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Prince of Wales College alumnae and ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ honorary graduand Sister Mary Olga McKenna passed away on Tuesday, May 1. The well-loved member of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, passed peacefully at Caritas Residence in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Born in Charlottetown, Sister McKenna can trace her forebears back to some of the first settlers from Monaghan County who came to PEI. She was educated at Prince of Wales College, Mount Saint Vincent College, Boston College, and the University of London, England.

Though her roots in PEI run deep, she ranks among the Island Irish who have made distinguished contributions elsewhere while maintaining strong ties with their home province.

Sister McKenna joined the Sisters of Charity at a young age and began a long and distinguished teaching career. After graduation from Kensington High School and Prince of Wales College, she earned a BA at Mount Saint Vincent, an MA in Philosophy and a PhD in the history of philosophy of education from Boston College. In 1977, her Canadian and American credentials were supplemented by an Associateship at the Institute of Education, University of London, England. Upon retirement in 1986, she was granted the title of Professor Emeritus at Mount Saint Vincent University.

In the fall of 1990, ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ held a special convocation ceremony at the Confederation Centre of the Arts to honour the 160th anniversary of the arrival of the first settlers from Ireland's County Monaghan. Sister McKenna was honoured at this ceremony with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Sister McKenna successfully blended teaching, administration, and prayer with an active scholarly life. She is the recipient of ten research awards and the author of articles on education, religion and the history of education.

Visitation will be held Thursday, May 3, in Caritas Residence from 3-7 pm and the Mass of Christian burial will take place on Friday, May 4, in Immaculate Conception Chapel at Caritas Residence at 10 am. For more information, visit Sister McKenna's

Bonnie Stewart, a PhD student at ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ, whose thesis explores the trend of online learning, is studying the benefits of Massive Open Online Courses (Moocs) in higher education. Her work recently garnered attention in two highly reputable news sources-The Guardian (UK) and Inside Higher Ed.

Stewart believes that online learning will complement traditional learning rather than replace it. In her articles she claims that the education sector will learn from the experiences of students who study both online and in the classroom.

'The Mooc augments my PhD studies by making it possible for me to be a public thinker and learner, by giving me up-to-the-minute access to the conversations shaping and driving my field, and the opportunity to participate in these conversations,' said Stewart in her guardian.uk article. 'Forget the business case, open online courses are about learning.'

Another of Stewart's articles, 'Learning in-and from-the Great Disruption,' was posted on Insider Higher Ed's website as part of GenX Women in Higher Ed, Writing from Across the Globe.

Stewart is also the 2011 recipient of the Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship valued at $105,000, and granted through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She is also the recipient of the 2011 PEI Literary Award for creative non-fiction.

Stewart has been involved in higher education since 1997, and has lived and taught on all three coasts of Canada, in Eastern Europe, and Asia. Bonnie blogs her education ideas at and her experiences on identity and parenthood at Find her on Twitter at .

Fiddler's ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Dream Team consisting of ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ men's basketball coaches-Tim Kendrick, Marvin Rhyno, and Patrick Havard-are working to drop a total combined weight loss of 100 pounds from May 4 to September 4, as part of a weight loss challenge to get healthy, and raise funds for their team's upcoming exhibition season.

The whole idea for the challenge arose when local media sports pundit, Fred "The Fiddler" MacDonald, noted the girth of the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ basketball coaches on Compass, the CBC supper hour show. The ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ coaches thought an appropriate response would be to address their weight in a positive way.

The Dream Team won't be doing this on their own, as they have recruited four professionals from the campus community to help with tips on healthy eating and exercising throughout their process. Teri McComber, BSc Foods and Nutrition and registered dietician, and currently completing MSc Human Biology (Nutrition); Sarah Sparks, BSc Dietetics, MSc Human Biology (Nutrition) and personal chef; Brittany Lockwood, BA, currently completing Master of Applied Health Services Research (MAHSR); and Katie Beck, Bachelor of Kinesiology Honours (Co-operative) and certified personal trainer (CSEP-PT), currently completing MSc Human Biology, are looking forward to working with the coaches on their weight loss journey.

As the Dream Team's fitness and conditioning trainer, Baker's role is to consult with each of the coaches and create individualized training programs. 'The ultimate goal is to increase physical activity to aid in weight loss, and to improve physiological function,' said Baker. 'But my mission is also to make the activities creative and fun. There's no doubt this will require a lot of hard work on their part, but I think they have the tenacity and drive to be successful. As coaches, they are used to being in charge, so it will be a change for them to have a group of women calling the shots. This is going to be an adventure!'

