2012 Canada Gairdner Award winners to share medical discoveries

The UPEI Panthers will face-off against StFX in this year's home opener on Friday, October 19 at 7:00 pm at MacLauchlan Arena. UPEI's women's hockey team claimed their first-ever AUS banner last season, having upset StFX, the top-ranked AUS team and fourth-ranked CIS team, 2-1 in the semi-final, advancing the Panthers to the finals where they defeated Mount Allison.

Prior to the game, the UPEI Panthers will host a meet-and-greet social at 6:15 pm in the MacLauchlan Arena hospitality room for sponsors and season-ticket holders to meet with players, alumni, and the coaching staff. At 6:45 pm, the AUS 2011/2012 championship banner will be raised, former UPEI women's hockey players who are present will be recognized, and former captain Amber Gaudette will drop the ceremonial puck prior to the official face-off.

Head Coach Bruce Donaldson said the team is very excited about the game and lead-up events on Friday. 'Any time you can share in a piece of UPEI history, it is an amazing experience,' said Donaldson. 'Hosting StFX for the home opener is fitting, as their program has a long tradition of winning AUS banners, and last year's battle against them were very competitive.'

With six new players added to the Panther lineup, UPEI is focusing on a fast-paced, aggressive style of play, with a strong forecheck and disciplined defensive zone strategy. 'When we deliver on our systems, we have good success, so that's the focus at this time of the year,' added Donaldson. 'The players are excited to defend their title and look forward to a competitive AUS league once again.'

UPEI students enrolled in Nursing 213-Nursing of Young Families visited Westwood Primary School in Cornwall today to put on a special teddy bear clinic for kindergarten classes.

Each child brought in a teddy bear or doll to be examined by the student nurses, while the kindergarten student acted in the role of the parent in order to observe an encounter with a health-care professional. The clinic was a fun way for the children to learn about health care in a friendly and structured environment.

An examination room was set up at the clinic, and each bear was weighed, measured, and examined by real equipment. By introducing this type of role-playing to the children, nursing students can help them overcome their fears when visiting their doctor or hospital.

'This experience is mutually beneficial for the children and our nursing students,' said Patrice Drake, assistant professor at UPEI's School of Nursing. 'Our nursing students gain invaluable experience by interacting with the children and applying what they have learned about communicating with children, growth and development, and health promotion and teaching.'

The purpose of the teddy bear clinic was to help children establish trust with a professional in a warm and friendly environment, to familiarize the children with commonly used medical equipment, and to help them work through, and express, their feelings. In addition to the clinic, UPEI's nursing students gave presentations to the children on a health promotion topic.

The focus of Nursing 213-Nursing of Young Families is on caring for children and families with children. It is a community-based course and includes experiences not only in schools but also home settings and community agencies that provide services for children and families.

New agreement would also see UPEI and SI co-host international symposia on climate change, biodiversity, and islands

The University of Prince Edward Island signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The MOU will see the two groups work together on publications; organize seminars, lectures, and symposia; and collaborate on teaching and training. As part of the agreement, UPEI will also host the SI's database of international forest biodiversity.

The following was distributed by Timeless Technologies:

A team of UPEI students and Timeless Technologies announced the launch of an exciting new smartphone application this week aimed at solving the problem of managing a wallet full of loyalty cards. Quipin is a mobile loyalty app that instantly offers customers a new way to store their loyalty cards, collect points at participating businesses and trade those points in for rewards. These rewards can include discounts, privileges, free products or services, and much more.

UPEI soccer teams will take on the Acadia Axemen on Friday, October 19 with the women's kickoff at 4:00 pm, followed by the men's game at 6:15 pm. The teams will then compete in their last home games on Saturday, October 20 against the Cape Breton Capers at 2:00 pm and 4:15 pm, with a special ceremony to recognize graduating players in between games.

Alyson Seviour, Kayla Balderston, Chanelle Roy, Julie Lannan, Hannah Roche, and Jenn MacLeod from the women's team will be recognized alongside Jimmie Mayaleh of the men's team.

The UPEI men's and women's soccer teams would like to invite all players, parents, alumni, and sponsors to The Wave on Saturday immediately following the men's game for a season-end social.

UPEI women's rugby team will take to the pitch on Sunday, October 21, for their annual ring ceremony to honour graduating players at 1:55 pm, directly before their final regular season game against Acadia at 2:00 pm. Graduating players include Hannah Austin, Patricia Leslie, Amy Caulier, Jaleesa Villard, Keisha Rose, Marley MacInnis, Kayla Weatherbie, Nicola Wichtel, Jill Jeffery, and Isabelle D'Amour.

Come out and support your UPEI Panthers in their final home games of the regular season!

The Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) released its 2012-2013 preliminary survey of enrolments for its 16 member universities-including the University of Prince Edward Island-last week. UPEI's overall enrolment numbers show a slight decrease by 0.9%, due to a decline in part-time student registrations, but show increases of 1.1% in full-time, 15.1% in full-time graduate, and 3.7% in full-time international student registrations.

The UPEI Registrar's Office reported 4,555 full-time and part-time students at the Island's only university, compared to 4,596 last year. There are 299 graduate students and 556 international students from 62 countries registered at UPEI for 2012-13.

'UPEI's enrolment numbers continue to be strong as we've maintained our enrolments to last year's level, after a number of record years,' said UPEI Registrar Kathleen Kielly. 'We are so pleased to see an increase in graduate and international student numbers. It's wonderful that our recruitment efforts in these areas are reaping rewards.'

Among full-time, first-year students, registrations from other provinces increased 26 per cent, and international registrations increased 19%. The overall number of registrations for full-time, first-year students was up by 1.0%.

'International students and students from across Canada are an increasingly important component of UPEI's student body, adding to the diversity of the entire Island community,' Kielly added. 'As reflected in our off-Island first-year registrations, our recruitment team has been able to deliver the message that UPEI offers a quality education, highly competitive tuition, and an intimate, and unique educational experience. Undergraduate students can become involved in high-level research and access exchange, internship, and co-op opportunities at home and around the world.'

In the winter of 2010, a subcommittee-UPEI campus food strategy committee-was struck to develop a healthy campus food strategy. So far, we have been consulting with staff, faculty, and students and surveying other campuses across the country for best practices. We plan to provide recommendations to the healthy campus committee as to how we can work together to encourage a healthy food environment at UPEI.

This past summer, we held several focus groups to get input on what a healthy campus could/should look like. We had an excellent turnout, but would like to hear from more people from our campus community (students, staff, faculty) who may not have been around in the summer months.

Two focus groups, led by Foods and Nutrition Dietetic intern Sara Chin, will be held in the Health Sciences Building board room, 323, on Wednesday, October 24 and Thursday, October 25 from 4:00-5:00 pm.

The UPEI Wind Symphony will collaborate with the Montague Senior High School Concert Band in a recital on Thursday, October 25 at 7:30 pm at Montague High School.

The Wind Symphony will perform an eclectic set of pieces designed to engage the audience and showcase the unique sounds of the wind band. Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovitch's 'Festive Overture' will open their performance. Written in 1954, this work is a favourite of the orchestral repertoire as it is noted for its opening fanfare and rapid, lyrical melodies.

'Traveler,' by the American composer David Maslanka, is the centrepiece of the program. An emotional and virtuosic work, listeners will be immediately captured by its cascading runs, colourful orchestration, and spiritual melodies.

Saxophonist Kevin MacLean is soloist in the performance of Claud T. Smith's 'Fantasia.' This work exploits the technical and lyrical capabilities of the saxophone. MacLean is UPEI's sessional saxophone instructor and is known for his body of work as a soloist and chamber musician. He has been featured with the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra.

The UPEI Wind Symphony consists of 25 music majors, other UPEI students, and community musicians. Its mandate is to provide opportunities for its participants to apply their performance skills and develop musically through the study and performance of original and transcribed wind band literature. In addition, it is a forum through which professional attributes of ensemble performance are developed. It is within its mission to give its audiences meaningful and personal experiences with quality wind music, in the widest possible range of musical style and expression. The Wind Symphony has one, two-hour rehearsal each week.

Each year the Wind Symphony tours selected areas of the region to provide its membership with additional performance experiences and share its musicking with a wider audience. As part of this process we have partnered with most of PEI's school band programs.

During the past fourteen years, the Wind Symphony has produced an annual CD featuring selected repertoire from each year's performances. Cathedrals, released in May 2010, received the 2011 Music PEI Award for Best Classical Recording. In February 2011, the Wind Symphony released its 'O Canada' CD, a project exclusively for PEI public schools. Its most recent CDs-'Freebirds,' (2011) and 'Lord of the Rings' (2012)-have been highly acclaimed.

The Wind Symphony last performed in Montague two years ago as part of the inaugural recital at the new high school and captivated the audience with its rendition of 'Angels in the Architecture.' The ensemble hopes to engage patrons in much the same way with its program this Thursday. The Montague Senior High School Band under the direction of Kirk White will open the recital.

UPEI's Dr. Benet Davetian, associate professor in sociology, was the invited speaker on October 15 at the University of Maryland's President's Symposium. Davetian spoke on the benefits of civility instruction and practice in the legal, medical, and social work professions.

Davetian held two cups of water during his presentation; one represented a cup half-empty, and the other, half-full. 'We would be wrong to look at the cup and lament that it is half-empty, just as we would be wrong to cheer that it is half-full. Truth be told, our cultural cup is both half-empty and half-full. We need equal doses of pessimism and optimism if we are to come up with lasting solutions that revitalize our social and communal morale.'

Davetian's research indicates that breakdowns in civility and collegiality have a measurable negative effect on the workers and beneficiaries of medical, legal, and social work services. 'How motivated do you think a pharmacist would be to call a prescribing doctor to warn them that the wrong medication has been prescribed, if that doctor receives the news with rudeness? The pharmacist might not call the next time it happens.'

As for social workers and lawyers, he suggested that they are social therapists and should be compassionate when dealing with their clients, be they in the right or in the wrong. When asked by a member of the audience how one was to know what was deemed civil, he answered. 'Ask yourself what is the right thing to do at that moment. The human spirit always has a truthful answer, even in a courtroom where everyone wants to win.'

Davetian was honoured to be invited to share his thoughts and speak at the President's Symposium. 'I was heartened that we all seemed to agree that we have reached a point in history where we need to re-think the distracting, and addictive, effects of superficial, hurried social networking, and instead, embrace age-old basics such as thoughtfulness.'