UPEI Men's Hockey Head Coach Forbes MacPherson is pleased to announce the addition of the Peterborough Petes' Nelson Armstrong, one of the top-scoring defensemen from the Ontario Hockey League, to the Panthers.

Born in Peterborough, Armstrong put together his best season in 2013-14 with 9 goals and 36 assists for 45 points. Armstrong added four assists in the playoffs for the Petes. Along with his strong offensive game, Armstrong is known for being very strong in his own end and prides himself on being a well-rounded player every night.

'I just try to compete every shift and do whatever I can to help the team win,' said Armstrong who is 6'1, 205 lbs. 'I take great pride in the offensive part of my game for sure but you have to be responsible in your own end first. I just want to be a solid, all-around player.'

MacPherson, entering his sixth season behind the bench, says he was working all spring to recruit Armstrong, a player he says was born to wear the Panthers' green and white.

'Nelson brings so much to the table with his offense and with his desire to compete every night,' said MacPherson. 'It became apparent to me early on that he was just meant to be a Panther because of the way he goes about his business, and how he carries himself on and off the ice. Nelson Armstrong is going to be a great addition to our program.'

Armstrong played two major junior seasons with his hometown Petes, after starting his career with St. Lawrence University in the NCAA. He says he has remained committed to pursuing his education and determined the University of Prince Edward Island was a perfect fit for the next step in his journey. He also played a season in Peterborough with UPEI forward Nick Czinder.

'The team is very good. The league is the top league in the country and I feel I will continue to develop as a hockey player while I work on my education,' said Armstrong, who made his first visit to the campus in June. 'I was looking to move away from home and just felt the east coast was a perfect spot. I am looking forward to getting started in September.'

The Panthers look to continue their improved play in the competitive AUS conference this season. The team was ranked consistently in the top 10 of the CIS last year, reaching as high as #4. The addition of Armstrong, goalie Connor Wilkinson, as well as Islanders Darcy Ashley and Brent Andrews has MacPherson looking forward to the start of the season.

'Nelson is a great addition to the men's hockey program, and I'm pleased to welcome him to the University of Prince Edward Island,' said UPEI Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman. 'We are looking forward to the contributions he will make as a student-athlete to our university and our province.'

Armstrong will be enrolling in the Bachelor of Business Administration program at UPEI.

For more information or to purchase season tickets visit Panther Central (Sports Centre), phone 566-0368, e-mail panthercentral@upei.ca or visit www.gopanthersgo.ca.

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 Office of International Relations, in conjunction with Assistant Professor Melissa MacEachern, is seeking feedback from international students who have either applied, registered, or are currently enrolled at UPEI.

The survey only takes minutes to complete and will establish and confirm the contributing factors as to why students from around the world select UPEI as their post-secondary education destination. Students who fill out the survey are eligible for a $100 cash prize.

If you are an international student, click here to compete the survey.

The Old Belle River Church and UPEI will present an encore performance of A Solitary Clarinettist on Friday, July 25 at 8:00 pm. Performed by UPEI clarinet professor Karem J. Simon, this performance is unique in that it will feature a diverse selection of music performed by one clarinettist only; no other collaborative musicians will be involved. This recital is an extraordinary experience as it blends the Old Belle River Church's remarkable acoustics with the comfort, ambiance, and intimacy so desired in the presentation of chamber music. In addition, the hospitality of owner Wendy Jones, a substantial visual artist herself, makes for a unique evening of entertainment.

Dr. Simon's recitals often feature music that uses the clarinet in unique ways. It stems from his philosophy that 'if you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.' Accordingly, among the featured works is Half Moon at Checkerboard Mesa by Phillip Kent Bimstein. This work is a fantasy for clarinet, frogs, crickets, and coyotes. Fascinated with the sounds of nature, Bimstein sought to find means to integrate them with a live musician. He visited a canyon in Zion National Park in southern Utah where he digitally recorded the sounds of singing frogs, howling coyotes, crickets, rocks, thunder, and rushing water. The sounds were shaped and manipulated with the use of his computer and a synthesizer keyboard. Eventually, he produced a recorded track with the arrangement of sounds and composed a part for a musician to play live. It will be a fascinating aural experience for the audience.

The performance will begin with music from the Baroque era. While the clarinet had not yet been invented, Dr. Simon will perform a transcription of the two bourées from Bach's Cello Suite No. 3. Hungarian composer Béla Kovàcs will be featured as three of his Hommages, 'Bach,' 'Debussy,' and 'Richard Strauss' will be performed. Stravinsky's Three Pieces and a number of character pieces will be included.