'I'm really looking forward to being a part of Fiddler's ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Dream Team. It will be a lot of fun, and will obviously have health benefits...and anything we can do that might help the Panthers is worth it,' said Kendrick. 'I want to thank our Athletic Department staff for all of their help, and especially our team of weight loss specialists: Katie, Teri, Brittany, and Sarah, who sure have their work cut out for them!'

The coaches will weigh in on Friday, May 4, and will continue to weigh in every second Monday until the final weigh on September 4.

Pledges to the coaches can be made to the team as a set amount or per pound lost. For pledge information, contact Coach Kendrick at mbball@upei.ca or call (902) 566-0562.

ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ welcomed 20 high school students from 10 local high schools to campus over the weekend as they took part in ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ's annual Math Camp. The event, organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and co-sponsored by the Canadian Mathematical Society, took place May 4-6.

The students involved are among the best math students in the province and the camp is an opportunity for them to hone their skills through problem-solving competitions including math relays, as well as some recreational activities in the evenings. Faculty sessions by Dr. Shannon Fitzpatrick, Dr. Sami Khedhiri, Dr. Gordon MacDonald, Dr. Max Burke, Dr. David Horrocks, Dr. Nasser Saad, and Dr. Ken Sulston also took place on various mathematical topics.

'Math Camp brings some of PEI's best math students to campus. They get introduced to some new math concepts and tackle some challenging problems. Hopefully, they leave with an increased appreciation that math is both fun and useful,' said Sulston, event co-organizer and faculty session presenter.

Along with co-organizer and colleague, Dr. Shafiqul Islam, Sulston solicited applications to the tenth annual event by approaching high school math teachers-with an attempt to reach the brightest and most enthusiastic math students. The camp is another great example of ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ's teaching excellence and community service.

With a difficult financial landscape facing institutions and organizations across Prince Edward Island, the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Board of Governors was pleased to approve a balanced operating budget for 2012-13 at its May 8 meeting.

The University addressed its budget with a goal of minimizing the impact on students during these fiscally challenging times. The 'bare bones' budget is based on specific enrolment projections, conservative assumptions for expenditure growth, and budget reductions across campus. An increase in student tuition was limited to $20 per credit course-a 4 per cent increase-similar to the average tuition increase over the past 10 years at the Island's only university. Tuition at ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ remains highly competitive.

President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz admits that he faced hard decisions with his budget team, 'This has been a challenging first year as president. However, despite budget reductions, pension issues, and five collective bargaining processes underway, it is critical that we were able to maintain our focus on students and employ an open, thoughtful approach to address these challenges, ensuring that we did not burden students with a large tuition increase.'

ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ was able to sustain its high quality programs and limit increased costs to students despite receiving a recent 3 per cent cut in its operating grant from the provincial government. Interim Vice-President Administration and Finance Phil Hooper said, 'As a result of long-term fiscal prudency and unprecedented recent enrolments, the University entered the budget process with the ability-this year-to mitigate some level of financial challenges. However, dealing with a funding cut of $1.3 million from government, coupled with normal inflationary growth of 4-6% on the expenditure side, did create significant challenges in balancing the budget.'

Abd-El-Aziz indicated that further adjustments might be necessary during the year if the University doesn't achieve projected revenue targets or if core expenditures grow more than expected.

ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Student Union President Kate VanGerven acknowledged that the University faced a difficult predicament. 'While a tuition increase is always tough, given what has been taking place across the country at other post-secondary institutions, we could have been presented with a much worse scenario. I congratulate the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ administration for including students in the budget process and for consistently keeping our best interests at the forefront of their deliberations.'

Members of ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ's Class of 2012, along with their family and friends, will gather in the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on Saturday, May 12, to celebrate convocation, the biggest event of the academic year. Over 900 students, the largest graduating class to date, will receive degrees, diplomas, and certificates during two ceremonies, the first beginning at 10:00 am and the second at 2:30 pm.

ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ will confer honorary degrees upon J. Michael Bliss, historian and academic; Frank Zakem, businessman, politician, and administrator; and Derek Key, lawyer and community leader. Bliss will address the morning convocation while Key will address the afternoon convocation.

