RADFORD – Praising her progressive leadership, the Radford University Board of Visitors finalized negotiations Thursday on a new contract for President Penelope W. Kyle that is designed to keep her at the university’s helm at least until 2013.

At a previous meeting, the Board of Visitors had unanimously approved the contract, though its funding was contingent on a compensation package that required the support of private sources, namely the Radford University Foundation. The Foundation board approved the package on Wednesday.

“We thank the Radford University Foundation for working with us to ensure RU has the best leadership possible as we celebrate our Centennial in 2010,” said Rector Thomas E. Fraim, Jr. “With the Foundation’s support, we are able to appropriately compensate President Kyle without additional taxpayer funds.”

Since Kyle took office on June 1, 2005, Radford University has:

• Achieved a more prestigious peer group, which provides higher benchmarks for average faculty salaries;
• Secured new funding from the state to launch an $81 million capital construction program that will create signature buildings for the College of Business and Economics and the College of Science and Technology;
• Achieved state approval for RU’s first ever doctoral programs in the fields of counseling psychology, physical therapy and nursing practice, as well as a new master’s of occupational therapy;
• Constructed the $22.5 million Covington Center for Visual and Performing Arts and embarked on another $31 million in renovations to Young Hall, Heth Hall and the Dedmon Center to give the university state-of-the-art academic, administration and athletic facilities;
• Secured state authority to construct three new residence halls and a $32 million student health and wellness center;
• Endowed its first university chair and reinvigorated its fundraising initiatives;
• Weathered the current economic crisis – which has resulted in $7.55 million in state budget cuts to date – with no faculty or staff layoffs;
• Charted a 10-year strategic plan, 7-17, and a campus master plan to guide the university’s growth for decades to come;
• Celebrated an athletics program that this year won four Big South Conference championships and brought national recognition to the institution.

The new five-year contract, which was announced Thursday following a meeting of the Board of Visitors’ executive committee in Roanoke, formalizes a verbal commitment that Kyle and the Board of Visitors made last year. Under its provisions, the term of the contract began on July 1, 2008, and runs through June 30, 2013. In addition to her state salary and benefits, the contract awards Kyle deferred compensation of a minimum of $200,000 a year. The deferred compensation, which is proposed to be funded by the Radford University Foundation, will vest at the conclusion of the contract’s term and be awarded to Kyle assuming she meets annual goals set by the Board of Visitors.

“President Kyle has brought tremendous energy and excitement to Radford University,” said Fraim. “We are pleased that we may now compensate her at a level on par with our peer institutions.”

Radford University is recognized as a Top 20 Public Master's University in the South by the U.S. News & World Report and a 2009 "Best College in the Southeast" by Princeton Review. Located in the heart of scenic Southwest Virginia, RU features a student body of approximately 9,200, nationally recognized faculty-student collaborations and a dynamic curriculum of more than 140 undergraduate and graduate programs. In the last year alone, RU has opened a state-of-the-art visual and performing arts center and welcomed three new graduate programs: doctoral degrees in nursing practice and physical therapy and a master’s degree in occupational therapy. Outside the classroom, RU supports a culturally diverse student population through a wealth of co-curricular activities and events, outstanding NCAA Division I athletics, a commitment to environmental sustainability and a beautiful campus set alongside the New River near the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway.