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Forget the “girly girl” high heels. When Caitlin Pascarelli walked across stage this weekend to accept her diploma, she sported the oversized black boots to the Elon Phoenix mascot uniform that disguised her identity at countless university functions in recent years – and it was the first time since the Phoenix was born in 2000 that the student behind the beak has publicized her role at Commencement.

Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with God. For the Rev. Janet Cooper Nelson, the chaplain of Brown University who delivered a sermon May 22 at �þ���'s Baccalaurate, graduates should follow those simple lessons as they embark on their life journeys.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $16,000 grant to Elon associate professor Megan Squire to hire student researchers for an ongoing project initially funded by the NSF in 2007.

Stephen A. Futrell, chair of the Department of Music, has been invited to serve as a panelist for the North Carolina Arts Council Arts & Audiences Grants Panel.

The Piedmont Triad economy is primed for growth in the coming years as the economy rebounds, a panel of top business executives shared Wednesday, but problems remain to be addressed. A discussion on campus sponsored by an award-winning state business magazine shed light on those issues as executives offered ideas to move the area forward.

The weather was perfect, right down to the light breeze that stirred the balloon entryway. Hundreds of Elon seniors gathered for one last informal event Wednesday afternoon during the annual “Salute Your Seniors” Senior Class Picnic with faculty and staff on the Green outside of Moseley Center.

Linda Wilmshurst, an associate professor of psychology, provided expert commentary for Fox 8 News on May 6 in "The Buckley Report" feature segment that is distributed to Fox affiliates nationwide.

The College Board has awarded �þ��� and the Alamance-Burlington School System a 2009 College Board Greenhouse Program Award to fund their new “Go 4 College” program, which will assist Cummings High School students who plan to visit campus in the coming months for college-access programs and experiences.

Commencement exercises begin May 22 and continue through Sunday as Elon prepares to graduate its 119th �þ��� class, its MBA class and its inaugural Elon Law class. Activities for seniors begin even earlier in the week with a class picnic, an evening gala, receptions and dinners.

Research by three �þ��� professors will be presented this month at a European conference that brings together the world’s leading experts on the way creativity affects economic growth. Tom Tiemann travels to Brussels to share work done with Tina Das and Casey DiRienzo on the role of diversity in fueling innovation.