September 12, 2025

Monday was the preliminary student census, and overall enrollment is up over last year. Most of the growth is in traditional, in-person first-year students on the main campus, which helps to build energy and momentum. Other notable growth areas are in the graduate education leadership and social work programs. In addition, we have the largest nursing class in history this fall, and the Honors College grew by 10%, up to 425 students. Congratulations to all! 

Make plans to drop in and engage in conversations with Radford University Provost Bethany Usher this fall. These brown bag discussions, hosted by the Radford University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, will allow you to talk with the provost about university initiatives and broader national topics. Feel free to bring your lunch – dessert will be provided. No registration is required.

Discussions will be held on:

The Radford University Office of Emergency Management will conduct public tests of the Radford Alert Emergency Notification System on Thursday, Sept. 18, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., on both the main campus in Radford and at the university’s Roanoke locations.

Students and employees will receive notifications based on their campus affiliations. Please note that individuals who travel between campuses may receive multiple alerts for the different locations.

Radford Alert is used to communicate critical information with the university community in several instances, such as:

Radford Alert is also available for Highlander families, friends, visitors, vendors and contractors, helping them stay informed during potential emergencies by opting in through SMS messaging.

For more information about these tests, contact the Office of Emergency Management at oem@radford.edu or 540-831-6849.

The Radford University Department of Human Resources would like to thank the Highlander community for your continued efforts to support Radford University’s performance management process. The 2024-2026 Administrative & Professional (A/P) performance cycle covers November 2024 through June 30, 2026, and was formally launched in August 2025 in PageUp. With the cycle now well underway, we would like to provide a reminder of the key upcoming deadlines to support your planning.

You can also view the deadlines for your specific plan in the PageUp Performance Management system, which can be accessed through OneCampus.

After accessing your/your employee’s plan, go to the “Next Steps” section and select “View entire process” in the lower right corner to view deadlines associated with your plan. If you have any questions regarding the A/P evaluation process, contact the Department of Human Resources and include Performance Management in the subject line.

Highlanders Vote is looking for people who are passionate about helping every Highlander register and vote. Along with the Campus Voter Team, Highlanders Vote hosts tables at campus events and visits UNIV 100 classes to help register people to vote.

If you would like to join this effort, you are invited to join the Highlander Voter Corps by signing up online.

For more information, contact Malcolm Chrepta or Chapman Rackaway. 

You have access to many high-quality, popular sources that are paywalled on the web through University Libraries’ subscription databases. Use SuperSearch on the library’s homepage to find specific publications. You can learn how to navigate with our Finding News and Magazine Articles Research Guide.

University Libraries offers access to many publications, including:

Find direct links to many of the above in our Research Guide.

You can also chat with a human librarian via Ask a Librarian 24/7 Chat for assistance.

If you are teaching a class in which your students have an assignment to find and use a variety of sources, including news and other popular and/or scholarly sources, University Libraries offers course-integrated workshops on relevant information literacy skills, as well as a self-paced D2L module on Identifying and Evaluating Sources that anyone may enroll in.

Gallery 302 in the Artis Center is now officially open. This space, located across from the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) dean’s office, will house small, unique exhibitions from various artists working in a variety of media. All exhibitions in this gallery are free and open to the public.

Currently, needlework artist Becca Foster’s exhibition Thimbles in Thread: Embroidered Wonders is on display every Thursday, from noon-4 p.m. The exhibit will close with a reception on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 3-5 p.m., featuring an artist talk with Foster.

The AI Community of Practice at Radford University will host a discussion session for employees and students on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. via Zoom.

The discussion will be based on the online article, “The LLMentalist Effect: How Chat-Based Large Language Models Replicate the Mechanisms of a Psychic’s Con.”

The article takes a deep dive into what he calls the “intelligence illusion.” People are convinced that large language models (LLMs), or specifically chat-based large language models, are intelligent. However, LLMs are not brains and do not meaningfully share any of the mechanisms that animals or people use to reason or think. LLMs are a mathematical model of language tokens. You give an LLM text, and it will give you a mathematically plausible response to that text. The intelligence illusion is in the mind of the user and not in the LLM itself. The author explains why this is the case and, after more research on the topic, has come to believe that there is even less intelligence and reasoning in these LLMs than he thought before.

Participants are encouraged to read the article before attending the session.

This discussion will be facilitated by David Anderson, associate professor in the Radford University Department of Anthropological Sciences.

All university employees are invited to the monthly Social at Selu on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Selu Conservancy.

Snacks and drinks will be provided, and a cash bar will be available. Live music and fall vibes will fill the air as we pause and enjoy community.

A financial consultant from TIAA will be available on the main campus in Radford from Sept. 15-17. Whether you’re just beginning your career or actively planning for retirement, a one-on-one session can help you develop a strategy to meet your financial goals.

An appointment is required to meet with the consultant. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-732-8353 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays. Be sure to mention that you would like to meet with Mr. Sosa at Radford University.

The Radford University Office of Career and Talent Development will host two events this fall to help students find jobs and secure internships. Please let your students know about these events so they can add them to their calendars. In addition, offices and departments that would like to participate in either or both events should contact Paula McGraw.

The Radford University Office of Sponsored Programs and Grants Management will be offering several professional development opportunities this fall. Mark your calendars and sign up for these great events.

The Radford University Office of Career and Talent Development is in need of new and gently used suits, pants, blazers, dress shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses, belts and ties for its Career Closet. The Career Closet provides students with access to free professional attire for interviews, career fairs, networking events and other career-oriented activities and occasions. The goal of the program is to help students feel prepared, professional and comfortable when making a first impression.

Used clothing should be dry-cleaned or pre-washed, ready-to-wear and appropriate for interviews, networking events and other career opportunities.

The Career Closet also accepts monetary gifts that will be used to purchase clothing for the closet. Donations can be dropped off in Russell Hall, third floor, Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monetary gifts can be made online.

Please let your students know that they are invited to stop by the Career Closet, located on the third floor of Russell Hall, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to try on and keep professional attire and accessories. No appointment necessary.