News & Events

Radford University is honored to welcome Susan Carroll '96, MBA, M.H.A., as the distinguished speaker for the Winter Commencement ceremony, set to inspire the graduating class of 2023.

Radford University hosted the Classroom to Career Cybersecurity Summit 2023 Nov. 9 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon, Virginia. The daylong event was designed to strengthen the coordination among regional businesses and governments, K-12 schools and workforce development agencies to prepare rural students for the changing needs of the current workforce.

Radford University students participated in the bi-annual Wicked Festival on Nov. 9, 2023. The goal of the festival is to give undergraduate students, from freshmen to seniors, the tools and resources needed for them to become experts and problem-solvers for complex, persistent and “wicked” public issues. 

Manually coring trees can be difficult and challenging, but it’s well worth the effort. Just ask Mira Smith. In the spring 2023 semester, the senior worked on research, in the field and in Radford’s Tree Ring Lab, with geospatial science professor and dendrochronologist Stockton Maxwell to study how climate affects tree growth.

This week in Highlanders in the News: The Radford Tuition Promise and other recent university announcements make a local media splash; Katie Harlow ’14 talks about her move to working in higher education; and a local business magazine says The Highlander Hotel Radford fits into a recent trend of universities that can now also offer lodgings. 

Students from the nursing, occupational therapy, social work and communication sciences and disorders programs gathered to participate in the fall 2023 Waldron College of Health and Human Services interprofessional case study activity on Nov. 3. The activity gives students the chance to interact and learn from one another, expanding their knowledge about the duties of each member of their teams as well as the resources available to them through their colleagues. 

Within her program, Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration student Mackenzie Hayden has been widely recognized as a rising star. Now, she's earning accolades externally. Recently, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration named her a 2023 Upsilon Phi Delta Society Scholarship recipient.

Hired by country music legend Dolly Parton's company in 2019, Naughton is now overseeing a 10-year, $500 million investment strategy that will raise a string of new Dollywood attractions and resort properties by the end of the 2020s.

Each year, Military Times recognizes schools where veterans can receive the best education and support. In its most recent list, it included Radford, citing the university’s Military Resource Center (MRC), which offers programs geared toward former service members as they integrate into academic and professional lives. 

Representatives from Radford University and Southwest Virginia Community College signed a transfer agreement on Nov. 3 that will guarantee admission into Radford’s prestigious Honors College for qualified SWCC honors students.

Every two weeks, Highlander Highlights shares with readers some of the extraordinary research and accomplishments happening on and off campus through the tireless work and curiosity of our students and faculty. 

In September, the Commonwealth of Virginia opened a new trade office in Taiwan, thanks in large part to the efforts of Radford University alumnus Wyatt Toehlke ’18.