December 19, 2025

Photo by the Radford University Alumni Association

Men’s basketball player Dennis Parker Jr. was named the Big South Conference Player of the Week after breaking the program and conference record for most points in a single game during last weekend’s game against Coppin State.

Learn more about his amazing, record-breaking game.

Radford University’s 2025 Winter Commencement activities, held Dec. 11-13, are now complete. As we head into winter break, let’s take a look back at our recent graduation events by the numbers. To learn more about Winter Commencement 2025, check out the feature story on the Radford University website.

Total number of graduates during our 2025 Winter Commencement.

Total number of undergraduate students accepting diplomas.

Total number of graduate students receiving master’s degrees or post-bachelor’s certificates.

Total number of graduate students awarded doctorate degrees.

Number of grads with birthdays on the same day they received their degrees.

Age range of the graduates receiving their degrees at the Winter Commencement ceremonies.

Number of first-generation college students graduating.

Largest number of graduates from one undergraduate program, which was nursing. 

Largest number of graduates from one graduate program, which was physician assistant.

Number of graduating seniors recognized by Radford’s Honors College.

Total number of states our graduates came from. 

Total number of our graduates from other countries. 

At Radford University’s Board of Visitors meeting on Dec. 5, Angela Joyner and Sharon Roger Hepburn, co-chairs of the Strategic Planning Committee, provided an update on development of Shaping Tomorrow - Together, the university’s strategic plan for 2026-2031. Following this presentation, the Board of Visitors formally adopted Shaping Tomorrow – Together as the university’s new strategic plan via a unanimous resolution.

You can view their Dec. 5 strategic plan presentation as well as the draft of Shaping Tomorrow - Together in the Updates section of the strategic plan website.

Please be sure to mark your calendar for the Friday, Jan. 23 launch event for the new strategic plan. The event will take place in the Covington Auditorium at 9:30 a.m. and feature remarks by President Danilowicz, Joyner and Roger Hepburn, along with a strategic plan video and new strategic plan swag.

The event will also be available on Zoom using passcode 934490.

We will share more details about the launch event after the Winter Break. 

As we approach the holiday break, the Radford University Division of Finance and Administration would like to remind all employees to be mindful of delivery dates entered in eVA. The university will be closed from Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, and deliveries will not be received during this time. 

When placing orders in eVA, please:

Being attentive to delivery dates helps prevent missed or delayed deliveries and ensures a smoother return after the holiday break.

A new oral history video is now available, produced in collaboration between the University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL). The subject of the video is Radford University carpenter foreman Marshall Page and focuses largely on his fascinating and unique life. Many folks might be unaware that Page is an accomplished musician and has played at the Grand Ole Opry, the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, music festivals, concerts and other well-known venues in Nashville, Tennessee.

He has also recorded several albums and has had his music played on radio stations across the country. 

On Oct. 22, Marshall visited the CITL studio in McConnell Library and not only told stories about his life but also played a few of his original songs. So, the next time you see Marshall around campus, give him a big smile and a thumbs-up.

The Radford University Department of Human Resources will offer training for applicant tracking in January 2026. Training will cover various areas of the PageUp system, such as creating and managing position descriptions, submitting a request to advertise, managing applicants and submitting an offer.

Those interested in participating can sign up on the Training and Development webpage.  

Radford University’s Office of Accounting Services will offer Emburse (Chrome River) travel training and food and beverage policy training in January for employees.

The January training sessions will be:

To attend a session, email travel@radford.edu with the subject line “Training.” In the body of the email, indicate if you would like to attend the Emburse (Chrome River) travel training session or the food and beverage policy training. You may also indicate in the email that you would like to attend both sessions. 

Each Zoom session is limited to 20 participants.

Once your email request is approved, you will receive a link to attend the requested session.

The Radford University Department of Human Resources would like to remind everyone to review classified staff position descriptions and submit any needed changes in PageUp so that they will be present in the 2026 classified staff performance plans.

In addition, please review any teleworking and/or alternate work agreements your employees have and submit changes, if necessary.

McConnell Library will once again be hosting live music in the Bird Room on Mondays throughout the spring 2026 semester. This program, known as Music Mondays, is sponsored by University Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections and features a different musician – and often a different musical genre – each week.

The schedule for spring semester is being finalized and will include faculty members, retired faculty members, staff, students and members of the public who will be presenting music that includes bluegrass, jazz standards, rock, folk, classical guitar and more.

The series will begin on Monday, Feb. 2, from noon to 1 p.m. and run through April 20.

Professor of Biology Graham Glynn will discuss his book “Metrics, Mapping and Modeling for Masterful Management in Higher Education” on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 1 p.m. in McConnell Library’s Ross Gallery. Light refreshments will be served.