April 10, 2026

The Radford University Pickleball Club has just earned an incredible opportunity – a bid to compete at nationals! This is a huge achievement for the club, and the team is excited to represent us on a national stage. However, getting to nationals comes with significant expenses. The club is raising money to help cover the costs of travel, food, hotel accommodations and tournament fees.

Every dollar raised will go directly toward making this trip possible for Radford’s club members. Your support will not only help them compete at nationals but also allow them to continue growing the sport of pickleball at our university for years to come.

The votes are in, and we’re onto the Exquisite 8, having vanquished Virginia Tech in the Savory 16!

But there’s no time to celebrate just yet. We’ve set our sights on the Cavaliers of UVA in hopes of reaching the Fab 4, with the ultimate goal to repeat as Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Top Adventure College. The voting for Round 3 runs April 6-12, so be sure to cast your vote today.

Don’t forget to check out Radford’s Top Adventure College video, featuring President Bret and some of our Highlanders in the great outdoors!

The Rad Talks series of community events will continue on Tuesday, April 14, from 7-8 p.m. with “Exploring Community History in Radford and Southwest Virginia,” at the Glencoe Museum, 600 Unruh Drive in Radford.

This exploration of the history of Radford and southwest Virginia will be led by Geoffrey Pollick, chair of and associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, and Sharon Roger Hepburn, chair of and professor in the Department of History.

The event is free, and light refreshments will
be served.

Are you a Radford University employee looking to serve your campus community in a powerful way?

Join a dedicated team committed to helping students and employees heal and thrive after traumatic or critical incidents by becoming a volunteer crisis responder through Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) training.

Through this program, offered by Radford University’s Division of Student Affairs, CISM responders provide structured, evidence‑based support following traumatic events, using crisis intervention strategies such as defusing and debriefings to promote recovery and resilience.

Your commitment to participate in this program includes:

The deadline to apply is Monday, April 20. Help strengthen Radford University’s culture of care – your support matters.

This is the 25th year of Radford University’s International Guitar Festival, which will take place on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11, at Davis Performance Hall in the Covington Center.

Everyone is invited to come and experience something new with performances and workshops not just on guitar, but also the Baroque lute and a guzheng, a Chinese stringed instrument. Best of all, all events are free and open to the public.

The featured artists include Hao Yang (China), James Piorkowski (U.S.), Duo Chinoiserie (Bin Hu and Jing Xia, China), Christopher Wilkie (U.S.) and the Community Guitar Orchestra.

The festival schedule includes masterclasses and workshops with Hao Yang, James Piorkowski, Duo Chinoiserie and Christopher Wilkie, plus evening concerts each night.

Join the Radford University College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) for a free online documentary screening of “Dorothy Gillespie: Courage, Independence and Color,” followed by a Q&A with her son, Gary Israel. This event will be on Wednesday, April 15, from 6-7:30 p.m., which is also World Art Day.

The groundbreaking Roanoke-born artist is known for her use of shapes and color, and many of her works are part of the Radford University permanent collection. You can check out the trailer online now.

Celebrate the creativity of our Master of Fine Arts (MFA) candidates at this year’s MFA Art Show, opening Friday, April 10. A special reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. in the Tyler Gallery, featuring artists Cher Scott and Toni Pitts.

Meet the artists, enjoy light refreshments and experience an inspiring showcase of emerging talent. Admission is free, and the exhibition will be on view through April 18.

The Virginia IT Agency (VITA) will retire the SMS (text message) and phone call options for multifactor authentication (MFA) for Cardinal login effective Monday, April 27. Cardinal is recommending that users set up the Okta Verify mobile application; however, additional multifactor authentication options are available and are located on Cardinal’s website. Radford University Cardinal users are advised to update their MFA before the April deadline. The MFA setup will be important for any staffers who plan to utilize Cardinal during the upcoming Benefit Open Enrollment period. If you need to access information regarding your state ID, details can be found on OneCampus by logging in and searching for “State ID.”

For technical or functional questions, do not contact Radford University’s HR or IT departments; questions MUST be submitted as a Cardinal help desk ticket by emailing vccc@vita.virginia.gov and include the following information:

Radford University will once again celebrate the longest continuous campus-wide research event in Virginia with the 35^th Student Engagement Forum, from Tuesday, April 21, through Friday,
April 24.

Come hear from more than 400 students presenting the new knowledge they created over the past academic year. The event is open to the public and features interdisciplinary poster sessions, oral presentations, performances and exhibitions across campus.

The forum will open with feature poster sessions on April 21, from 11 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Artis Center Performance Hub, with an additional session at 5 p.m. in the Center for the Sciences. Wednesday will include a variety of oral and poster sessions across campus, and creative works will be on display throughout the week in multiple locations.

