President's Message

President Hemphill

Dear Radford Family:

Greetings, fellow Highlanders, and welcome to the Summer 2017 edition of The Magazine of Radford University! This edition provides an in-depth look at significant milestones made possible by the Radford family’s unwavering passion for our critical mission and our strong tradition of Highlander pride, thereby resulting in a truly historic year. Without question, the vibrancy of the Radford family, including our students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and community members, is proudly displayed on our campus and prominently captured within these pages.

In this edition, we honor H. Pat and Nancy E. Artis ’73 for their dedicated service to Radford University and their selfless contributions to our students and programs. In April, the Radford family joined with Pat and Nancy to celebrate their historic gift, which will profoundly impact the lives of current and future generations of students and their families by producing a lifetime of Artis Scholars through scholarship support. These talented students and future alumni will carry on the Artis legacy, a deep love for science and technology and a strong desire to help others. Pat and Nancy’s spirit of philanthropy and passion for furthering our mission are greatly assisting Radford students in becoming successful professionals and strong citizen leaders.

With the naming of the Artis College of Science and Technology, Pat and Nancy’s steadfast commitment to the Radford family took a bold step forward, and their celebrated and legendary name will forever be etched in our history and our hearts. The Artis legacy is reflected across our beautiful campus in the Applied Research in Technology and Information Science (ARTIS) Lab in Davis Hall, the Janice Eisenhart MBA Library in Kyle Hall, the Nancy Eisenhart Artis Executive Conference Room in Kyle Hall and the Artis Computing Laboratory for the Biological Sciences in the Center for the Sciences. Thanks to the Artises, and so many other proud alumni and dedicated friends who serve as Radford’s philanthropic partners, more young men and women from across our local region, the Commonwealth, the nation and the world will enrich our campus community and experience Radford University’s life-changing opportunities.

The Magazine of Radford University truly serves as a unique opportunity for you to personally experience your Radford family and our beloved campus. And, I hope that you will join your fellow Highlanders from Oct. 6-8, 2017 for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend. During that exciting fall weekend of celebration and engagement, you will find a University community transforming itself. In the company of your family, loved ones, former classmates, fellow alumni and others, you will see today’s students immersed in projects, research and scholarly activities and celebrating what it means to be “United as One Radford Family.”

Moving forward, the Radford family is fully embracing and keenly focusing that limitless energy as we develop and implement a comprehensive strategic plan to fulfill Radford University’s vision of becoming an innovative, premier university with a keen focus on teaching, research and service in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond. Toward that end, the campus and the community are working diligently with great enthusiasm, and we are so excited to have your support on this continued journey.

With Highlander Pride,

BOH-signature

Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D.
President