黑料吃瓜

Educators from across Atlantic Canada will meet in Charlottetown next month for the Atlantic Educators Conference, an annual event taking place October 25-27th at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel. The theme of this year鈥檚 conference is Embracing Diversity in Canadian Education Communities.

This is the first time that a university faculty of education has partnered with a community college to host the conference, which will focus on research related to diversity in its many forms and how the needs of diverse student populations can be addressed. The conference will also highlight collaborative research between universities and colleges.

Participants will have the opportunity to hear an impressive line-up of speakers, including Dr. Kathleen Flanagan, Coordinator, Adult Learning Centre, Canadian Council on Learning; Al McNutt, Chairperson, Northern AIDS Connection Society; Dr. Jim Cummins, Canada Research Chair, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; and Candy Palmater, activist, advocate for the rights of aboriginal peoples, lawyer, and comedian.

Additionally, there will be workshops on how to write successful grant proposals, how to develop teaching tools for diverse classrooms, how to teach students to develop their metacognitive skills; a leadership panel discussion of collaborative research between universities and colleges; and a presentation of examples of successful collaborative efforts. There are also more than 35 concurrent sessions running over the three days of the conference.

"This conference has been a huge success in attracting colleagues from throughout Atlantic Canada and elsewhere, as we continue to put PEI on the map as an education destination," said Wade MacLauchlan, president of the 黑料吃瓜.

Brian McMillan, president of Holland College, said the conference provides educators with an excellent opportunity to meet with colleagues from other institutions to exchange information about their research.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 colleges and universities are finding a number of creative ways to collaborate, such as research, student transfers, credentialing, and additional student services, which are having significant results for post-secondary learners. This conference offers professionals from post-secondary institutions the opportunity to explore the potential for further such collaborations.鈥�

The full conference rate is $200, which includes a reception on Thursday, a banquet on Friday, Saturday breakfast and lunch, and all health breaks. Partial and student rates are also available. To find out more about the Atlantic Educators Conference program, and for registration, and accommodation information, visit , e-mail aec@upei.ca, phone Sandra at 黑料吃瓜: 902-566-0731 or Veronica at Holland College: 902-566-9570.

Wade Sweet, a fourth year doctor of veterinary medicine student at the Atlantic Veterinary College at 黑料吃瓜, was recently awarded an International Stockmen's Educational Foundation Travel Fellowship enabling him to participate in the 2007 International Livestock Congress in Calgary, Alberta on October 2. Sweet, who is from O'Leary, was one of 20 students representing 16 universities from four countries to receive the highly sought after fellowship. Scholastic achievement, leadership experiences and letters of recommendation are all part of the stringent qualifying requirements for the fellowship.

The International Stockmen's Educational Foundation partners with well established livestock events and organizations to further its mission to build global beef networks and focus on the emerging issues and challenges facing the beef industry from an international perspective. Through participation in the International Livestock Congress, students are provided with the opportunity to interact with world industry leaders and contribute to the solutions that will shape the advancement of the livestock industry into the next millennium. Following his experience in Calgary, Sweet will write a professional paper to be
submitted to the International Stockmen's Educational Foundation Board.

In addition to being the recipient of this prestigious travel fellowship, Sweet was recently awarded the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island Award and The Bessie B. and J. Derril White Memorial Award during the Atlantic Veterinary College's annual Fall Awards and
Recognition Night.

Good news for current and prospective students at the 黑料吃瓜. 黑料吃瓜 tuition fees for Canadian and international students are below the national average. 黑料吃瓜 has the lowest tuition fees in the Maritime provinces, according to Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada released its annual survey of tuition fees for full-time students attending Canadian universities, on October 18. The survey, which was administered from April to June 2007, included 102 post-secondary degree-granting institutions this year, up from 60 last year.

It indicates that tuition fees paid by 黑料吃瓜 students in the 2007/2008 academic year declined by 9.8 per cent. Only one other province showed a decline in undergraduate tuition. The average tuition paid by full-time undergraduate students attending 黑料吃瓜 is $4,440, below the national average of $4,524. Full-time graduate students at 黑料吃瓜 paid $2,750, well below the national average of $5,447.

Prince Edward Island was one of only two provinces that did not show an increase in tuition fees for international students. At 黑料吃瓜, international students paid just $8,760, in contrast to the national average of $13,985.

