Eric Townsend

The Rev. Andrew More O’Connor, a parish priest for Holy Family in the Bronx in New York City and founder of a nonprofit apparel line that provides a living wage to Mayan Indian weavers in Guatemala, will deliver Elon University’s 2011 Baccalaureate sermon on May 20 in Alumni Gym at 3 p.m.

Two Elon University faculty members have received Fulbright grants for 2011-12 to teach and conduct research overseas. Associate professor Glenn Scott was awarded a Fulbright lecture grant to teach at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, and assistant professor Kim Jones will be collecting and analyzing oral histories in Brazil regarding the origins and development of the nation's universal national health care system, as well as supervising graduate research and helping to develop a Brazilian university's first Ph.D. program.

Jeffrey C. Pugh, the Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies and author of the newly released Devil's Ink: Blog from the Basement Office, was a featured guest on WUNC's "The State of Things" noontime program on May 17. Pugh spoke about his book.

Twenty-three rising sophomores from the Alamance-Burlington School System have been selected to join the fifth class of scholars in the Elon Academy, a college access and success program for academically talented students, on the Elon University campus.

Elon University finished third in the nation in the 2011 Bateman Case Study Competition, a national contest established by the Public Relations Society of America to give university students an opportunity to exercise the analytical skills and judgment required for public relations problem solving.

Congratulations to our School of Education senior Honors Fellows for successful completion and defense of their honors theses. And, a special thank you to their faculty mentors for their guidance and support. The School of Education is very proud of their academic achievements.

High school students with an interest in developing their own entrepreneurial spirit can take part in a new summer program sponsored by the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Elon University.

Some have accepted top internships or will begin full-time work. Others plan to enroll in graduate school. For nine seniors who will receive their diplomas Under the Oaks on May 21, the first steps of their lives as Elon University alumni started months ago with a visit to the Office of Career Services. They’re now sharing their stories.

Four faculty members were honored May 11, 2011, for superior scholarship, teaching, mentoring and service at Elon University’s faculty-staff awards luncheon. Those recognized included Mary Jo Festle, Ann J. Cahill, Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler and Stephen Bailey.