News from Island Studies

After nine years as Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) program and Chair of the Institute of Island Studies (IIS) Executive Committee, Dr. Jim Randall is retiring.  Upon his retirement the University bestowed upon him with the well-earned designation of Professor Emeritus. Nominator Dr. Ed MacDonald (History) wrote of Dr. Randall’s contributions to both the Institute of Island Studies and the MAIS program: “He has devoted his considerable energy and abilities to both, and both have prospered under his leadership.” 

Dr. Randall joined UPEI as VP Academic in 2010, and in 2012 he became Coordinator of the MAIS program and introduced the work/study program in 2018.  He holds the UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability, is Executive Editor of and contributor to the Global Islands Report 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, published in affiliation with the Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province, and recently published his groundbreaking textbook, An Introduction to Island Studies, with Island Studies Press and Rowman & Littlefield.

Dr. Randall will continue to be part of the Island Studies family, lending his expertise to various projects, and is currently curating a series of 24 COVID-19 Island Insights papers from islands around the globe in collaboration with the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance and Island Innovation. The papers form the basis of a policy initiative that will be presented at COP-26 in Glasgow in November.


Kudos to MAIS Alumnus Patrick Augustine (2009) on receiving his PhD from the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies from Carleton University. Congratulations, Dr. Augustine!


First-year MAIS student Courtney Sark published her first poetry chapbook entitled, The Dark and Light of Island Life. Her poems deal with intergenerational trauma and mental health.

From Music to Hispanic Studies

From Music to Hispanic Studies 

Congratulations to three UPEI Music students who won awards at the recent Provincial Finals of the PEI Kiwanis Music Festival:

Olivia MacPhailRotary Club of Montague Award for Advanced Instrumental
Rena Wood Scholarship
Nicholas MurphyGlenn & Maryanne Palmer Award for Advanced Voice
UPEI Music Society Plaque
Louise & Mildred Callbeck Award
Alexandra SorensenStephen Fielder Memorial Scholarship
Louise & Mildred Callbeck Award

All three performers will be competing virtually at the FCMF National Music Festival in August.

Dr. Pamela Bastante (Modern Languages) was Guest Editor with Dr. Alma Montero on a special edition for Dieciocho: Hispanic Enlightenment (Anejo 7), Fall 2021 (https://dieciocho.uvacreate.virginia.edu/ANEJO%207/) which includes the work of 14 scholars from Mexico, Canada and Spain. She also authored one of the articles in the special edition: “INFLUENCIAS DEL ARS MORIENDI EN LA BUENA VIDA DEL PADRE LUIS FELIPE NERI DE ALFARO Y EN EL SANTUARIO DE JESUS NAZARENO”.