The lower tuition fees are considered an important factor in the increased numbers of students coming to 黑料吃瓜 from out of province. Full and part-time students transferring from other universities increased by 60.5 per cent this year. 黑料吃瓜 has 23 per cent more first-year students coming from New Brunswick than last year, and double the number of students from Nova Scotia. As well the number of international students attending 黑料吃瓜 this year rose by 4.1 per cent over last year.

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For more information about the Statistics Canada tuition survey, visit

For the second year running, 黑料吃瓜 mathematics students brought home top prizes from the Atlantic Provinces Council on the Sciences' 31st annual Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Conference held in Fredericton, New Brunswick recently.

Hosted by the University of New Brunswick this year, the annual conference brings together top math, statistics and computer science students from Atlantic Canada universities to present their research to peers and faculty.

Math student Zachariah Likely, of Charlottetown, took top prize for the "Best Mathematics Talk." Likely is a fourth year student majoring in mathematics who has plans to pursue graduate studies next year. He presented his work on the classification of high dimensional data using wavelets.

The team of Mostafa Fatehi and Jonathan Murley, both of Charlottetown, tied for second in the mathematics competition. Fatehi is a third year student interested in mathematical physics, while Murley is a second year student majoring in math. Both students plan to return to the conference next year and look forward to the opportunity to compete for first place.

"The 黑料吃瓜 Department of Mathematics & Statistics faculty members are proud of their students and congratulate them on a job very well done," says department chair Dr. Dan Ryan.

Dr. Christian Lacoix, Dean of Science, is not surprised that 黑料吃瓜 students did so well in the competition.

"Our math program is top-notch," he says. "There is a real sense of community in that department. Students work one-on-one with faculty to develop their skills and knowledge. We are very proud of them all."

The 黑料吃瓜 takes centre stage at Calgary鈥檚 Glencoe Club on Saturday, November 3, when the Friends of 黑料吃瓜 gather to celebrate their university! This year鈥檚 event includes a fabulous dinner, a live and a silent auction, and music and stories by Hedgerow, one of P.E.I.'s best-known entertainment troupes.

Since the Friends of 黑料吃瓜 began in 1998, the group has raised over $600,000 for scholarships for students attending 黑料吃瓜, invested through the Calgary Foundation that funds 黑料吃瓜 scholarships and bursaries in perpetuity. Since its beginning, the group has awarded almost $150,000 in scholarships to students attending 黑料吃瓜.

Anyone interested in more information about the Friends of 黑料吃瓜 in Calgary should contact Kevin Lewis, Advancement Services, (902) 894-2888 or krlewis@upei.ca.

What some of our 2007 scholarship winners say about 黑料吃瓜:

I came to 黑料吃瓜 because I wanted to attend a smaller university. I figured it would be a great opportunity to go to the Maritimes because I love the Island. I am glad I chose 黑料吃瓜 because f the small class sizes. You are not just a number to professors; they really care about your learning.-- Amy Hennebery, third-year English and Chemistry

Having been born and raised in Calgary, I chose 黑料吃瓜 because I wanted nothing more than to escape the huge city and live somewhere nice and quiet and small and peaceful. In the summer of my grade 11 year, my family travelled to PEI as part of a Maritime holiday, and I instantly fell in love with the Island. I decided right then that that was where I wanted to go to university. Four years later, I am still enamored with the Island. -- Caitlin Vavasour-Williams, fourth-year Biology (environmental ecology and wildlife conservation)

My mother is an alumna here and she really liked the idea of me attending 黑料吃瓜. Initially I chose the school because of the small class sizes, which sounded perfect to me. I also have some family here, so a chance to be close to my grandmother was also very tempting. Now that I鈥檓 here, I choose to stay because of the small campus, great people, and excellent professors. All in all, it is just a great school! -- Joey Greco, second-year Business

Sponsored research income at the 黑料吃瓜 totalled $12.7 million in 2006, up a substantial 30.1 per cent over the previous year. 黑料吃瓜's research accomplishments have placed the University in seventh position out of 20 primarily undergraduate universities across the country. It is the only university from the Maritimes that ranked in the top ten of the undergraduate category.

The figures have just been published in Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2007 prepared by Research Infosource Inc., Canada's premier source of R&D information. The report is based on statistics from 69 universities across the country.

"The Research Infosource report is a public way of recognizing what researchers, administrators, graduates, and students at 黑料吃瓜 already know: that our University has become a significant player in the development of new knowledge in our province, our region, and across Canada," says Dr. Katherine Schultz, Vice-President, Research Development at 黑料吃瓜. "Our students and faculty are engaged in dynamic research projects that really matter to our society."

