July 11, 2025

The men’s track team is back at Radford University! Athletes will compete in NCAA Division I meets starting this year. 

Due to inclement weather, Radford University Night at the Party in Elmwood was postponed until Thursday, Sept. 4, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke. All Radford University faculty, staff and students are invited to join us.

Please note that food and beverages will be served on-site by vendors (see the Party in Elmwood webpage for information on costs). No outside food, drinks or coolers are allowed. Lawn chairs are welcome.

As the summer break reaches its midpoint, so too has the development of the Radford University Strategic Plan.

During June’s quarterly Board of Visitors meeting, the board approved a draft mission statement, which is subject to final approval by SCHEV. In addition, a new vision statement and core values, inspired by community input received during town halls in spring 2025, are in the final stages of development.

The implementation planning committee is nearing completion of an implementation roadmap, which includes:

The university community will have an opportunity to learn more about the strategic plan’s progress during a pair of August town halls:

Both meetings will be offered virtually on Zoom, and links will be sent closer to the event date. Archived recordings will be available following the town halls. The new strategic plan remains on track to be submitted to the board for initial review in September and for final approval in December.

On Saturday, July 12, at 5:30 p.m., Radford University’s Information Technology Services will perform a scheduled upgrade of the firewall hardware at the Armstrong Data Center. This upgrade will improve both performance and security, offering increased throughput and enhanced protection for campus network traffic.

What to expect:

It is recommended that all users plan accordingly and complete any time-sensitive tasks before the scheduled outage. Information Technology Services thanks the Highlander community for your patience as they continue to enhance the reliability and security of Radford’s IT infrastructure.

The Radford University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL), Office of Academic Technologies and Center for Accessibility Services (CAS) are collaborating to offer a Staff Accessibility Bootcamp on Thursday, July 31, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, in Walker Hall 215 and via Zoom.

This 3.5-hour session will give you the nuts and bolts of document accessibility. Word, PowerPoint and PDF accessibility will be discussed. The workshop will also touch on accessibility technologies and platforms for creating forms.

This training is geared toward staff and AP faculty who have responsibilities for creating documents that will be housed in digital formats, like those on webpages, in D2L and on social media platforms. Participants should bring a laptop and a few documents to work on such as a Word document, a PowerPoint presentation or a PDF.

Breakfast will be provided by CITL. 

Please note: This bootcamp is limited to the first 50 registrants.

Rachel Williams stepped into her role as the new dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts on July 10. She comes to Radford University from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she served as the dean of the Division of Liberal Arts since 2022.

Williams says she’s still moving in box by box but has already started meeting with staff and faculty and is very excited about working with students. Please help us welcome one of our newest leaders to the Highlander community.

The Radford University Office of Admissions has set the dates when we will welcome visitors to our locations in Radford and Roanoke during the 2025-2026 academic year. Please note the dates below on your calendars and join us to give a warm Highlander greeting to our guests.

Anthology Ally is a new tool that will be available in D2L beginning in August. It provides guidance on how to correct accessibility issues with digital course content, which means learning materials will work better on mobile phones and tablets as well as with assistive technologies.

Students will also be able to download alternative formats of files by clicking the dropdown icon next to the file name and choosing a version of the file most appropriate for their device and need.

Radford University Academic Technologies will provide 30-minute previews of Anthology Ally over the next few weeks, along with more in-depth training sessions. Registration is required.

Additional in-depth training will be available during the Fall 2025 Our Turn session and throughout the fall semester. Watch for more details on those opportunities coming soon.

The Office of Marketing and Communication will take headshot photos on the main campus in Radford for any new employees who need new for the website directory, as well as for returning employees who would like a more current photo for the directory.

If you are interested in having your photo taken, come to the photo studio, adjacent to the Marketing and Communication Suite 115 on the first floor of Martin Hall, during one of the following times:

No reservation is needed.

Headshot photos will also be offered at the beginning of the fall semester on the main campus and at Radford University Carilion for Roanoke employees. Watch for more information on those opportunities coming soon.

The Division of Student Affairs is seeking volunteers for the 2025 Tartan 5K: A Twilight Run on Friday, Sept. 19, from 6-8:30 p.m. in Roanoke. Volunteer spots are available for the parking lot, information station, start/finish line, water station, marshalling, cleanup and other race activities.

Additionally, Student Affairs invites departments to host a booth at the event. This is a great way to market your area and interact with the community. Booths are free, but please reserve your spot by Friday, Aug. 1, by e-mailing ruccampuslife@radford.edu.

Tickets are now on sale for all three University Performance Series events of the 2025-26 season.

These include Ailey II, the dance company founded in 1974 by Alvin Ailey, performing in Bondurant Hall on Friday, Sept. 26. Next year, you can enjoy a stage production of “Great Expectations” by The Acting Company on Monday, Jan. 20, 2026, and, direct from Rome, Italy, the Three Italian Tenors perform on Wednesday, March 12.

From June 22 through July 12, Radford University has been hosting the Summer Residential Governor's School for Visual & Performing Arts and Humanities on the main campus in Radford. As part of this experience, the participating students recently visited McConnell Library, where they played a game exploring the spaces of the library. At the end of the game, the students each chose a book or DVD to build the display “Gov School 2025 Student Recommendations.”

The library invites the Highlander community to come in and check it out — and check out a book or DVD while you’re there.

The Radford University Department of Human Resources continues to offer training via Zoom for the new PageUp Applicant Tracking System. These trainings are intended for supervisors and individuals who will be responsible for creating and/or modifying position descriptions, requesting to advertise and/or manage job postings and creating an offer for a successful applicant. 

To see the trainings scheduled for this month and to enroll, visit the PageUp Applicant Tracking Trainings & Office Hours Doodle Poll webpage.

Please note that these training sessions will be subject to cancellation if enrolled attendance is low.

In addition to training, there will be two office-hour sessions via Zoom for PageUp users to ask questions or troubleshoot issues they are having with the system. Those sessions will take place on:

As a reminder, administrative assistants and supervisors who need additional access in the new PageUp site on behalf of another supervisor must complete a new Access Request Form on Kuali in order for that access to be granted. This form can be found by logging into OneCampus and searching for “Access Request Form.” On the form, be sure to check “PageUp” and to include all five digit organization numbers needed in the request.

In just a few short weeks, campus will once again be alive with the energy and excitement our Highlanders bring. As we prepare to welcome students back, we’re reminded of the unique spirit that makes our community so special. Thank you for all you do to help create a welcoming and supportive environment for our returning Highlanders!