April 9, 2008RU to offer Arabic coursesRadford plans to offer a couple classes in Arabic languages next year, according to a announcement out today. Arabic and Chinese have become hot languages at schools across the nation. Even the folks in Nebraska are getting in on the action, although Spanish and French are still the favorites, people in the know say. The Voice of America says interest sparked after the Sept. 11 attacks. I've written about the surge of languages in the past, even in high schools, and I'm always amazed at people who point to the attacks a reason to take a language. Either way, the class could mean a lot. Who knows? Maybe even high school students could take it online. Tell me, what other courses should schools around these parts be offering? March 18, 2008Core curriculum meetingYou can get a look at -- and make comments on -- the "tentative learning objectives" of RU's developing core curriculum Wednesday, March 19. Faculty, students and staff are invited to the Bonnie auditorium from 11a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. February 26, 2008Radford celebrates Women's History monthRadford University's celebration of Women's History Month begins Friday. Author Wilma Dunaway will lecture on "Never Safe in the Family Way: Challenging the Dominant Paradigm in U.S. Slavery Studies" at 4 p.m. in Hurlburt Auditorium. A complete list of happenings is here. February 6, 2008RU SGA leader quits ... againFor the second time this year, Radford University has a new student government leader. Regis McKoy, who took over as SGA president in the fall after the previous president quit the post, cited personal reasons for the change. McKoy said Wednesday that he was, "OK." Matt Shelor, who had acted as chief of staff, has been appointed president. McKoy has said he supports Shelor.
January 30, 2008RU, meet your deanOr, at least, someone who wants to be your dean. This just in -- well, just a few hours ago -- from Radford University: A couple of dean candidates will be on campus meeting students and faculty on Jan. 31. One of them will still be doing that on Feb. 1. The schedule is below. January 29, 2008Beat Indonesia!Martin Sayer, a member of the Highlander tennis team, is heading to Jakarta to play in the Davis Cup. Sayer, a Hong Kong native with a 9-0 Davis Cup record, will be playing against the Indonesia national team for the Hong Kong Tennis Association. Learn a little more about Sayer here.
January 21, 2008No illegal immigrants at RUOver the weekend, Radford University issued a release about the university's policy on illegal immigrants. RU says it doesn't admit illegal immigrants and the administration is convinced there aren't any illegal immigrants enrolled at RU. Read the release below. December 5, 2007Greek life coordinator leavingThe man who runs Radford University’s Greek Life programs will leave the school next month. Rosenberg has worked at Radford for the past two years, and was at the helm when one of the school's fraternities was put on probation after hazing allegations. KDR has 76 chapters, including a provisional one at Virginia Tech. Rosenberg starts his position on Jan. 9. October 11, 2007Radford hires lead communications officerJohn Hachtel, a marketing and communications specialist, will begin as Radford University's head communications officer on Nov. 12 The university announced Hachtel's appointment as Vice President for University Relations late this afternoon. Hatchel comes to Radford from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He's spent 15 years in higher education, including stints at Auburn and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Hachtel will "lead the university relations staff in strategic planning efforts" as well as "developing and implementing an institution-wide marketing communications plan," according to a Radford news release. September 25, 2007Radford boots students more often than mostVirginia's colleges aren't quick to boot students from their schools. \ Rather, they like to focus on rehabiliating inappropriate behavior first. A newspaper's analysis found that Radford University and Old Dominion have some of the higher rates, sending home about 50 students each in the past five years. Schools with more strict honor codes than RU and ODU, such as UVa and VMI have even higher rates -- 115 at U.Va. and 67 at VMI -- according to the analysis. The Virginia Tech Review Panel, which reviewed the events surrounding the April shootings at Tech, suggested the state's colleges look at their conduct and enforcement policies. How far should poor, or alarming behavior go? What do you think should get students expelled? August 28, 2007SGA members resignTwo members of the Student Government Association at Radford University resigned their posts this week. Robert Lataille, who students elected as their president in Spring 2007, said a judicial probation led to his resignation. He said it stemmed from allegations he stole $1.50 worth of office supplies. The SGA vice president of student finance also resigned her position. Regis McKoy and Juliann Abercrombie have been promoted to those spots through a student senate vote. Both students who resigned are still enrolled at Radford. July 27, 2007Radford Dean of StudentsTwo candidates hoping to be Radford University's new Dean of Students visited campus this week, and a third will be in town next on Friday. The dean hones in on student conduct and works closely with the Student Government Association, among other duties. The candidates have met with search committee members and taken part in forums open to the university community. Students, staff and faculty received an e-mail announcing the candidate vettings. At least one student government representative said she'd get the chance to interview applicants via phone. But, she was waiting for them to contact her, and had yet to talk with anyone. The university won't announce the names to the general public, though. The hopeful would follow Michael Mardis, who left the school earlier this month to take a similar job at the University of Louisville A university spokesman said they were hoping to hire someone by Sept. 1 after more than 40 applicants filed for the job beginning June 30. The position is rolling, though, and applications were accepted until someone is hired. So, what do you want to see out of your Dean? Let us know, and maybe we'll pass it on to him or her. May 29, 2007Provost candidates loomRadford University has set aside three days to interview prospective Provost candidates next month. Faculty and members of the "university community" will get a chance to meet them in forums on June 14, June 18 and June 21. December 29, 2006The year in reviewIt's been a busy year in higher education in Southwest Virginia. Below are links to some stories covering the big events and issues of 2006, in chronological order. Next week I'll