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.