'We're creating a monitoring program that will continue once our initial three-year project is finished,' he said. 'We have to consider who is going to take on this monitoring work, how much it's going to cost, and who will bear that cost. So we have to balance our need to have stable, long-term data with practical issues to ensure that the monitoring framework is sustainable.'

The project proposal, titled 'Towards a regional monitoring framework for cumulative impacts assessment in the Northumberland Strait: Linking land-use stressor loads and nearshore biological integrity,' was one of just four selected nationally by the CWN and a consortium of stakeholders within the region, with money also being contributed by DFO.

'Dr. van den Heuvel's work will collect data that will be available to anyone concerned with the health of life in the Northumberland Strait,' said Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI's Vice-President of Research. 'Once we understand how what we do on land impacts life in the water, researchers such as Dr. van den Heuvel can address any issues they uncover.'

CWN's $2.1 million investment in projects such as this one, allows university research groups to create environmental frameworks to support cumulative effects assessments in watersheds. This focus creates standardizing approaches nationally to monitor watersheds where multiple uses and activities affect conditions.

The UPEI Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, will feature an encore performance of 'The Lord of the Rings' on Sunday, February 5 at 3:00 pm in the Homburg Theatre at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. As UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall was filled to capacity for the December 1 concert, this additional performance will hopefully satisfy the demand of those unable to take in the initial recital. Moreover, the opportunity to hear the Wind Symphony in the Homburg Theatre, an excellent concert hall, will make for an enhanced experience for audience members.

Dutch composer Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 'The Lord of the Rings' is based on the trilogy of that name by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has fascinated many millions of readers since its publication in 1955. The symphony consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book. The movements include Gandalf (The Wizard), Lothlórien (The Elvenwood), Gollum (Sméagol), Journey in the Dark, and Hobbits. The symphony was written in the period between March 1984 and December 1987 and has garnered many awards.

This special performance in the Homburg Theatre is done collaboratively with the PEI Intermediate Honours Band. Since 1992, a select group of school band students has met for an intensive weekend of rehearsals under the direction of an acclaimed conductor to advance and enrich their music making. This year's Honours Band consists of 130 instrumentalists, under the direction of Maestro Rowan Fitzgerald.

Comprised mostly of UPEI music majors, the Wind Symphony has been critically acclaimed for its performance standard and innovative programming. During the past 13 years, the Wind Symphony has produced an annual compact disc featuring selected repertoire from each year's performances. Its 2010 compact disc, 'Cathedrals,' received the Music PEI Award for best classical recording. In the spring of 2011, 'Freebirds,' was released to much praise. Each year, the Wind Symphony tours selected areas of the region to provide its membership with additional performance experiences and share its music with a wider audience. During the fall semester, performances of 'The Lord of the Rings' in Nova Scotia and PEI were met with enthusiastic response from audiences.

The public is cordially invited to attend this additional performance. Tickets for 'The Lord of the Rings' ($10 adults, $5 students) may be purchased at the Confederation Centre Box Office.

The UPEI men's hockey team will play their final season game at Credit Union Place in Summerside, as part of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada. The Panthers will face the St. Thomas Tommies on February 11 at 2 pm.

UPEI Director of Athletics and Recreation Ron Annear arranged for a venue change after approaching Atlantic University Sport, and his counterpart at St. Thomas University.'The local organizing committee approached us to be a part of the programming for Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada events, and it was too great an opportunity to pass up. It allows us to bring Panther hockey to Summerside, engage our alumni in Prince County, as well as be a part of a national celebration of Canada's favourite past-time.'

This marks the first time in the 12-year history of the CBC event that it will be held in PEI. Hosting of the event is a local partnership between the province of PEI, cities of Charlottetown and Summerside, and Hockey PEI. A volunteer committee is coordinating events that begin February 8. The week will culminate in a day-long hockey celebration on February 11 that will feature Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, CBC Hockey Night in Canada personalities, broadcasting the Panther match-up, a PEI Rocket game, as well as a Summerside Western Capitals game, live from the country's smallest province.

All UPEI season ticket holders will be admitted to the UPEI game, sponsored by Cavendish Farms, upon presentation of their pass.

UPEI will be sending two buses to the game in Summerside. A bus sponsored by Student Services will be available for UPEI students. Students can reserve a seat and a game ticket at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre front desk. There are an additional 45 free student tickets available which also must be claimed at the front desk. UPEI will also be providing complimentary transportation for season ticket holders and the general public. To confirm a seat on this bus, please email heartz@upei.ca on or before Tuesday, February 7.

Tickets are available at Eastlink Arena in Summerside (902) 432-1234 or online at www.tickets.summerside.ca.

Both the UPEI basketball and hockey teams will be hosting 'alumni nights' on January 28, 2012. The events will welcome former Panthers and recognize athletes, coaches, and others who have added to the history of sport at UPEI.

The UPEI women's and men's basketball teams will host a double header against the Memorial University Seahawks at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, respectively, in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre. There will be a special ceremony immediately following the women's game to introduce a new UPEI sports recognition program, which will honour former athletes, coaches, and builders who have contributed to UPEI basketball. These individuals will also qualify for future UPEI Sports Hall of Fame consideration. Andy Packard, former Panther athlete, will be recognized at this ceremony for his tremendous basketball accomplishments from 1971-74.

All alumni are also welcome to attend a reception that will take place between games in the upper lobby of the Sports Centre.

That same night, the UPEI men's hockey team will host 'Alumni Green & White Night.' All former UPEI, SDU, and PWC hockey players are invited to take part in an alumni hockey game at 4:00 pm. Former UPEI hockey team captains, Ron Carragher and K.J. White, will be organizing the teams; to join a team, contact them at: racarragher@gov.pe.ca or kjwhite@edu.pe.ca. A social will be held after the alumni game just until the UPEI men's hockey team takes on the Acadia University Axemen at 7:00 pm. All events take place at MacLauchlan Arena.

For more information, visit ar.upei.ca

The UPEI Business Society are hosting 'UPEI Panthers Mean Business,' a pre-game reception for all business students, staff and faculty before the UPEI men's hockey game on January 27, at 5:30 pm at The Wave.

The reception will provide an opportunity to mingle and network before heading over to the MacLauchlan Arena to cheer on the Panthers. Prizes will also be up for grabs, including Empire Theatre movie passes, Adidas hoodies, UPEI apparel, and a 42' Toshiba 120hz LED HD TV.

The UPEI Panthers are playing the Dalhousie Tigers at 7:00 pm. The game will start off with a ceremonial puck drop between the respective Panther and Tiger mascots. A seating section in the rink has been reserved for students to take in the action!

The reception and Panther game are free student events; everyone is invited to come out and show some Panther Pride, and to have a chance to win some great prizes! GO PANTHERS GO!

For more information on the pre-game reception, check out the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/337671096264755/ or contact Elissa Blacquiere at (902) 316-1416 or upeibusinesssociety@gmail.com