take a look at some important dates and themes to keep in mind for 2007. Jesse Jackson comes to Blacksburg and speaks at Virginia Tech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. House Bill 1572, limiting gun control measures on campus at public universities in Virginia is proposed. It dies in subcommittee. Virginia Tech unveils a new tagline and spruced up logo. Alas, it's not the only school to proclaim it's inventing the future. October 6, 2006You know you went to Radford University if...I just got a fun forward from a friend of mine who attended Radford University. Every university has something like this, but I thought I'd put this one out here for all our RU readers. If anyone has a similar one for Virginia Tech or any of the other schools in the area, please write them in the comments area for all to see. And if any of you RU alums or students take issue with any of these or want to explain the inside joke to those of us who didn't go to RU, please tell us those things, too. You know you went to Radford University if:
August 10, 2006New professors on campusToday is the first day of work for all the new professors at Radford University. It's another bumper crop year for new faculty at RU, as I wrote in a story last week. Forty-three new faculty are coming in, with a majority of them — or 65 percent — in tenure-track positions. That high percentage is becoming a rarity among most faculty hires, stressed Martin Snyder, the external affairs director at the Association of American University Professors and a former president of Molloy College. "The problem with new faculty recently has been that there have not been that many positions," Snyder said. "And most schools have been filling the ranks with part-time faculty." Snyder's comments were borne out in data released by the U.S. Department of Education last week on higher education jobs that looked at the years 1993 to 2003. According to the report, jobs at postsecondary institutions rose more quickly than jobs in the U.S. civilian labor force in that decade. But the higher education workforce was also filled with more part-time positions in 2003 than in 1993. Nowhere was that more pronounced than within the faculty ranks, according to the executive summary: "Except for instruction/research assistants — who are part time by definition — faculty had the highest rates of part-time employment in both years: 40 percent in 1993, increasing to 46 percent in 2003. In contrast, among staff in all other primary occupations, the proportion of part-time staff ranged from 4 (percent) to 22 percent in 1993 and from 3 (percent) to 21 percent in 2003." I hear from faculty about the problems that having many part-time instructors cause at the academy: The people filling those positions usually have to cobble together several positions at different institutions, making it difficult for them to focus on their classes the way full-time faculty can. The lack of focus could end up downgrading the education that students get, partly because students might not be able to have the kind of contact with professors that can help along in their classes. Most of these comments are things I hear from full-time professors. I would love to hear from some part-time profs to see what they think about these issues. Or maybe from students who have had part-time professors and feel strongly one way or the other about this issue. July 26, 2006China's lure
Courtesy of Emily Flora Anyway, over time the destinations have strayed farther away from Western Europe, the traditional hotspot for American students. Thirty-nine percent of American students go somewhere besides Europe, based on a recent study. (For more numbers, see the latest figures from the Institute of International Education.) China is fast becoming popular among students, because of its economic weight and the opportunities it offers for future career advancement -- even though the language can be a daunting challenge. Recently, 17 Radford University students traveled to China for a month with faculty members on a fellowship that a university benefactor has helped to fund. One of our college writers, Emily Flora, wrote about her experiences in this week's CRAM section. She has a great couple of lines about the difference between the way Americans approach people from different countries and the way others approach us. I wrote about the trip in May, and the students wrote about their experiences on Live Journal, where you can find more photographs from the trip. Follow up on my earlier comment: The Stanford-in-Moscow program I attended (and adored) was discontinued because of lack of interest and high overhead costs. At the same time, a Beijing program opened, with much more interest. After doing a search to verify the above, I happily found that the Moscow program reopened in fall 2005. July 5, 2006Building a museum
I thought that was an interesting comment, and I wonder if other professors or teachers out there have big dreams of creating a museum in their field. What kind of museum -- or exhibits -- would you want to create, if money were not an issue? June 28, 2006The cost of a high-tech education
When I asked a professor of music whether the cost would be a factor for students, he said he didn't think it would be, especially when compared with how much they already spend on textbooks. But I'm wondering if requiring an iPod for class is an extra financial burden for students. I know many students already have them. But what if they don't have the one that the department highly recommends? April 6, 2006Christ on Campus not going anywhereA few days ago I received an email from someone telling me that Christian Keesee, the author of the controversial "Christ on Campus" cartoon for Radford University's internet magazine was quitting. Sure enough, I went to the RU Whim site to find an announcement from him that he was stepping down, as he refused to let his cartoons be "filtered." His "last" cartoon was accompanied by a scripture reading. I left a slightly confused message on Christian's voice mail, not sure if what I was reading was true or not (Whim editor Andrew Lent had confused me before with his insane front-page ramblings of the battle being waged on the school's "Proletariat"). |
About this blog
Rhode Island native and Virginia Tech reporter Greg Esposito posts on everyday college life, trends and issues affecting the 35,000-plus students in the New River Valley and beyond.
Tim Thornton, who is old enough to have children attending college, is still taking classes and is still fascinated by colleges, the students who populate them and the bureaucrats who operate them. His reporting beat is Radford University.
West Virginia native Anna Mallory blogs on student life topics at Virginia Tech, Radford University, New River Valley Community College -- and beyond.
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