Alumni toured campus and new buildings as a part of President Hemphill’s inauguration festivities

Following the inauguration of Radford University's seventh president, Dr. Brian O. Hemphill, alumni toured the campus’ newest buildings.

The self-guided tours allowed alumni to walk around campus at their own pace. Visitors were provided maps with key points identified, as well as student, faculty and staff guides stationed at each of the markers.

One of the points on campus was the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, which opened in December 2014.

“This is fantastic,” said Jason Burton ’05. “There are so many opportunities. It’s great to see that students can take advantage of the different classes provided – and there’s even an app to do for that. I’m really impressed with everything. There’s even a personal trainer.”

Nancy Rice, who has a son that currently attends Radford, thinks that “the center is a major draw for the university.”

Another stop on the tour was the new College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences (CHBS) building, which opened for the start of the fall 2016 semester.

“I had high expectations and it has exceeded all of them,” Chris Huther ’88 said. “I’m jealous of the space they have here.”

One learning space in the CHBS building stood out to Huther, who is a partner of the Wiley Rein law firm in Washington D.C.

“I love the courtroom,” Huther said. “It’s as nice or nicer than many of the real courtrooms I’ve spent time in, so I think the students have a perfect environment to get exposed to the law. It’s completely up to date with the technology and maybe even more advanced than many a courtroom. The students will get exposed to state of the art technology."

“It strikes me that the building matches the quality of the faculty,” Huther continued.

Alumni expressed their excitement for The College of Science and Technology’s Center for the Sciences, with its planetarium and Museum of Earth Sciences.

“The new planetarium is amazing,” Rice said. “The new College of Science and Technology building and the CHBS building are great focal points for Radford University. I like seeing Radford expand its horizons and also give the students more options at the university. It is inspiring to see.”