Get ready for an evening of style and celebration at the Spring Fashion Fête Fundraising Dinner and Fashion Show on Saturday, April 11, at the Artis Center on the main campus in Radford.

You can kick off the night at the Fashion Fête Fundraising Dinner Banquet at 5 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre. Funds raised support the education of our design students. For more information, call 540-831-5248.

The Fashion Show begins at 7 p.m. in the Performance Hub, with free open seating and reserved seating available by ticket. Designs come from our student designers, with runway models coming from around the university. 

Join us for fashion, community and a great cause.

Planning efforts for Radford University’s new academic health sciences building in Roanoke are actively underway, with several key milestones already completed and more opportunities for engagement ahead.

To help you stay informed about the progress of this project, a new webpage has been introduced on the Radford University website. Be sure to bookmark the Roanoke Health Sciences Building page so you can be in the loop as our new facility comes into focus.

You’ll find the latest updates on the page in the accordion menu near the bottom of the page. Each row includes the date it was published and will provide the latest information as our planning groups and committees work with the Perkins & Will project team to plan the project.

This week’s update includes information on:

Please join the Highlander Center for Character and Public Impact at the final Common Grounds discussion of the semester on Tuesday, April 28, from noon to 1 p.m. in McConnell Library 380 on the main campus in Radford. The topic will be “How do you sustain yourself and others during times of uncertainty?”

Common Grounds is a facilitated discussion, open to all students, employees and members of our community. Bring your own lunch, and we’ll provide delicious bakery goods, coffee and tea.

Get ready to kick up your heels at Radford University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) line dance event. Join the fun on Wednesday, April 22, from 6-7 p.m. at the horseshoe atrium outside the Artis Center.

This lively evening will feature music and instruction from Jenna Adkins and Dogwood Drive, making it perfect for beginners and experienced dancers alike. Whether you’re learning your first steps or just love to move, this free public event is a great way to connect, dance and enjoy the energy of the CVPA community.

LibKey Nomad is a browser extension that helps connect you directly with University Libraries’ electronic journals while you’re searching sites like PubMed and Google Scholar. It is fast and easy to install and helps put articles right at your virtual fingertips.

You'll find download instructions for your browser at its site, and you can always ask a librarian for help if you need it.

The Radford University McGlothlin Center for Global Education and Engagement, in collaboration with the Office of Sponsored Programs and Grants Management, cordially invites you to participate in a campus-wide survey to capture all faculty international engagement in the last five years. All types of international activities are welcome, including presentations, research, faculty-led programs, sabbaticals, etc., but of particular interest are international scholarship and research activities. 

We would love your input and insight to help capture what we are already engaged in, how we can expand our footprint globally and how we may be able to connect you with others on campus to collaborate more efficiently.

Click on the link below to start the brief survey and feel free to reach out to the following with thoughts or questions.

Radford University’s Department of Academic Technologies is offering several different training opportunities in April. Training is open to employees and students. All sessions are in Walker Hall 275 on the main campus, with the option to join remotely. Click on a link below to learn more and register for the training.

The Radford University Department of Human Resources reminds supervisors that they are required to complete certain processes in a timely and effective manner prior to an employee’s separation date in order to ease the transition and safeguard the university.

Depending on the type of employee, a personnel action may be required to complete the separation. For all full-time employee and 1,500-hour wage employee separations, supervisors must complete a separation EPAF (Electronic Personnel Action Form) as soon as possible after notice of the employee’s separation is received and no later than the separation date. More information on employee separations is available via Human Resources’ EPAF Frequently Asked Questions.

The completion and certification of a separation checklist are required for all employee separations to ensure all final processes are completed by the employee for payroll purposes, to collect university-owned property and to ensure that system access is updated. Supervisors must complete a separation checklist prior to the employee’s departure. Please see the separation checklist for student employees and all other employees, as well as employee separation procedures.

Celebrate the season with the Spring Dance Concert, on Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 18, at 2 p.m. in the Artis Center Main Stage Theater.

Featuring dynamic performances by student dancers, this lively program showcases a range of styles and choreography and includes a student collaboration with guest choreographer Amy Miller.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for children and free with a Radford University ID.

The Radford University Office of Sustainability, the City of Radford and their partners are hosting several events in celebration of Earth Month through May 5 on the main campus and in our communities. A detailed schedule of events throughout April and on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, is now available on the website.

Be sure to mark your calendars to join the Office of Sustainability for these great events.   

The Radford University Department of Human Resources will host the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and VOYA on Monday, May 4, at 9 a.m. on the main campus in Heth
Hall 044.

A presentation detailing retirement eligibility, life insurance and other state benefits will be offered, followed by one-on-one meetings to discuss personal retirement accounts from 10:20 a.m. to 2 p.m. All VRS and VOYA participants are welcome to attend the morning presentation. One-on-one sessions are limited and require registration to attend.

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Highlanders
in the News:
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March 30, 2026