Academic Leadership Fellows Program
Seven faculty members named Academic Leadership Fellows
Radford University announced the first faculty appointments to the Academic Leadership Fellows (AL Fellows) program on Sept. 3.
The AL Fellows program is designed to support leadership development and continuing student support through campus-wide faculty-student engagement.
AL Fellows is a collaboration between the Academic Success Center and the new REAL general education curriculum. The program is made up of seven faculty members, each representing one of the six undergraduate colleges and the School of Nursing within the university.
The Academic Leadership Fellows and the colleges they represent are:
- Kimberly Lane, Ph.D., Artis College of Science and Technology.
- Wendy Eckenrod-Green, Ph.D., College of Education and Human Development.
- Patricia (Trish) Winter, Ph.D., College of Visual and Performing Arts.
- Aysha Bodenhamer, Ph.D., College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences.
- Jennifer Elias, Ph.D., Davis College of Business and Economics.
- Kerry Vandergrift, Ph.D., Waldron College of Health and Human Services.
- Helen Reed, School of Nursing.
“Faculty engagement provides a foundation for institutional success, nimbleness and resilience and sets the stage for students to receive a world-class academic experience,” said Executive Director of the Academic Success Center Corey Cassidy, Ph.D.
The AL Fellows will serve as “representatives for all undergraduate academic disciplines to support student recruitment, new student onboarding and ongoing student persistence and success,” Cassidy continued, “facilitating effective student engagement and navigation of the REAL Curriculum and supporting and serving in an advisory role on behalf of their units and within the Academic Success Center.”
All AL Fellows will serve a one-year term with possibility for renewal. Faculty will participate in training and collaborative planning within the Academic Success Center and serve as members of the center’s advisory council.
During the summer of 2022, faculty will serve as academic advisors with the Academic Success Center on behalf of their academic programs during Quest, the University’s student orientation program. In addition, they will recruit and support faculty from within their colleges or schools to develop and present experiential activities to engage incoming students and families at the Becoming a Highlander! sessions.
The faculty’s “presence at the REAL Experience as well as at Admissions Open House and Highlander Day events will provide a personal welcome to prospective majors who are exploring our academic programs,” said interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs J. Orion Rogers, Ph.D. “We are looking forward to their contributions as members of the Academic Success Center Advisory Council and to their creative visions that will make the Becoming a Highlander! sessions even more engaging for our newest members of the Radford family during Quest of 2022."
Cassidy noted that she is “so excited to work with this inaugural group of Fellows. I look forward to our collaboration to contribute to a campus-wide culture that supports the recruitment, persistence and success of our outstanding students.”