Honors Program

Research shows how the growth of a nation’s economy harms its air quality, at least until citizens live comfortably enough to demand change. Does the same hold true for water pollution? Elon University senior Stephanie Franz examined that question, and her work is the last to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on undergraduate research presented during CELEBRATE! 2011.

Though most news coverage of the Catholic Church focuses on its scandals, the positive impacts of the world’s largest organization can often be understated, which Elon University senior Stephen Ferguson argues based on his research into the emerging public perception of the institution. His work is the latest to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on undergraduate research to be presented during CELEBRATE! 2011.

Since the arrival of the Spanish to Ecuador, indigenous peoples have struggled against political and economic elites trying to introduce Western norms that undermine cultural identities. Elon senior Chris Jarrett is examining how groups interact with Ecuadorian society through political activity and development projects, and his research on the Amazonian Kichwa people is the latest work to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on Lumen Scholars in the Class of 2011.

More than 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia that impairs memory and behavior. Elon University senior Caroline Peckels is analyzing compounds found in walnuts that may one day lead to new treatment for patients with the degenerative condition, and her work is the latest to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on Lumen Scholars in the Class of 2011.

With their growing number of students who speak little or no English, American school systems have turned largely to one of two approaches for teaching such children. Elon University senior Lindsay Mann compared the models – “English as a Second Language” and “Spanish Dual Language” – and her work is the first to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on undergraduate research to be presented during CELEBRATE! 2011.

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler and Larissa Ferretti '09 made two presentations at the recent meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development in Montreal, Canada.

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler and Larissa Ferretti (Class of 2009) presented research on children's early numeracy in two presentations at the Society for Research in Child Development in Montreal, Canada last week. One of the presentations was based on part of Larissa's honors thesis while she attended Elon. She is now a graduate student at Auburn University, pursuing a PhD in Human Development and Family Studies.

Two Elon University students have been named finalists for a 2011 Truman Scholarship, a prestigious national fellowship awarded each year to college juniors with goals of working in education, government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, or elsewhere in public service.

On Oct. 27, the Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research celebrated the merging of their organizations with a gala at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The event included a slide show highlighting undergraduate research students from various institutions across the country. Because of Elon's commitment to undergraduate research and the recognition its students have received over the years, CUR and NCUR asked to include several Elon alumni in the presentation.

Churches have always split on doctrinal or political grounds, and prior to the Civil War, that wedge issue, more often than not, was slavery. Elon University senior Amber Woods explored how early churches in Kentucky responded to debates over emancipation, and her undergraduate research is the latest to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on Lumen Scholars in the Class of 2011.