Today's Stories:
RU Honors Outstanding Faculty and Staff at Commencement
Kim Carter Receives First Waldron College Faculty Award
RU Gains More Than 1,800 New Alumni
Six Graduates Commissioned in the U.S. Army Last Week
Dedmon Center Roof Comes Down
New Women's Basketball Coach to be Named Today
Tennis Player Honored with George A. Christenberry Award
Men's Tennis Faces Georgia in NCAA Tournament
RU faces Website Updated
RU Staff Picnic to be Held Tomorrow
Kudos: Maung Htay
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This Week's Top News

RU Honors Outstanding Faculty and Staff at Commencement
RU honored five outstanding faculty and staff members during its spring commencement ceremony Saturday, May 3.

Associate professor of art Richard Bay was the recipient of the Donald N. Dedmon Distinguished Teaching Professor Award. The award recognizes and rewards outstanding teaching at RU.

Professor of biology Mark Cline received the Radford University Foundation Distinguished Creative Scholar Award. The award was established to recognize significant original contributions to the body of knowledge in academe. It also rewards contributions that have had a significant impact on effective classroom teaching.

James Lollar, an associate professor and chair of the marketing department, was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, which was established to recognize faculty who have contributed substantial service to the university over a sustained period of time.

Associate professor of psychology Jeff Willner was the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Advising Award. The honor recognizes teaching faculty who demonstrate excellence in academic advising.

Loretta Estes, advising coordinator and assistant to the dean of the Waldron College of Health and Human Services, received the Distinguished Professional Advising Award. To learn more about each recipient, see the RU News Release.

Kim Carter Receives First Waldron College Faculty Award
RU graduate and nursing professor Kim Carter was recently named the first recipient of the Waldron College of Health and Human Services Outstanding Faculty Award.

“Kim's accomplishments during the 2007-2008 academic year have been stellar,” said Raymond Linville, dean of Waldron College. “She is not only a highly dedicated nurse and faculty member, but among the most highly respected professionals in the region.”

Candidates for the Waldron College Outstanding Faculty Award must be distinguished in the categories of teaching, research and service. They must serve as an inspiration to students and make an exemplary contribution to their profession. Carter received the award at a surprise presentation held during the Waldron College commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 3. Family and friends joined her on stage as she accepted the award. To learn more, see the RU News Release.

RU Gains More Than 1,800 New Alumni
President Penelope W. Kyle conferred more than 1,800 degrees during Radford University's Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 3, before an estimated crowd of 14,000 spectators and participants on sun-drenched Moffett Field.

A total of 1,822 students earned degrees, including 263 graduate students. To learn more and to view the Commencement photo gallery and Commencement video, see the RU News Release.

Six Graduates Commissioned in the U.S. Army Last Week
On Friday, May 2, six RU graduates were commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army during Radford University's ROTC Commissioning Ceremony in Muse Hall Banquet Room. Computer science graduate Andrew Cahan will be a a signal officer in the infantry and will be stationed in Ft. Stewart, Ga. Public relations graduate Jeffrey Conord will be a medical service officer and will be stationed in Ft. Bliss, Texas. Criminal justice graduate Amir Ezzeddine will be a signal officer in the infantry stationed in Ft. Steward, Ga. Nursing graduate Stephanie K. Marshall will be an officer in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and be stationed in Ft. Lewis, Wash. Criminal justice graduate Kevin Ong will be a signal officer in the infantry stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas. And Christopher Willey will be a field artillery officer and will be stationed in Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Campus News

Dedmon Center Roof Comes Down
The venerable Dedmon Center roof was deflated on April 30 in preparation for the installation of a new roof and other major renovations. It was an unusual sight indeed. See the time lapse video of the roof deflation and video of inside the Dedmon Center after the roof was deflated.

RU To Name New Women's Basketball Coach
Radford University will hold a news conference today at 1 p.m. to announce its new women's basketball coach. The news conference will be held in the auditorium at Hurlburt Student Center, known as The Bonnie.

The event will be open to the campus community and the general public and all RU women's basketball fans are encouraged to attend.

Tennis Player Honored with George A. Christenberry Award
The Big South Conference recently honored RU women's tennis player Cassandra Price with the prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence. The award is given to one male student-athlete and one female student-athlete who achieve the highest GPA during their college careers and are graduates of a member institution during the past year. To learn more, visit RUHighlanders.com.

Men's Tennis Faces Georgia in NCAA Tournament
Radford men's tennis will face No. 5 and defending national champion Georgia Saturday, May 10, at 1 p.m. in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Championship. The 2007 and 2008 Big South champion Highlanders will take on the host Bulldogs at Georgia's Henry Feild Stadium at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. See Sports Release.

RU faces Website Updated
The RU faces website has been updated to feature new outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni. At RU faces, you will find stories about Highlanders whose caring, drive and success have created positive opportunities for themselves and those around them. Click on the RU faces icon located at the bottom right hand corner of the RU homepage.

RU Staff Picnic to be Held Tomorrow
The RU Staff Picnic will be held tomorrow from noon until 3 p.m. at the Dedmon Center Riverside. Lunch will be served from noon until 1:30 p.m. The winner of the Bea Covington Award will be announced, and the department showing the most RU spirit will receive the RU Spirit Cup. Games will be provided during the event. To learn more, please contact Jo Thomas at jthomas@radford.edu or 831-6106.

Kudos

Maung Htay Presents, Publishes Work
About IT Programming Competitions
Information technology professor Maung Htay recently presented his work “Neural Network Competitive Learning Models in ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest” at the Competitive Learning Institute Symposium (CLIS) in Banff, Alberta, Canada. His work was also published in the symposium's proceedings. Each year, the Competitive Infrastructure Initiative at the University of Alberta conducts the CLIS under the support of the Competitive Learning Institute and in conjunction with the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals.

The Back Page

On this day in 1966, “Monday, Monday,” by the Mamas and the Papas, hit the top of the charts. This was the first musical quartet to include two men and two women. -- History.com

Recent Releases from University Relations

Rugby Club Wins Division II National Championship >>Story

School of Social Work Receives Grant to Fund FAMIS Outreach Project >>Story

Board Advances Strategy for Increasing Graduate Programs, Enrollment >>Story

Coming Up at RU

5/8, RU Staff Picnic
5/8-10, BSC Softball Tournament in Rock Hill, SC
5/15-17, Baseball vs. Coastal
5/21-25, BSC Baseball Tournament in Danville, Va.
May 26, Memorial Day, no classes
(See RU Calendar for more info)

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