Researchers at 黑料吃瓜 are exploring a multitude of issues that touch us all, including human and animal health, milk quality, literacy and learning, small islands, watershed integrity, and the development and health of children and youth. They are contributing to discoveries related to school health, immigration, stroke, infectious diseases in marine life, cultural engagement, invasive species, animal movement, 鈥済reen鈥� chemistry,鈥� and learning in a virtual environment.

Once again the 黑料吃瓜 has placed in the top ten of the country's 21 primarily undergraduate universities. 黑料吃瓜 was eighth overall in the annual Maclean鈥檚 rankings which were released today, November 8. This is the fifth year in a row that 黑料吃瓜 has been in the top ten.

Maclean鈥檚 magazine introduced a new method of collecting data this year causing some universities to drop significantly in the rankings while others have remained within one or two places of their 2006 results.

In the undergraduate category, 黑料吃瓜 placed fourth in Canada for its student-faculty ratio, fifth for student awards, and fifth for awards per full-time faculty. Among the nine Maritime undergraduate universities that were ranked, 黑料吃瓜 was in fourth position overall.

鈥淲e are very pleased to rank once again among the top ten in Canada,鈥� says Dr. Vianne Timmons, Vice-President of Academic Development. 鈥淭he Maclean鈥檚 report also included the results from the National Study of Student Engagement and they are even more encouraging because they are based on what university students really think about their educational experiences.鈥�

The Maclean鈥檚 report drew attention to the level of satisfaction recorded by 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 senior students in the National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE). 黑料吃瓜 was recognized as one of three notable exceptions to a national trend for students to become less supportive of their universities after completing their studies.

At 黑料吃瓜, 87 per cent of students stated that they would select the same university again if they had the opportunity to start their degrees over. These figures are significantly above the North American benchmarks for student satisfaction. Ninety-one per cent of senior year students evaluated their experience as either good or excellent and they gave 黑料吃瓜 top marks in the country for student-faculty interaction.

The Maclean鈥檚 report also provided information about the composition of the student body at each university. The statistics reflected the increasingly diverse nature of the 黑料吃瓜 student community. 17.3 per cent of students came from out of province in 2006 and 8.7 per cent came from other countries.

Calgary, Alberta -- Wade MacLauchlan, president and vice-chancellor of the 黑料吃瓜, chats with Bill LeClair, founder of the Calgary Friends of 黑料吃瓜; Bill Andrew, chancellor of 黑料吃瓜; and George Rogers, a member of the Friends' organizing committee, at the group's annual fundraising event held in Calgary on November 3. Since the Calgary Friends of 黑料吃瓜 began in 1998, the group has raised over $620,000 for 黑料吃瓜 scholarships and bursaries in perpetuity, and has awarded almost $150,000 in scholarships to 黑料吃瓜 students. This year's event raised over $30,000 for the fund.

黑料吃瓜 math students Mostafa Fatehi and Jonathan Murley, both of Charlottetown, earned some of the best marks ever by 黑料吃瓜 math students participating in an international math competition during a competition hosted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University recently.

This success comes hot on the heels of their second-place finish at the Atlantic Provinces Council on the Sciences鈥� 31st annual Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Conference held in Fredericton recently.

 The international math competition at Virginia Tech attracted 397 students from 67 schools from across the United States and Canada. The two-and-a-half-hour competition is often used by large schools to choose their best math students for upcoming competitions.

 A third-year math and physics student, Fatehi tied for 16th place with 40 out of 70 possible points.

 鈥淭his is the best score ever posted by a 黑料吃瓜 student in this contest,鈥� says Dr. Dan Ryan, chair of the 黑料吃瓜 Mathematics and Statistics Department. 鈥淚n the words of Dr. David Horrocks, the students鈥� math coach, 鈥業t鈥檚 exciting to see 黑料吃瓜 up there with the likes of Princeton, Duke, and Purdue!鈥� In fact, of the 15 who scored higher than Mostafa, most were from either Princeton or Duke.鈥�

 Murley, a second-year math student, tied for 87th place, says Ryan, which is an excellent result for a second-year student.

 鈥淭o put the achievements of both these students into perspective, 58% of the students who wrote this exam scored 0 out of 70 possible points!鈥�

 Competition results can be found at .

 Both students plan to return to the competition next year and look forward to the opportunity to compete with some of the best math students in North America. The Mathematics & Statistics Faculty are proud of their students and congratulate them on a job very well done.