The following degrees, diplomas, and certificates will be granted during the morning convocation: Accounting Certificate, Business Certificate, Adult Education Certificate, Inclusive Education Certificate, School Librarianship Certificate, Bachelor of Business Studies, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Business Administration (Co-operative Education), Bachelor of Business Administration-Honours, Bachelor of Business Administration-Honours Conversion, Bachelor of Business in Tourism & Hospitality, Bachelor of Business in Tourism & Hospitality (Co-operative Education), Bachelor of Education-Human Resource Development, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Education-Enseignement en français langue seconde, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master of Business Administration, Master of Education, Master of Applied Health Services Research, Master of Science-Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy.

During the afternoon convocation, the following degrees, diplomas, and certificates will be granted: Public Administration Diploma, Public Administration Certificate, Engineering Diploma, Bachelor of Integrated Studies, Bachelor of Applied Arts in Print Journalism, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts- Honours, Bachelor of Arts-Honours Conversion, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Music Education, Bachelor of Child and Family Studies, Bachelor of Applied Science in Radiography, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science-Honours, Bachelor of Science-Honours Conversion Certificate, Bachelor of Science (Co-operative Education), Bachelor of Science-Honours (Co-operative Education), Master of Science, Master of Arts.

Sarah O'Donnell, from Goose Bay, N.L., who will receive her Bachelor of Education degree, will give the valedictory address during the morning convocation, and Amy Wilson, from Dumville, N.L., who will be awarded her Bachelor of Music Education degree, will address her fellow graduates at the afternoon ceremony. Macebearers at the morning and afternoon convocations, respectively, are Doctor of Veterinary Medicine recipient, Sadie Griffin, from Annapolis Royal, N.S., and Lauren Catherine Murphy, from Bedeque, who will receive her Bachelor of Arts-Honours degree.

Students will assemble in the Duffy Science Centre at 9 a.m. for morning convocation and at 1:30 pm for afternoon convocation. A reception for graduates, guests, and faculty will be held in the Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall immediately following each ceremony (guests of graduates from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine can also attend a reception at the Atlantic Veterinary College). Visitors can park in any of the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ parking lots. Ceremonies will also be broadcast live on Eastlink TV, starting at approximately 9:50 am for the morning, and 2:20 pm for the afternoon ceremony.

Senior class awards will be presented at 12:00 noon following convocation rehearsal on Friday, May 11, at the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. Awards and recipients will be printed in the convocation program.

For a complete list of graduates, visit:

For the first time on PEI, the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2012 will take place in Charlottetown from May 12 to 19, on the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ campus.

This national event brings together Canada's 500 top scientists from grades 7 to 12 who have won their local, regional and provincial science competitions. And beyond showcasing their projects and competing for top awards and prizes, finalists will share a week of fun, discovery, and networking with other Canadian students, scientists and researchers, industry, and Islanders who are also interested in science and technology.

Everyone is invited to come to the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ campus to welcome, congratulate and meet Canada's future science leaders during the public viewing times:

ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ Applied Human Sciences professor Jennifer Taylor was named a Female Food Hero by Oxfam Canada recently. Oxfam's Female Food Heroes are "women who are working to build a movement for good food, food that is grown well and shared fairly."

Taylor is a female food hero because of the amazing variety of food-related community contributions that she makes on PEI. She is an award-winning leader in the community, and works with others to promote access to healthy food. She is a strong proponent of local food and of ensuring local producers are part of the solution to providing local healthy food for all.

Oxfam Canada will hold its regional meeting on PEI on May 11-12, where they will discuss local and global food issues, celebrate and support the critical role of women around the issues of food both nationally and internationally. Oxfam believes ending global poverty begins with women's rights.

Members of the ÐãÉ«¶ÌÊÓƵ community are invited to take part in the public forum, "The Future of Food in PEI: Ending Hunger Globally, Sourcing Food Locally" on Friday, May 11 from 7:00-8:30 pm at the Murphy's Community Centre. Free admission and all are welcome.

On Friday, May 11, academic and senior student awards were presented during a ceremony held in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre. The celebration is an opportunity to honour fellow graduating students for academic and campus spirit achievements before they embark on new journeys after convocation on May 12.

The ceremony was attended by the deans of each faculty and other faculty members who joined together to acknowledge the years of dedication and sleepless nights the graduates endured to achieve their goals. The ceremony was also attended by many individuals and business representatives who have generously donated prizes to deserving students.

All graduates were encouraged to attend the awards ceremony to promote spirit for the Class of 2012 and to acknowledge the donors for prizes that students received. Students received awards for academics, campus and class spirit, a resident life award, life executive award, and faculty association award were also presented.

*Please note that the full list of awards and recipients from this ceremony will be printed in the Convocation program. The following is a list of the 2012 Senior Class Award recipients which were presented at the ceremony: