RU celebrates the Women of Radford
Shirley Williams Walton, class of 1960, chats with classmates and friends at the Women of Radford Luncheon.
Joanne Melton Barbour '63 and Ronnie Crumpler Anderson '63 stayed up late Friday night.
They had a lot of catching up to do.
The two former suitemates at Radford College, as Radford University was known before 1979, hadn't seen each other in 25 years. So, they spent the first night of their 50th college reunion reminiscing, sorting through Anderson's scrapbooks, looking at photographs – "many were of us in our pajamas," said Barbour – and talking about the good times they had at Radford.
"Ronnie, do you remember Radford as being the best time of your life?" Barbour asked her friend. Anderson agreed.
"That is the way I felt. I loved it here," said Barbour. "I didn't want to go home sometimes because I didn't want to leave my friends, and those friendships we made here."
The two were chatting at the conclusion of Saturday's second annual Women of Radford Luncheon held in RU's new College of Business and Economics building. The event was part of numerous festivities during RU's Alumni Homecoming and Family Weekend and was designed for participants to reminisce about Radford's history as well as celebrate the women who make up today's RU.
The event opened with the women singing fun songs from their college days, including "The Nuns" and "Rambling Wreck," that provided insight into what Radford was like before men were admitted to the college and it was still part of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI).
As lunch was served, many of the women chatted at their tables about the restrictive rules they lived under, like not being allowed to walk on the grass and having to cover up with a trench coat when venturing out of their dorm rooms. "I never owned another trench coat," Barbour said later of her post-Radford years. Anderson admitted she still has a coat. "It makes me feel younger," she admitted.
Other table conversations included stories about mixers with the boys from VPI, "getting into trouble" and "learning to smoke."
A beehive cake adorns the table as several attendees of the Women of Radford Luncheon chat.
Shirley Williams Walton '60 shared a story about how some of the Radford female students went to the basement of their dorms, ventured into the underground campus steam tunnels and made their way to other dorms to hold late-night bridge games. "I never did that, but it happened," Walton confidently said.
During lunch RU President Penelope W. Kyle, the university's first female president, greeted the group – "It is our pleasure to welcome you back home," she said – and provided insight into the RU of 2013.
Kyle informed the gathering of RU's goal of reaching 10,000 students and was applauded when she noted the university had set an enrollment record this fall with 9,928 undergraduate and graduate students. "We'll probably break the 10,000 mark next fall," she said.
The president also spoke of Radford's continued dedication to educating students, many of which are from Virginia and many of whom are first-generation students. She also noted that Radford is "more diverse than ever," citing that more than 30 percent of incoming freshmen this fall identified themselves as ethnic minorities.
Kyle also recognized RU's professors for preparing students for their futures. She also praised the faculty for their role in a recent recognition given to RU.
The dedication of the university's professors is one of the many reasons "why The Princeton Review cited us in February as one of the ‘Top 75 Best Value’ public universities in the country," Kyle said to a round of applause. The president noted the ranking is based upon the quality of education Radford provides compared with its cost. The ranking, Kyle said, is made up of "schools like Radford who are providing a great education, but not charging a lot in tuition and fees."
Kyle also reminded the Women of Radford gathering that RU now offers 69 undergraduate degrees, 21 master programs and three doctoral programs. "I wonder if you all ever thought you could return to Radford and get your doctoral degree. Now you can," she said.
The afternoon's guest speaker was Pat Shoemaker, dean of RU's College of Education and Human Development. Shoemaker has been educating students at RU since 1987 and began serving as dean in 2007. Upon introducing Shoemaker, Kyle asked the gathering how many had come to Radford to prepare themselves to be educators.
Many raised their hands.
"Pat is continuing that tradition for you, and she is doing an excellent job."
In her talk, "M'Ledge, Martin and the Millennials," Shoemaker provided a "walk down memory lane" and talked about the number of changes that had taken place at Radford in the past 50 years, comparing Radford today with the times when M'Ledge Moffett served as Radford College dean of women and Charles K. Martin served as president.
Shoemaker asked the graduates to share stories with the gathering about their times at Radford. She also passed around a paper with the header "Lessons Learned," asking the group to share their thoughts about RU.
The Women of Radford event ended in the same manner in which it had begun, with more singing. This time the group belted out its fond allegiance to Radford with a singing of the Radford alma mater.
Following class pictures, many left the room planning to enjoy the plethora of activities happening around campus. Patty Moxley '72, MS '76 planned to walk around campus and take it all in.
"I intend to walk around campus for a while and go down memory lane and appreciate the older buildings as well as the new and experience the energy that's here," said Moxley, a retired visual arts teacher from Galax. "I'm just so grateful to the university. You can be assured I will be back next year."