Our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. In this column, we 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.
A milestone with ‘Promise’
Launched in the fall of 2023, the Radford Tuition Promise is now on the cusp of its third year.
The program covers tuition costs for Virginians whose families earn $100,000 a year or less, and it currently benefits more than 2,000 Radford students.
On Aug. 20, WDBJ-7 recognized the initiative’s upcoming anniversary and called it “life-changing.”
The station spoke to Therese Root, a junior, who said the promise has allowed her to pursue her degree while also delving more deeply into extracurricular activities at Radford.
“The best thing I’ve been able to take advantage of is the undergraduate research opportunities here – something I know I wouldn’t have been able to do if I couldn’t afford to go to school,” Root said.
WDBJ-7’s coverage also included comments from Danette Gomez-Beane, Radford University’s vice president for Enrollment Management and Strategic Communications, who said the tuition promise was launched with a goal to “make sure that we’re supporting the most vulnerable students at Radford.”
The Radford Tuition Promise is funded through federal, state and institutional gift aid, which means qualifying students are not required to take out a student loan.
For more information about the program, click this link or visit www.radford.edu/promise.
The Highlander beer is here
An article in the spring edition of Radford’s alumni magazine offered some early hints that a new Highlander-licensed beer was in the works and, behold, that has now come to pass.
The branded beverage, christened Exit 109 (after the Interstate 81 off-ramp that rises closest to campus), is now in stock at stores around the New River Valley and on tap at local restaurants and nightspots.
Exit 109 was recently written about in The Roanoke Times, and the story discussed its production by Kindred Spirit Brewing, a Richmond, Virginia, establishment co-owned by Joe Trottier ’92.
“As we celebrate Kindred Spirits' 10th anniversary, I can’t think of a better way to mark the occasion than by honoring a place that has meant so much to generations of Radford alumni,” Trottier said in the story.
Cory Durand, Radford’s deputy athletics director, noted that the partnership between Kindred Spirit and the university offers Highlanders a way to support their alma mater and its team: “We’re confident they’ll enjoy elevating their game-day experience with a beer created specifically for our passionate fan base.”
A new challenge
Carl Ayers ’97, M.S.W. ’08, has a long and rich history of leadership experience – nearly 30 years – and he leveled up even further last month as he was named West Virginia’s Secretary of the Department of Human Services.
Ayers was appointed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey and began his term on July 20. A state news release said his duties include improving his office’s efficiency, upgrading departmental operations and facilitating human services across the state.
"West Virginia's most vulnerable citizens deserve a Department of Human Services that is effective, accountable, and focused on results," Morrisey said. "Carl Ayers has spent his career improving services for children and families, strengthening accountability and making government work better. I am confident he will build on our efforts to modernize the department while ensuring critical services are delivered efficiently, effectively, and with compassion."
He most recently served as a principal deputy commissioner with the Virginia Department of Social Services, where he helped supervise an agency with about a $2.5 billion budget and more than 1,700 employees, and he also currently serves as chair of the Child Welfare League of America.
Ayers’ appointment was also covered by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the Mountain State Times, the Charleston Leader (Charleston, West Virginia) and West Virginia Watch.
Living through yesteryear
One way to truly master a particular subject is to immerse oneself in it, and when it comes to studying and understanding the past, you could say Sidney Ripley ’20 is pretty well-embedded in it.
Ripley earned degrees in museum studies and art history at Radford. She now works as a museum specialist and costumed interpreter at the Gloucester (Virginia) Museum of History.
That means she serves as a living exhibit of someone from the Revolutionary War-era, demonstrating techniques in 18th-century clothing, cooking, cosmetics and more.
A July 1 profile in the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette Journal (Gloucester and Mathews, Virginia) offers a glimpse of Ripley demonstrating sewing skills while wearing period garb. She told the paper she started exploring history back in her teens, first as a volunteer and later an employee at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Today she’s still forging forward through the past – the story said that in addition to her current occupation, Ripley is now pursuing a graduate degree, also in museum studies, through Harvard University.
According to the Gloucester Museum of History website, the building’s historic structure was constructed in 1770, and it stood as a tavern that often catered to travelers heading to and from the county courthouse. Today it houses more than 3,000 objects, including documents, photographs and large antique tools.