Richard Straw completed his doctorate at the University of Missouri in 1980.  In his research and teaching, he specializes in the American South.  He teaches courses about the Old and New South, Appalachian history, and Southern music.  In recent years he has led a study abroad course, in which students travel to the British isles to research immigration to the United States.  Students work in the immigration archive at Omagh, Northern Ireland, as part of their research.  Richard Straw has also edited a book of essays on Appalachian history and published a pictorial history of Blacksburg, Virginia.  He has also been the recipient of the Donald Dedmon Award for Professorial Excellence, which is awarded to Radford University faculty who have demonstrated exemplary skill inside and outside of the classroom.