Highlanders in the News: Week of Nov. 6, 2023
Every other week, our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. Here, we’ll highlight some notable mentions from local, regional, national and international news media. Whether our students, alumni, faculty and staff are featured as subject matter experts in high-profile stories or simply helping make the world a better place, we’ll feature their stories.
‘Promise’ of things to come
This fall has certainly had its share of big announcements on the Highlander front.
The past few weeks alone have already seen the rollout of the university’s new brand identity, the ribbon-cutting for The Hub at Radford for Economic Development, the declaration of the Direct Admission initiative and President Bret Danilowicz’s unveiling of his two-year strategic plan.
Most recently, the Radford Tuition Promise – a program guaranteeing coverage of tuition costs for qualifying residents of the commonwealth with a household income of $100,000 or less – truly lit up the university’s mentions across the news and social media.
That and a number of Radford’s recent announcements were covered in an Oct. 26 report by WDBJ-7’s Joe Dashiell, and the station’s Oct. 25 spot focused on the tuition program included an interview with Danilowicz and Vice President of Enrollment Management and Strategic Communications Danette Gomez Beane.
Beane gave remarks at the tuition promise announcement, a video excerpt of which was shared online by The Franklin News Post.
She said the program reflects “our commitment to the commonwealth and our commitment to the mission of higher education.”
WDBJ-7 also presented a news spot about student reactions to the change.
Coverage of Radford University’s announcement spanned Virginia, with WDBJ's report carried by stations in Richmond and Harrisonburg, among others.
Some of the other many outlets that reported on Radford’s tuition program included Roanoke’s WSLS, WFXRTV.com, The Roanoke Times and Cardinal News, as well as The Southwest Virginia Sun and The Southwest Times.
On Nov. 6, Forbes.com featured Radford University in its overview of colleges offering new tuition options for prospective students.
You can find more information about Radford University’s Tuition Promise here. Following the link will also allow you to view options for touring the campus or beginning the application process.
New horizons
Last month’s series of online profiles by Washington & Lee University includes a brief but in-depth introduction to a Highlander graduate.
Katie Harlow ’14 in October became the Lexington, Virginia, school’s alumni engagement operations coordinator.
Harlow, who holds a degree in recreation, parks and tourism from Radford, previously worked as a recreational therapist for several years.
In that capacity, she treated patients with dementia and other health issues.
“Building relationships and creating lasting memories for others has always been a true passion of mine, and getting to do that for folks that couldn’t do it independently was even more rewarding,” she told W&L’s The Columns online magazine in an Oct. 31 look at the university’s new employees.
“I am looking forward to branching out into the higher education atmosphere and helping create those lasting memories for students and alumni for all the years to come,” she added.
Harlow lives in Rockbridge County with her husband, Wesley, and their two sons.
Driving interest
The article “Checking In,” which ran late last month in Virginia Business magazine, featured an overview of universities around the state that are now partnering with investors and their own foundations on hotels and conference centers conveniently located near their campuses – starting with The Highlander Hotel Radford.
“The Highlander has 124 rooms, a rooftop restaurant and more than 6,000 square feet of meeting space,” the Oct. 30 story noted. “As well as halls adorned with artwork by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and other accomplished artists from the Radford University Foundation’s collection.”
VBM said the Highlander “offers visitors much-needed lodging for athletic events – even football games at Virginia Tech” and spoke with Radford University Foundation CEO John Cox.
“Athletics will be a big driver of interest,” he told the magazine. “The hotel is generating a fair amount of excitement on campus and in the community.”
The full story is available here.