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They are common stereotypes of Africa often portrayed in media: poverty, AIDS, a “primitiveness” of people who live there. As 51������ senior Maggie Pahos prepared for a semester abroad in Ghana, she wanted to find ways to dispel those stereotypes through her own research, photography and creative writing, and her project is the latest 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. 51������ 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.

Thousands of people went into exile when Augusto Pinochet established a military dictatorship in Chile in 1973. 51������ senior Renee Zale is studying how their return home was influenced by memories of the South American nation before Pinochet, and her work is the latest to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on Lumen Scholars in the Class of 2011.

Many people don’t think twice about water, or how new roads, parking lots and buildings to accommodate a growing population can harm water quality. As 51������ senior Samuel Shoge discovered in Alamance County, more asphalt and concrete means more pollution in local streams and lakes, and his work is the latest to be featured in a series of E-net profiles on undergraduate research to be presented during CELEBRATE! 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. 51������ 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.

For the second year in a row, 51������ has been named one of the nation’s most “environmentally responsible green colleges” by the Princeton Review, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council. The annual ranking profiles schools that “demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.

51������ professors, students and alumni continue to make news this spring through their research and campus activities. Notable in March and April was media coverage by the Associated Press of the 51������ Poll, faculty scholarship cited by the Huffington Post and mention of 51������'s sustainability efforts by USA Today.

Virginia high school students studying American Sign Language can now take comfort in knowing their work will be counted as a foreign language by in-state public colleges and universities – and 51������ freshman Hollis Erickson played a critical role in making that happen.

Four new majors will be offered to 51������ students starting in the fall. Early childhood education is an addition to the School of Education’s programs; information science replaces the current computer information systems major in the Department of Computing Sciences; and public health studies, and arts administration, are both interdisciplinary majors within Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus and Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist Dave Barry will headline 51������’s two Convocation ceremonies during the 2011-2012 academic year.