University of Prince Edward Island

University of Prince Edward Island
Former names
 Prince of Wales College (1860); Saint Dunstan's University (1855)
Motto Faith, Knowledge, Service
Type Public
Established 1969
Affiliation non-denominational
Endowment $20 million
Chancellor Don McDougall
President Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz
Academic staff
 252 permanent, 51 term faculty (includes 5 3M Teaching Award winners & 15 funded research chairs)
Students 4,555[1]
Undergraduates 4,251
Postgraduates 304
Location

550 University Avenue

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4P3 Telephone: 902-566-0439 Fax: 902-566-0795
Campus mixed rural / urban
Sport Teams UPEI Panthers
Colours          Green & Red
Nickname Panthers
Mascot Pride the Panther
Affiliations ACU; CIS; AUCC; AUS; CBIE
Website http://upei.ca/

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public liberal arts university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the sole university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000. [2]

History

The university traces its roots back to 1804, when Lt. Governor Edmund Fanning and the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island called for the establishment of Kent College. By 1820, the first Kent College building, known as "the National School", or James Breading's School was erected. Later succeeded by Central Academy, which received a Royal Charter in 1834. The Colleges were renamed for the Prince of Wales in honour of the future King Edward VII in 1860.[3] The University of Prince Edward Island also traces its roots back to its two earlier predecessor organizations, St. Dunstan's University and Prince of Wales College, founded in 1855 and 1860 respectively.[4] The two institutions were merged in 1969 by the government of Alex Campbell as part of a campaign to integrate the Island's Roman Catholic and Protestant communities, which had previously maintained the two separate institutions of higher learning. Holland College was later created to fill the void left by the merger of Prince of Wales College into the university. The University of Prince Edward Island is a non-denominational university established in 1969 by the amalgamation of Prince of Wales College (PWC) founded in 1834, and St. Dunstan's University (SDU) founded in 1855.[4] Its predecessor institutions ceased to operate although St. Dunstan's still retains its charter and the lands that were home to Prince of Wales became the campus for Holland College. UPEI is located on the former St. Dunstan's campus.

Legacy

On 8 May 2004 Canada Post issued 'University of Prince Edward Island, 1804-2004' as part of the Canadian Universities series. The stamp was based on a design by Denis L'Allier and on a photograph by Guy Lavigueur. The 49¢ stamps are perforated 13.5 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited.[3]

Campus

UPEI's campus, located at the corner of Belvedere and University Avenues in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island's capital city, is built on 134 acres (54 hectares) of land. The Confederation Trail runs alongside its eastern boundary.

Original SDU buildings in the central quadrangle have been renovated to retain integrity of their exterior aesthetic design while meeting modern standards. Main Building, built in 1854, and Dalton Hall, built between 1917 and 1919, are on the registry of Historic Places of Canada.[5][6]

The War Memorial Hall (more generally known as Memorial Hall) is a landmark building on the campus of UPEI. Built as a men’s residence building in 1946, Memorial Hall honours alumni who had enlisted and died in the First World War, and in the Second World War.[7]

Over the past three decades, UPEI has experienced significant growth with many new buildings integrated into the campus, including Central Utility Building (1973), Duffy Science Centre, Blanchard Hall (1973), Bernardine Hall, Robertson Library (1975), Atlantic Veterinary College (1986), Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre (1990), Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall (1990), Food Technology Centre, K.C. Irving Chemistry Centre (1997), W.A. Murphy Student Centre (2002), MacLauchlan Arena (2004), Bill and Denise Andrew Hall residence facility (2006), expansions to the Atlantic Veterinary College (2007 and 2009), Regis and Joan Duffy Research Centre (2007), a research and development laboratory which is home to the National Research Council of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and other partners, and Don and Marion McDougall Hall (2008). The most recent addition is the Health Sciences Building, home to the School of Nursing and Applied Human Sciences programs.[8]

In October 2004, the UPEI administration undertook an official campus plan to improve the aesthetics of modern buildings constructed since the amalgamation which do not enhance the original SDU design, and to take overall campus aesthetics into account for future developments on and adjacent to the campus.

