Message from President Kyle

Dear Alumni and Friends,

Greetings from Radford University! On the cover of this edition of The Magazine of Radford University we chose to honor the Class of 2017, the newest members of the RU family. They are symbolic of Radford University’s great heritage: an indelible enthusiasm, a dedication to learning and a life-long commitment to service, all of which link generations of Radford alumni.

Since I last wrote you in the spring, our focus on current and future Radford students has continued. A big part of that effort is to provide our students with the most modern facilities. In February, we commenced work on what will be a much-needed Student Fitness and Wellness Center, which will offer state-of-the-art educational and recreational facilities for our students. This will be a 111,000 square-foot, $32 million building that will include a sloped indoor track, multiple exercise rooms, gymnasium courts, a multi-activity court, as well as strength training and cardio spaces.

Construction also continues on the new Center for the Sciences, a 114,000 square-foot, $49.5 million building that will substantially increase our College of Science and Technology’s teaching, laboratory and research capabilities. During the summer, we also completed an extensive renovation of Washington Hall and we remodeled the Dalton Hall dining facility, both significantly enhancing the student life experience at RU. We have included in this magazine an update about these and other capital improvement projects.

Radford University has also continued to be recognized for institutional excellence. For example, The Princeton Review named RU as one of the “Best in the Southeast” in its “2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region” edition. We also earned top marks in a national examination of university teacher preparation programs by the National Council on Teacher Quality. RU was specifically recognized as one of only

13 universities in the United States with "multiple strong programs."

Our faculty and students, who make RU unique, also earned recognition. One of many examples is Professor of English and Director of Women’s Studies Moira P. Baker. This past spring she received a Fulbright Scholar Grant for the 2013-14 academic year to teach English in Croatia. This nationally prestigious Fulbright award speaks highly of both Professor Baker and Radford University. Our faculty’s hard work results in student success as exemplified by a multi-disciplinary team of RU undergraduate researchers who received a coveted national award at the Annual National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, D.C. for their innovative approach to water purification. And, that commitment to hard work was further shown when Radford’s student-athletes earned top honors on the Big South Conference’s Presidential Honor Roll by having the highest percentage of student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the
recently completed academic year. They have achieved this recognition for the third time in five years. These are just a few examples of the many accomplishments that make us so proud to be Radford University.

Many interesting and diverse stories abound in this edition of The Magazine of Radford University. I hope that in reading them, you will agree that Radford University is a very special place, made so because of our amazing alumni, students, faculty, parents, staff and friends who are dedicated to making it so great. Go Highlanders!

With warm regards,

Penelope W. Kyle