The second half of the recital will begin with Gryphon, by American composer Theresa Martin. Exploring unusual colors through micro-tones, fluttertonguing, and growls, it captures the character and activity of this mythological beast. Another contemporary work, Dissonant Grooves, will conclude the program. Written by Minnesota guitarist Jeff Lambert, Grooves utilizes jazz rhythms, flutter tonguing, and multiphonics to create a relentlessly funky number.

Those who have attended recitals by Dr. Simon know that there is considerable audience engagement in his presentation. This may be the perfect opportunity for those unfamiliar with the classical music realm to experience the genre. Admission is by donation-$15 recommended. Guests are invited to bring their own beverages and snacks to add to their enjoyment.

For information:
Dr. Karem Simon, Professor, Department of Music, UPEI
(902) 566-0702 (work), (902) 892-5993 (home), ksimon@upei.ca

How will coastal erosion affect your community? UPEI's Climate Research Lab is touring Prince Edward Island Communities this month to demonstrate its Coastal Impacts Visualization Environment tool, better known as CLIVE. Dr. Adam Fenech will lead discussions about coastal erosion and sea-level rise, and the risk to homes, cottages, roads, and communities.

CLIVE allows users to manipulate a 3-D map of Prince Edward Island with a video game controller. It simulates erosion and sea-level rise over the next 90 years, and shows their impact on Prince Edward Island infrastructure.

Attendees will be encouraged to share ideas about how we might best adapt to these conditions, and through CLIVE, view local areas that may be affected.

The schedule includes:

• North Rustico-Lion's Club, Tuesday, July 22
• Charlottetown-Beaconsfield Carriage House, Wednesday, July 23
• Summerside-Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club, Thursday, July 24
• Alberton-Community Centre, Wednesday, July 30

Each session begins at 7:00 pm and will run for approximately one hour. Drinks and light snacks will be provided.

The events are sponsored by the PEI Department of Environment, Labour, and Justice, and by the Climate Research Lab at the University of Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit upei.ca/climate.

For information:
Dave Atkinson
Research Communications Officer, UPEI
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

The Concussion Injury Research and Evaluation Clinic at UPEI is looking for participants between the ages of 9 and 25 who are physically active and/or involved in organized sport to participate in research that investigates concussion and return-to-play. Study participants must be available for two (2) hour-long testing appointments spaced at least two weeks apart.

Visit upei.ca/concussion for more information. Email concussion@upei.ca for inquiries or to schedule an appointment.

UPEI, SDU, and PWC alumni will reunite this weekend through a variety of events during Summer Reunion Weekend 2014, July 24-27.

Summer reunion events include an Alumni, Faculty, and Staff All Years' Mixer on Friday, July 25, 3:00-5:00 pm in the Alumni Tent, UPEI Quadrangle; the 30th Annual SDU Mass, 7:30 pm in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall; the SDU All Years' Reception, 8:30 pm in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre; the Annual PWC Luncheon on Sunday, July 27 at 1:00 pm in Schurman Market Square, Don and Marion McDougall Hall, and more! Guests are asked to RSVP to the PWC Luncheon by calling (902) 566-0687.

For more information, please contact Sarah MacInnis, Alumni Engagement Coordinator at (902) 566-0687 or smmacinnis@upei.ca

For a full schedule of events, please visit http://remember.upei.ca/events

UPEI Men's Hockey Head Coach Forbes MacPherson is pleased to welcome Mark Carragher to the Panther coaching staff.

Carragher was most recently the head coach of the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild major midget team in 2013-14 (of the NB-PEI Major Midget League), and also coached its predecessor, the Cornwall Thunder, in 2012-13. Both teams won the provincial major midget championship during the years he coached, with the Thunder also winning the silver medal at the Atlantic Major Midget Championship. Carragher is also an assistant coach with PEI's 2015 Canada Games men's hockey team and is in the process of completing the Hockey Canada Advanced Level 1 Coaching Program.

Carragher played university hockey at the University of Southern Maine from 2003-07 and finished as the career-scoring leader. After university, Carragher played professional hockey with the Texas Brahmas and the Amarillo Gorillas in the Central Hockey League from 2007-09.

'I am very excited to join Forbes on the coaching staff for the UPEI Panthers. I look forward to working with this group of dedicated young men to help bring a championship back to UPEI,' said Carragher.

