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Churches have always split on doctrinal or political grounds, and prior to the Civil War, that wedge issue, more often than not, was slavery. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ 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.

With the 2010 congressional midterm elections less than a week away, only one third of respondents in the latest ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ poll believed Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr deserves re-election as he fends off Democratic challenger Elaine Marshall.

Prudence Layne, an assistant professor of English and coordinator of African/African-American Studies at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ, was one of 10 national directors of Black Studies programs selected to participate in a Summer Administrative Workshop sponsored by the National Council for Black Studies and the Ford Foundation.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ unveils this week its new Building Dashboard, which allows users greater control and ease of use in viewing real-time energy usage of buildings around campus via the Internet.

Sam Coury discovered a love for P.T. Barnum, the famous 19th century American showman, when she researched his life for a high school paper. Until last fall, the current ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ sophomore figured an internship with The Barnum Museum in Connecticut was nothing more than “fantasy.” Then she visited Career Services.

Thanks to the nearly 100 alumni who participated in our inaugural Homecoming Photo Hunt! Our daily winners, Tiffany Warner '08, Lexi Swinimer '07, Rich Nowalk '97, Samantha Gilman '08 and Rob Saunders '08, will receive their signed copies of "Under the Oaks" from President Leo M. Lambert shortly. We look forward to bringing you the second-annual hunt next fall during Homecoming week.

David Copeland, A.J. Fletcher Professor in the School of Communications, received the Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism History from the American Journalism Historians Association during the organization's annual convention in Tucson, Ariz.

Acclaimed American pianist Awadagin Pratt visits ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ on Tuesday evening for a Whitley Auditorium performance as part of the Adams Foundation Piano Series sponsored by the Times-News and ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ senior Charley Costa and junior Stephen Azar won top honors last week in the 2010 Eller Ethics Case Competition, a prestigious national contest hosted by the University of Arizona and featuring many of the top-ranked undergraduate business schools in North America. It is the second time in as many years that ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students took first place in the competition.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ is one of a dozen universities where students this fall will be eligible to enter original screenplays in the nationwide Sprite Refreshing Films™ contest or apply to direct one of the six short films chosen for production.