Organization

The current President is Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, installed July 1, 2011. The current chancellor is Dr. Don MacDougall.[9]

Academics

UPEI offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in four faculties — Arts, Science, Education, and Veterinary Medicine — and two schools — Business and Nursing.[8] Bachelor's degree programs, in many cases including "honours" options, are available in Arts, Science, Business Administration, Education, and Nursing. Co-op programs have been established in Business Administration, Computer Science, Physics, and Dietetics. One new faculty, Veterinary Medicine, and two schools, Business Administration and Nursing, were added as the university expanded.

Master's and Doctoral degree programs were first introduced through the Atlantic Veterinary College and, beginning in 1999, a Master of Science degree was offered through the Faculty of Science. In that same year the first students were admitted to the university's new Master of Education program. As of 2010, in addition to the MEd graduate program, the Faculty of Education offered a PhD in Educational Studies. The university also now offers a Master of Arts in Island Studies. Recently the School of Business Administration began offering an Executive Master of Business Administration degree. Since 1998, The Centre for Conflict Resolution Studies has been offering courses leading to a Certificate in Conflict Resolution Studies. The Master of Applied Health Services Research (MAHSR) program is coordinated by the Atlantic Research Training Centre (ARTC).

The Faculty of Education offers one-year post-degree bachelor's degrees with specializations in international, adult, and indigenous education, French immersion and human resources development, a Master of Education (MEd) in leadership in learning, and a PhD in Educational Studies.

The Department of Applied Human Sciences has an accredited dietitian program. The university is accredited by a professional organization such as the Dietitians of Canada and the university's graduates may subsequently become registered dieticians.

The Office of Skills Development and Learning provides professional development courses applicable to many sectors and industries, including development programs for administrative assistants and new managers; collaboration, conflict, and communication training; and, financial management courses.[10]

Rankings

In Macleans magazine's University Rankings 2015, UPEI was ranked with Laurentian University in 10th place among all Canadian universities for offering primarily undergraduate education.[11]

Research

UPEI manages over $17 million in annual research expenditures.[12] The on-campus biosciences and health research facility is used by researchers from UPEI, National Research Council (Canada), and Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada.[8]

UPEI houses the L.M. Montgomery Institute, founded in 1993, which promotes scholarly inquiry into the life, works, culture, and influence of the Canadian writer, L.M. Montgomery. The collection of novels, manuscripts, texts, letters, photographs, sound recordings and artifacts and other Montgomery ephemera.[13]

Student life

Athletics

Main article: UPEI Panthers
UPEI Panthers

The UPEI Panthers have nine teams playing in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), including men's and women's ice hockey, soccer, basketball, as well as women's field hockey and rugby union and co-ed swimming.

The UPEI campus provides its students with many athletics amenities typically found on university campuses. The CARI Complex is a public recreation facility located on the campus and includes two hockey rinks (the MacLauchlan Arena as well as a practice rink) as well as two 25-metre swimming pools (a shallow recreational wading pool, and an eight-lane competitive pool with diving boards).[14][15] In 2009 UPEI inaugurated the UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place[16] which was built in part to host the 2009 Canada Games. It consists of a "class 2" eight-lane 400-metre running track and rugby field that has spectator seating for 1,335.

Residence

UPEI accommodates 434 students in three residences, Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, Blanchard Hall, and Bernardine Hall. Bill and Denise Andrew Hall has two-room suites with single bedrooms.[17] In Blanchard Hall, each suite has two single bedrooms with a kitchenette and a living room.[18] Bernardine Hall (known as "Bernie" to the students) offers suites with two double bedrooms. Although the hall is co-ed, one floor is female-only.[19]

UPEI/SDU/PWC notable people

See also

References

Histories of the University

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Prince Edward Island.

Coordinates: 46°15′32″N 63°08′17″W / 46.259°N 63.138°W / 46.259; -63.138

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