January 26, 2024

Several departments on campus and external partner agencies are developing a new website for Radford University. Plans are now in place for the new site launch. Please note the following dates and information regarding the website rollout.

New web governance and additional guidelines for new site usage will be available soon. Stay tuned for more details!

Have you missed an issue of Radford University CONNECTED, or is there a topic you’d like to go back and revisit from a past edition? The new Radford University CONNECTED Archives webpage can help you view those previous editions online.

On the CONNECTED Archives page, click on the date of the issue you’d like to see, and it will load right in your browser. Each date will have the headlines listed so you can easily browse to the issue you need.

Gallagher, the vendor engaged by Radford University to complete a compensation study, will be presenting the recommendations to each employee group on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the following times.

The webinar information will be sent to all employees prior to Feb. 8. Each webinar will be recorded, and FAQs will be developed and uploaded to the D2L site.

The Office of Faculty Development is pleased to introduce a new campus discussion series, “Common Grounds.

Join students, staff and faculty on Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 3 - 4 p.m. in the Information Literacy Classroom B, McConnell Library third floor. This month’s discussion topic will be “What does a peaceful, durable resolution look like in Gaza, and how do we get there?” Coffee, tea and bakery snacks will be served.

Optional advance activities to prepare for good discussion include the following:

Do you incorporate undergraduate research or creative inquiry in a course? Would you like to? Would you like to work with a BIPOC student who can serve as a research mentor to your students? Consider applying for the Elevate Research program, in which faculty and student mentors can receive stipends to incorporate a course-based research experience for undergraduate students.

You can apply via the link below with any undergraduate course in mind, but the program prioritizes lower-level courses. An application for potential BIPOC student research mentors will be available soon.

The Elevate Research program is funded through the generosity of the Jessie Ball DuPont Foundation.

For more information, contact Joe Wirgau, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, at jwirgau@radford.edu  

The Department of Procurement and Contracts has developed a user-friendly guide with key information for approvers when approving an eVA requisition.

This guide outlines various approval roles, ranging from the requestor to senior management. It clearly defines the triggers for each approval role, specifies any required documents and indicates if the role is responsible for ensuring procurement compliance.

Procurement and Contracts encourages anyone with eVA approval responsibilities to thoroughly review this guide. For more information, contact Procurement and Contracts at purchase@radford.edu or 540-831-5419.

Join the Office of Faculty Development, the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning and your colleagues in a multi-session discussion of “Learner-Centered Teaching,” a modern-classic text on teaching and learning.

Whether the book already adorns your shelf or this is your first read, the ideas presented by Doyle are sure to lead to energizing and productive discussions with your colleagues!  

The Office of Student Life would like to remind everyone that there are three major awareness weeks in April 2024. They are:

Additionally, the first week of April is also Traditions Week!

Student Life invites departments and offices across our communities to submit programs in support of these theme weeks. Your participation helps us provide our students, faculty and staff with events and activities in support of these important recognition weeks.

Each week, we aim to showcase a delightful drawing from Jacob Blevins, a student employee in Marketing and Communication and senior majoring in art.

Jacob skillfully captures scenes from around campus, infusing them with his imaginative talent. His whimsical cartoons and drawings offer a unique student perspective of campus, and we hope you enjoy.

Engage in discussion with other faculty as we “read” the Constructive Dialogue Institute's “Perspectives” course. This course, offered by the Office of Faculty Development and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, is available to the entire Radford University community and facilitates skill-building in having difficult dialogue across divides.

We will explore our own perspectives and discuss how we might use the CDI modules and ideas in our courses. 

Need a partner for internships? The Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV) can help in several ways!

This spring,  CFNRV  will be offering Citizen Leader Designated Courses Workshops. Want a community engagement focus in your fall 2024 course? CFNRV has several community partners that may be willing to work with you.

Don’t know how to include a community engagement component in your course? CFNRV will provide workshop sessions to help you incorporate community engagement into your courses for fall 2024 or spring 2025.

CFNRV will discuss levels of engagement and help you create engagement experiences that best suit your course goals and objectives. Time, location and dates to be determined.

For more information, contact Jessica Wirgau at jessicawirgau@cfnrv.org or Jean Mistele at jmistele@radford.edu.

The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning congratulates the following faculty members for being awarded CITL mini-grants for teaching innovations: Molly Hood, Tay Keong Tan, Paige Johnson Tan, Jenny Hall, Karen Powers, Steven McBride, Ken Smith, Jamie Lau, Melissa DeBiasse, Matthew Close and Margaret Konkel.

Proposals covered a broad range of practices and topics, including Shorter Reads for Long-Term Impact; Students Solving Wicked Problems; Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills for Wicked Teaching; and undergraduate research on the local environment with an added professional certification in aquatic insect taxonomy, just to name a few!

While educators and researchers have investigated Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy at length, it remains largely historically inaccurate due to the ubiquitous misnomers that confine him to the position of a dreamer. From this point of view, reevaluating his thoughts through his writings is advantageous for historical clarity for students, administrators, faculty and staff.

Please join African American Studies, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) for an examination of King’s last book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” The book examination will meet monthly for one hour in a hybrid setting. Please make sure you can attend at least two meetings before you register. Zoom information will be sent to registrants prior to the meetings. After you register, you may pick up a book from CITL, McConnell Library 271.

For more information, contact CITL at citl@radford.edu.

How much do you know about Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK)? This is an intergenerational organization that helps students, faculty, staff and community leaders develop leadership skills and give back to the community. It is NOT a fraternity or club.

If you’re an ODK member who was initiated at another university, please know that you are welcome to participate in Radford University’s circle. We initiate faculty and staff as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

Have you ever wondered if there is a simpler way to sort data in an Excel spreadsheet? Would you like to learn how to communicate in the office using Microsoft Teams? Did you know D2L’s gradebook is now integrated with Banner? Have you wondered how to use Qualtrics to collect and analyze data?

Academic Technologies is offering training sessions for a variety of technologies. This semester, we are introducing a once-a-month opportunity to speak to a panel of our information technology trainers called AMAs (Ask Me Anything) on a specific technology topic! Click on the corresponding link to register for one of these training sessions. All sessions will be held in Walker Hall 275, with the option to join remotely

January

February