Charles Millsaps: A devoted pioneer at Radford University for 36 years

By Christian Millsaps

Charles Millsaps worked tirelessly to pay for his B.S. in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He would take semesters off just so he could save enough money to pay for the next one. That work ethic and dedication helped him become the first person in his family to receive a college degree. That especially made his father, a man who didn’t get to graduate from high school, extremely proud. 

That same work and dedication is what helped Millsaps become so successful during his 36-year career as a pioneer at Radford. 

The pathway to that career kicked off in March of 1960 when Millsaps drove his brand new, $1,800 VW Bug, to Radford to interview with Dr. Charles Martin, the president of Radford College. When he arrived on campus, he heard shouts of, “IT’S A MAN! IT’S A MAN!” He was confused and unaware that Radford was an all-women college at the time. After all, the college-aged Millsaps was a rare sight on campus. 

On the day of the interview, a major snowstorm hit Radford. Worried about getting home to Maryville, Tennessee, Millsaps told Martin he wanted to make sure to leave at a good time to get home safely. Martin said, “The job is yours if you want it. Just think about it and let me know within the week.”  

A month later, Millsaps started as Radford’s first public information director in April. In his first year, on top of the tasks that his job required, he not only helped fill the entire front page of the Radford News Journal - which was a daily publication at the time - but he also did campus radio broadcasts as Chuck Miller, as well as welcoming his first child into the world in 1961. 

Going into his second year, Millsaps was starting to feel the burdens and load of his role as the public information director. He was in charge of every publication on campus as well as everything else he was already doing, minus writing for the journal as Martin told him it was taking too much of his time and putting too much on his plate. On top of that, he had little to no help to lessen his workload except for a couple of student workers and a secretary he shared with the College of Business. 

Martin could sense his growing frustration and presented Millsaps with a once in a lifetime offer of faculty employment as an assistant professor to teach the art of journalism, which he loved. The offer was dependent upon Millsaps completing his master’s degree, which had been disrupted by his call of duty in the Air Force Reserves, and introducing classes in journalism to gauge student interest. Millsaps recalls the moment Martin told him that, “That is just not something that happens anymore. ‘Saying yes was a no brainer’.” 

Jumping at the offer, Millsaps, then a father of two, completed his master’s at Louisiana State University in 1965. Once he returned to Radford, Martin held up his end of the deal - a moment that would mark the beginning of an era for Millsaps at Radford. He was instated as an assistant professor and chair of the journalism department - later renamed media studies department. He held the chair position until 1985. 

Millsaps kicked off his teaching with just a couple of classes to see if students would enjoy having something like journalism taught at Radford. He had no idea what this would lead to. “Before I knew it the classes I taught kept growing in size and we had to add more to accommodate for student interest,” Millsaps says. It got to a point where the journalism program had the largest student enrollment of any arts and science majors at Radford. 

By 1968, Radford was able to receive state approval to offer a degree in journalism. Three short years was all Millsaps needed to grow the program to that point. Millsaps also helped grow the Tartan, the student-run newspaper, when he became the faculty advisor around the same time he started teaching classes. 

Millsaps, now teaching multiple classes, welcomed his third child into the world. His courses were booming and Radford was thriving. In 1970, he decided that he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in communication law from Southern Illinois University. Martin promised Millsaps he would give him half of his salary while he worked on obtaining his Ph.D. 

During the same time, not only did Millsaps welcome his fourth child into the world, but Radford also changed leadership. Dr. Donald Dedmon took over as president in March of 1972. He would go on to help Radford become a university as well as open its doors to young men. Dedmon also combined the media studies department with the communication department into what is today the School of Communication. 

Millsaps had completed 30 semester hours and was ready to write his dissertation when Dedmon called him back to campus. Millsaps arrived and learned that he lost his half salary once leadership changed at Radford. 

Upon his return to campus, Millsaps went back to working tirelessly for his students and his beloved Radford. It wasn’t until 1995, when he had a heart attack, that he decided it might be time to retire. While he was recovering from triple bypass surgery, he recalls being grateful for a recent hire of his, Bill Kovarik. Kovarik volunteered to teach Millsaps’ favorite class, journalism law, and today shares his own love for that same class. 

Millsaps would retire the following year, in 1996, after 36 years with Radford. During his time, he started a program that grew into one of the most popular in the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences and devoted his entire career to serving Radford. 

Before he retired, he got one last honor when he hooded his youngest daughter, Candice, when she graduated with a master’s in teaching. She recalls walking to the ceremony and asking her father if he would miss it to which he replied quickly with, “Nope.”

Reminiscing about his remarkable career at Radford, Millsaps says, “I miss the students and being able to teach them, but I was ready to be done with the meetings and campus politics.” 

Millsaps has been fortunate enough to see his students over the years thrive once they leave Radford. Paula Squires and Travis Wells are two of his former students who have gone on to have established careers in the profession. Squires went on to be the managing editor of Virginia Business from 2001 to 2018. Wells, as sports director, is a staple at WDBJ-7. 

Now Millsaps is enjoying his retirement and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Koni, have celebrated over 60 years of marriage. He is a grandfather of seven and great-grandfather of four. 

As one of his seven grandchildren, I am honored to follow in his footsteps pursuing a degree in media studies with a concentration in journalism from the very program he started 56 years ago. 

Millsaps is battling and beating prostate cancer. He also makes sure to watch as much news as possible … after all, he is still in love with journalism. 

His legacy will always live on in the halls of Radford.