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.
“Pathway” to a career in education
Radford University’s Provisional to Professional Pathway helps support teachers who are in the process of completing their licensing requirements.
Provisional teachers have three years to finish their prerequisites, and Radford’s “Pathway” program recently offered $750 scholarships for teachers enrolled in professional studies coursework. As of Feb. 1, more than 50 local educators had taken part.
A Feb. 23 spot on WDBJ-7 piece about those opportunities checked in on Tessen King and Amanda Reed, provisional educators who are currently teaching sciences at Radford High School.
“Once you have a professional [license], you have a lot more leeway with where you can work and what classes you can teach,” King told WDBJ-7.
Pulling double duty – in King’s case, pursuing her requirements while also teaching chemistry – can be challenging, she added: “It’s one of those jobs where it’s very ‘front load’ heavy … the first few years are stressful while you’re figuring out the classroom.”
New biology teacher Moore is also still working towards licensure. She said the assistance makes a difference.
“If you’re looking to go into teaching and didn’t get your degree in teaching, this program has opened the door in allowing you to complete it in a timely manner, but also made it more feasible,” she explained.
By supporting practicing educators who are already serving in the classroom, Radford helps local schools retain staff and supplement instructional quality while easing new faculty toward professional status.
The scholarships are proving so successful that, this month, the university’s Board of Visitors will take a vote that may result in making them a permanent part of the budget.
‘Hearing history’
It’s been nearly 20 years since musician Geoff White ’13 came to Virginia and began participating in Civil War reenactments, playing fiddle and channeling the tunes of that era.
White earned his history degree at Radford and worked for the university in music studies. Today, he still plays and lectures about the soundtrack of America’s historic conflict and painful separation.
Recently, White sat down with Newsfeed NRV, an online media outlet that covers Virginia Tech and the New River Valley, to give an extensive interview about his work.
He talked about the ways in which he unearths the antique sounds he plays, the subjects those tunes typically tackle and why he feels it’s important to keep the compositions alive.
“It’s one thing to read about history,” he explained. “You can hear history when talking about the music. So that’s my stock and trade. Hearing history.”
Ripple effects
As strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel continued into this week, Roanoke’s WFXR-TV sought perspectives on the economic ripple effects the conflict might create.
The station reached out to Thomas Duncan, a professor of economics and a department chair in the Davis College of Business and Economics, who said that while the overall monetary expense will obviously depend on the length of the operations, some economic side effects are easier to predict.
Duncan pointed to the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane in the Middle East, through which about 20% of the world’s oil is transported.
“Iran’s made a concerted effort to try to disrupt the oil prices around the world by saying that they’re going to basically close the strait,” he explained, adding that over time, this disruption could increase the cost of travel, specifically by way of gasoline and jet fuel.
The expanse of military operations leads to additional commitments in other areas, which increases the amount of time and dedication required and, by extension, elevates the cost, he said.
Duncan previously discussed the economy and its effect on small businesses in Martinsville, Virginia, for an Oct. 21 story for Cardinal News.
Kicking into gear
Just ahead of the 2026 soccer season, a March 2 post in the New River Valley Times spotlights the new assistant coach of Radford University’s men’s team, Ryan Palmbaum.
Before coming to Radford, Palmbaum served as an assistant coach for two seasons at Kansas Wesleyan University; last year, he ascended to the head coach’s position, leading the team to a 13-4-3 record.
A player himself, he was on the roster for Argentina’s Boca Juniors Academy from 2011 to 2014, followed by stints competing in Greece and Spain before returning to the United States to attend college. A freshman team captain at Northern Michigan University, he played there from 2019 to 2021, then later transferred to the University of Albany.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to join such a dedicated staff and program,” Palmbaum said. “I could not be more ready to show everybody who we are and what we can do.”
Head coach Andy Cormack said of Palmbaum: “Ryan is someone who will invest in our campus and local community, building authentic connections and representing our program with pride. We are excited about the leadership and perspective he brings as we continue to move our program forward.”