Every year, students are selected by the Department of History and recognized for their academic excellence. See below, past and present students, who have been honored with designations as Dean's Scholars, earned Departmental Honors, received scholarship support, or won the History Department Paper Prize.
Dean's Scholars are represent the highest examples of academic excellence and involvement in the university community. The Department of History has selected one history major since 1984 to be its Dean's Scholar. Since 2008, the department has also selected a student from the Social Science program as a Dean's Scholar.
History Department Dean's Scholars:
Social Science Program Dean's Scholars:
The Charles W. McClellan Scholarship for International Students is named in honor of Charles McClellan, professor emeritus of history. Dr. McClellan taught at Radford for nearly thirty years, and during that time he advanced international education at the university considerably. He oversaw the International Studies Minor and advised campus chapter of Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in social science. Dr. McClellan taught courses in world history, the Middle East, and Subsaharan Africa, and he continues to teach courses on the Twentieth Century World and Subsaharan Africa.
The following students have been recipients of the McClellan Scholarship.
The Pi Gamma Mu Virginia Epsilon Scholarship recognizes and supports students who have distinguished themselves in one of the disciplines that compose the social sciences. Radford University maintains an active chapter of Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in the social sciences, and annually a member of the Virginia Epsilon chapter receives this award.
The students below have been recognized with the Pi Gamma Mu Virginia Epsilon Scholarship.
The History Department recognizes the best papers produced by an undergraduate history major during an academic year. The winning papers represent excellence in undergraduate scholarship. They are superior in writing and research, and demonstrate a in-indepth understanding of the subject matter.
The History Department resumed the granting of this award in 2015 over ten years of the contest being in abeyance.
History majors earn departmental honors at graduation if they maintained a GPA in the history major that is a 3.5 or higher, have earned at least a B in HIST 295 and an A in HIST 495, the Senior Seminar.
The following students have received history honors.
May 2022
December 2021
May 2021
December 2020
May 2019
December 2018
May 2018
May 2017
December 2016
May 2016
May 2015
December 2014
The John Davis and Charles McClellan World History Scholarship recognizes students who have demonstrated academic distinction in topics related to world history. The scholarship is named in honor of two distinguished professors who helped to pioneer the field at Radford University and taught for several decades in the Department of History.
The Linda Rose Killen scholarship was established in the memory of Dr. Killen to benefit students in the liberal arts. Dr. Killen taught History for 26 years at Radford University before retiring in 2001. She received many honors including the Donald N. Dedmon Award for Professional Excellence in 1985. She was a Fulbright Research Scholar to Yugoslavia in 1986 and a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in 1988. Although Dr. Killen had lived all over the world, she came to view the New River Valley as her home.