Our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. Here, we’ll
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.
Turtle facts! Did you know Virginia is home to 25 species and subspecies of the common
reptiles? They've also inhabited the earth for approximately 220 million years and,
across that span, have remained largely unchanged. Those are just some of the points
that emerged during a May 15 online presentation by Associate Professor of Biology
Matt Close, who’s also the treasurer of the Virginia Herpetological Society. Close’s lecture
was covered in a May 23 story by the Mount Vernon Gazette.
Robert Warren, a Radford University assistant professor of accounting and retired IRS investigator,
is also an expert on financial crimes involving members of the clergy. In this story by The Pillar, Warren offers insights regarding an ongoing case in which a Pennsylvania priest
is accused of embezzling more than $40,000 in parish funds that reportedly went to
play cellphone games, specifically Candy Crush. (Warren is such a busy source these
days that, while we were writing this item, he contributed to another piece in The Pillar on a similar subject in this May 29 story.)
As of June 1, Deputy Chief Derek Weeks ‘96 has been named interim police chief for Salem, Virginia. Weeks – whose promotion
was covered by The Roanoke Times, WFXR-TV, and WDBJ7 – has been with the force since 2001. Here’s the full news release issued by the City of Salem.
In the wake of his latest book, “Borne by the River,” Radford University Professor
Rick Van Noy has found himself at the center of numerous media profiles – here’s the latest one,
via Mercer Me-Hopewell Valley Connected.