'Mark is a tremendous addition to the UPEI Men's Hockey coaching staff. He will bring a very high hockey IQ, a strong work ethic, and a competitiveness to our program that we look for from our coaches and players alike. I have had the opportunity to work with Mark in minor pro, and I am excited to reunite with him,' said MacPherson.

For more information, or to purchase season tickets, visit Panther Central (Sports Centre), (902) 566-0368, panthercentral@upei.ca, www.gopanthersgo.ca.

For information:
Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

Kent Stetson, a distinguished Island author, will offer a two-tiered, sixteen-hour workshop at UPEI for writers of drama and prose fiction at various stages of their practice. Stetson is a Member of the Order of Canada, Governor General's Award laureate, and this year's recipient of the UPEI Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Stetson's workshop, entitled 'The Character Driven Story in Drama and Prose Fiction,' will begin on August 22, and continue on August 23 and 24. The two-tiered structure will include 10-12 participating writers and up to 15 auditing writers. The workshop is co-sponsored by the UPEI Alumni Association, the Dean of Arts, the Department of English, and the PEI Writers' Guild. The workshop will be held in the Don and Marion McDougall Hall, Room 242.

For more information, and to register, email Kent.Stetson@sympatico.ca before August 5.

For information:
Dr. Richard Lemm
UPEI English Department
(902) 566-0592, rlemm@upei.ca

The UPEI community honoured three graduates yesterday with the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award and the Inspiring Young Alumni Awards. Since 1990, the UPEI Alumni Association has been awarding the Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize graduates who have made an outstanding contribution to knowledge, the arts, the community, the University, or have made a special contribution to an area of service to humanity. In 2011, the Association gave out the first Inspiring Young Alumni Award, which was a way to recognize the contributions of our more recent graduates, and use their success as a catalyst to inspire current UPEI students.

'I would like to congratulate our award recipients, Mr. Stetson, Dr. Singh, and Mr. Cousins,' said Alicia Bremner, president of the UPEI Alumni Association. 'Thank you for all that you have done and for what I'm sure you will continue to do. I want you to know how proud of you we are and how excited we are to have you join this exclusive group of alumni.'

This year's recipients are:

Distinguished Alumni Award

E. Kent Stetson, CM (BA'70)
Mr. Stetson is a celebrated Canadian playwright, author, teacher, director, and mentor. He is the winner of multiple awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for English Drama, the Canadian Author's Association Carol Bolt Award for Excellence in Drama, and the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation's inaugural Wendell Boyle Award. In 2007, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. Mr. Stetson was the Inaugural Artist-in-Residence at The Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas at McGill University in 2013.

Inspiring Young Alumni Award

Trent Cousins (BA'09)
Mr. Cousins is a true entrepreneur. Starting at a young age in the lawn care business, he has blossomed into a community-minded leader with multiple business partnerships and has a passion for growing the local and regional economy. His hard work was recently recognized when he was named one of 21 Inc.'s Top Emerging Leaders in Atlantic Canada under 35.

Ameet Singh (DVM'06)
Dr. Singh an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. His area of specialty and research is focused on minimally invasive surgery techniques and the prevention of infection at surgical sites. He was recently named one of the 'Top 40 Under 40' by the Guelph Mercury newspaper.

'We continue to strive to be the best for our students and to celebrate our accomplishments as a University,' said President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'UPEI is actively pursuing its vision to enable our students to reach their full potential in both the classroom and the community, and develop leaders who emerge from their studies ready to excel and contribute to the betterment of our local and global communities. Kent, Ameet, and Trent: you exemplify all of these attributes.'

The UPEI Alumni Association is a network of over 23,000 PWC (Prince Of Wales College), SDU (Saint Dunstan's University), and UPEI graduates that span 50 countries and eight decades. Each year new graduates join this impressive network, strengthening our Panther Pride. Alumni are encouraged to get involved with activities, stay connected, and take advantage of alumni benefits.

(L to R): UPEI Student Diversity Office Co-Coordinators Emily King and Nabila Acra; Tyler Murnaghan, Co-Chair of ARCPEI; UPEI Rainbow Alliance co-chair Zak Court; and Treena Smith, Manager of Student Affairs raise the pride flag in recognition and support of the LGBTQQ2T community. Approximately 40 guests attended a special ceremony held at UPEI on Monday, July 28 to kick off PEI's Pride Week, July 28-August 2.