April 24, 2026

Radford University Emergency Services Program Director Kari Whitney has trained over half of the EMS professionals in the Roanoke and New River Valleys through the continuing education EMT and Paramedic programs over the last 11 years.

It’s almost time for Radford University’s Spring Commencement ceremonies, with the graduate ceremony taking place on Friday, May 1, and the undergraduate ceremony on Saturday, May 2.

Details about all commencement ceremonies and recognition events are now available on the Spring Commencement page on the Radford University website.

On the page, you’ll find links to:

Please note the clear bag policy for all who attend the ceremony and share this information with students and their guests as necessary.

As the dust settles on the Round of 4 in Blue Ridge Outdoors’ 2026 Top Adventure College competition, two schools remain: Radford University and Emory & Henry.

But unlike an Agatha Christie novel, the burning question isn’t "whodunit?” but “who’s gonna do it?”

While the Wasps are a worthy adversary, apathy poses the greatest hurdle for the Highlanders on the road to the top. Let’s not rest on last year’s laurels but rather prove 2025 was no fluke.

Vote for Radford today and be sure to encourage colleagues, family and friends to do the same. Championship round voting runs April 20-27.

And remember: “At Radford University, adventure isn’t a slogan; it’s in our DNA!”

President Bret Danilowicz, Staff Senate President Fallon Kreye, A/P Senate President Ashlee Claud and Faculty Senate President Matt Close thank all employees at Radford University for participating in Coffee with the President during this academic year.

If you missed our most recent event, you can view a replay of it and all episodes from this year on demand:

Your Radford University username and password are required to view the videos.

Over the next several months, Radford University’s Department of Information Technology Services (IT) will update how campus users sign in to many university systems and services. This work is part of a broader effort to improve both the user experience and the security of university accounts and information.

In many cases, access to systems and applications will become more streamlined. Because this transition will happen in phases, you may begin to notice changes to some sign-in screens before others. These updates will roll out gradually over the coming months as systems are moved to the new sign-in process. During that time, the experience may look a little different depending on which service you are accessing.

While this change will affect all users, IT will continue to share employee-focused updates through this newsletter so faculty and staff know what to expect, when changes are taking place and whether any action is needed. IT thanks you for your patience and support as they continue this work.

Several artists with a variety of connections to the Radford University art program will have works on exhibition at the Floyd Center for the Arts beginning this weekend.

Alison Pack Bova, Kevin Meredith, Sung Eun Park, Nathan Popp and Halide Salam were among the 20 artists selected for the PROCESS | PRACTICE exhibition, which will be in the center’s Hayloft Gallery. The show highlights artistic experimentation and process across disciplines, revealing the ideas and materials behind each work.

The free opening reception is on Saturday, April 25, from 4-6 p.m., with light refreshments and a cash bar.

Radford University is proud to sponsor Community School’s 2026 Strawberry Festival in Roanoke from Friday-Saturday, May 1-2. Featuring the work of local artisans, along with shortcakes, sundaes and chocolate-dipped strawberries, the festival is one of Roanoke’s most popular events, signaling the beginning of summer and the festival season for the Roanoke Valley.

Sponsoring events like the recent Screamiverse Expo, the Strawberry Festival and Radford Community Fest, as well as Salem RidgeYaks games and high school activities, allows us to increase awareness and engagement among high school students, their teachers and parents/guardians, along with alumni, community members, business leaders and the general public throughout Southwest Virginia. 

Radford University’s Vinod Chachra IMPACT Lab was selected to receive the 2025 Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Impact Award in recognition of the statewide impact of the Professional Accelerated Cyber Education (PACE) initiative and its statewide leadership in cybersecurity workforce development.

The Impact Award recognizes individuals and teams whose work demonstrates exceptional impact in advancing CCI’s mission to serve as an engine for research, innovation and talent development at the intersection of cybersecurity, autonomy and intelligence. It highlights projects and initiatives that successfully translate CCI-supported funding into measurable, real-world outcomes across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The IMPACT Lab’s PACE program is an online, competency-based initiative designed to strengthen cybersecurity capacity among incumbent IT professionals in public-sector and community-serving organizations across Virginia. It was supported by two Commonwealth Cyber Initiative grants in 2024 and 2025 and has delivered flexible, industry-aligned cybersecurity education to professionals serving local governments, school divisions, healthcare systems and other organizations throughout the Commonwealth.

To help streamline catering invoice processing and reduce payment delays, Radford University’s Department of Accounting Services is introducing a Kuali Catering action form.

This form provides a single, standardized way for Accounting Services to report issues related to catering invoices, including missing information, pre‑approval concerns or potential policy compliance issues.

Using the form helps ensure:

The form is intended to support departments, not slow down payments or introduce new policies.

A video about the form can be found on the controller’s office training page in the Learning Management System (D2L). You must be registered in the controller’s office training to access the video. 

Radford University Archives and Special Collections is pleased to spotlight Sydney Jones, an English program graduate student who has been working with Archives and Special Collections since fall 2025. Jones supports the department by creating and enhancing archival metadata for its digital collections, assisting with reading room appointments, processing new acquisitions and digitizing archival materials.

In addition to her archival work, Jones is an accomplished LEGO builder. 

She recently created a detailed model of McConnell Library, which was featured during this year’s McConnell Day celebration in February. University Libraries and Archives and Special Collections are grateful for Jones’ wide‑ranging contributions and creativity in the Archives.

The last theatre performances of the year will come to the Black Box Theatre on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m. each night. Performances will include:

Find out how Radford students, faculty and staff are finding their place and shaping tomorrow – together.

Radford students celebrate Traditions Week 2026

Foods and nutrition major to join prestigious summer research program

Residence halls move-out donation program benefits campus and community

Highlanders in the News: Week of April 13, 2026

Virtual exchange
leads to trans-Atlantic friendship