August 8, 2025

The Virginia Board of Education unanimously approved the New River Valley Governor’s School to be housed at Radford University starting in Fall 2026. 

Join President Bret Danilowicz as we proudly begin the 2025-26 academic year and celebrate the successes of our university with special guest Eugene Naughton ’89, president of Dollywood, at University Employee Convocation on Friday, Aug. 22, from 2:45-4:15 p.m. in Bondurant Auditorium in Preston Hall.

Roanoke employees can view the convocation in the RUC Board Room.

We also invite you to give a spirited welcome to our incoming Highlanders as they enter the New Student Convocation at 5 p.m. and keep the spirit alive by participating in the annual aerial “R” incoming class photo at 6 p.m. on Moffett Lawn.

As a reminder, the university community will have an opportunity to learn more about progress on the Radford University Strategic Plan during a pair of August town halls:

If you are unable to attend in person, both meetings will be offered virtually on Zoom at https://radford.zoom.us/j/93387066169. 

The new strategic plan remains on track to be submitted to the board for initial review in September and for final approval in December.

Two new Radford University license plates are available to order on the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles website and at DMV office locations. A portion of the proceeds from Radford license plate sales will go to support scholarships for Virginia students.

We look forward to seeing these new Highlander plates on highways and byways across the great commonwealth and beyond.

Radford University has a long history of big welcomes for our students. You can participate by adding your event to the comprehensive calendar on the #RadWelcome 2025 webpage.

To submit your welcome events happening between Aug. 18 and Sept. 26, e-mail the following event details to jylewis1@radford.edu.

All events received by Friday, Aug. 15, will be added to the calendar and will receive special social media promotion on Instagram through @radfordstudentlife.

Radford Community Fest is returning on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Students, families, community members and visitors are invited to join us for this free annual celebration held on East Main Street in Radford and co-hosted by the City of Radford and Radford University.

It will feature over 100 local vendors, five food trucks, a main stage with live music all day, street performers, community engagement and the downtown Radford merchants you love.

Join us to celebrate our community and kick off the 2025-26 academic year at this amazing event in downtown Radford.

Want to help out with the event? Volunteers are welcome as stagehands, greeters, vendor supporters, ID checkers and space upkeep personnel. You can sign up online to volunteer now.

The excitement of a new academic year kicks off with Fall Move-In. It is an exciting and meaningful time as students and families arrive on campus, ready to begin a new chapter. Faculty and staff play a vital role in making this transition a warm and welcoming experience.

Move-In is more than just unloading cars – it’s about setting the tone for community, connection and student success. Your presence and support go a long way in helping students feel at home from day one.

Please note these Move-In dates on your calendars:

Radford Campus

Roanoke Campus

If students have questions about their room assignments, roommates or drop-off/check-in appointment times, they can find all details in the Housing portal via OneCampus. Packing lists and items to leave at home are available on the Move-In page on the website.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to be part of the energy. Whether greeting students, lending a helping hand or simply sharing a smile, your support makes a lasting impression.

Radford University is stepping up to the plate as a proud sponsor of several upcoming Salem Red Sox games this August and September.

We are excited to be part of the action and invite all employees and their loved ones to join us for America’s national pastime. Radford is one of the sponsors supporting theme nights honoring our military and first responder communities, as well as our furry friends.

The Salem Red Sox are offering discounted tickets to Radford University faculty, staff and alumni. Get your tickets, stop by our table to say hello, grab some Radford swag and enjoy a night at the ballpark.

You can see the entire Salem Red Sox schedule on their website.

Parking Services will offer three training sessions for the new AIMs parking system. As a reminder, the AIMs parking system is part of the new parking features that are being implemented for the upcoming academic year. The features will make parking services easier to navigate for the Highlander community and easier to manage for parking officials.

The training opportunities will be held in person in Artis 310 or via Zoom. Below are the dates and times, along with the Zoom link for each.

Anthology Ally is a new tool available in D2L. It provides guidance on how to correct accessibility issues with digital course content.

Students can also download alternative file formats by clicking the dropdown icon next to the file name and selecting the version that best suits their devices and needs.

Instructors can find further information in the Anthology Ally in D2L for Instructors article.

To see upcoming training for Anthology Ally, visit Academic Technologies’ Technology Training Catalog.

The Radford University Payroll department has transitioned the bi-weekly paper timecard to an electronic form in Kuali.

This form is only for part-time employees to submit hours for a pay period in which they no longer have access to their regular online timesheet on the Employee Dashboard. Full-time employees and supervisors should still contact Adam Fults, leave analyst in the Office of Human Resources, for missed submissions and approvals of timesheets and leave reports.

This form is ready to use now. Contact the payroll office at payroll@radford.edu or visit the payroll office in Walker Hall 206 for a link to the form.

Information Technology Services is transitioning Radford University’s old security awareness training system to a modern, user-friendly platform designed to be more engaging.

The new solution, KnowBe4, provides interactive, up-to-date content tailored to emerging threats, helping our community stay informed and vigilant. Overall, this upgrade enhances Radford University’s ability to reduce risk through education and foster a proactive approach to information security across the university.

The new training can be found in OneCampus by searching for “KnowBe4.” The old training will remain on OneCampus until we fully transition to the new platform.

The AI Community of Practice is ready for year two. This community formed last year and will continue during academic year 2025-2026 with more than 50 current participants. All Radford University faculty and staff are invited to join in the community. Participation is voluntary, and you can take part as much or as little as you want.

To be added to the e-mail distribution list to receive community communications, e-mail the community’s faculty development leader, Laura Vernon, at lvernon@radford.edu.

The AI Community of Practice had a good first year, but there is still more that can be done to support our community as we continue to navigate the use of AI in our practice.

Mark your calendars for the following Our Turn sessions, hosted by the AI Community of Practice. 

You can register for these sessions through the Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning registration system.

Academic Technologies is offering training opportunities this month for all employees to help everyone get prepared for the new semester.

Training opportunities in August include sessions about:

To learn more about these training opportunities and register for sessions, visit the Academic Technologies’ Training Catalog.

The Department of Human Resources will continue to provide training for the new PageUp system on the following dates.

More information about these sessions is available on the Training and Development webpage, under the "Training Workshops Currently Available" drop-down menu. You can also enroll ion these sessions from that page. These training sessions may be subject to cancellation if enrollment is low.

Due to a production issue, the Did you know? section of the July 25 edition of Radford University CONNECTED was not fully shown. Below is the text as it should have appeared in the last edition.

We are welcoming our very first cohort of Tartan Transfer students this fall. These students will receive a OneCard and join the Radford Community Fest along with other campus welcome events – all while remaining enrolled and completing their associate degrees at one of our eight partner colleges.