Today's Stories:
New Portal in the Works for RU
Sociology and Anthropology Department Honors Wagner
RU and NCI Team Up for IT Degree Completion Program
Kudos: Hooshang Beheshti
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This Week's Top News

New Portal in the Works for RU
Radford University is creating a “unified digital campus” that will transform the way the university serves and communicates with the campus community. RU is in the process of implementing Banner, a suite of enterprise products and solutions that will facilitate self-service options for a wide variety of campus users. Currently phasing into operation are the Banner Financial Aid, Finance and Advancement modules.

Next on the horizon for implementation is Luminis, a portal platform that will be called MyRU. It will replace the existing university portal and will serve as a dynamic platform for campus communication.

“MyRU will provide a gateway to web-based services and information for the campus community by providing enhanced self-service and targeted communication,” says Ed Oakes, director of IT infrastructure and MyRU project manager.

The MyRU portal will provide easy access for administrative web-based applications, including the Banner system, and university information. The MyRU portal will also enhance campus communication by offering campus departments and organizations the opportunity to communicate to their specific audiences through dedicated channels on the portal.

Participants of the MyRU project teams include representatives from departments across campus. These teams assess the nature of the university's communication needs and implement the architecture, portal policies and training schedules for a planned beta launch during Fall Semester 2008, with full production during Spring Semester 2009.

Trae Cotton, dean of students, is serving as the organizational team lead while Jeff Brewster, manager of web services, is serving as the technical team lead.

Campus News

Sociology and Anthropology Department Honors Wagner
The Sociology and Anthropology department recently established a scholarship to honor Melinda Wagner, the professor who first taught anthropology classes at Radford University.

Wagner came to RU 30 years ago and was the first to introduce Radford students to the discipline of humanity and reconstructing the past. In 1992, Wagner played a significant role in creating the anthropology degree program and was instrumental in hiring some of the university's talented and celebrated faculty, including Donna and Cliff Boyd and Mary Lalone.

“Establishing a scholarship in Dr. Wagner's name is one of the best ways we can honor her for her dedication and outstanding contribution to our students, the department and the university,” Sociology and Anthropology chair Paula Brush said. Wagner is a past winner of the RU Faculty Teaching Award and currently is assisting RU students' research efforts in the Floyd County High School Place-Based Education program.

RU and NCI Team Up for IT Degree Completion Program
The Radford University College of Science and Technology and the New College Institute (NCI) will offer a Bachelor of Science degree distance completion program in information technology (IT) for those who hold an associate's degree or equivalent in IT. Participants may earn a degree with a database concentration or software engineering concentration. The next cohort will begin in September. Registration deadline is July 31.

Classes are taught by RU faculty in the evenings from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. at NCI's Martinsville facility and broadcast simultaneously to locations in Roanoke, Radford, Danville and other locations in Southwestern Virginia. The program includes 38 credit hours of junior- and senior-level information technology coursework.

For more information, see the RU News Release.

Kudos

Beheshti Honored by College of Business and Economics
Hooshang Beheshti, professor and chair of the management department, was recently named the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding College of Business and Economics Faculty Award. The award is presented each spring to a COBE faculty member selected by the students in the college.

“I am honored to have received such an important award in the College of Business and Economics,” said Beheshti. “I truly love teaching and working with our students, and they deserve the best from us as faculty as we help to prepare them for the business world.”

The Back Page

On June 18, 1812, President James Madison signed into law the declaration of war against Great Britain, and the War of 1812 began. - History.com

Recent Releases from University Relations

New Doctoral and Master's Programs Approved by General Assembly >>Story

Alumnae Celebrate Golden Reunion >>Story

Coming Up at RU

6/16-19, Baseball Summer Camp
6/17-20, Men's Basketball Summer Camp
6/20-22, RU 25th Nursing Reunion
6/23-26, Baseball Summer Camp at Harkrader's Sports Complex in Christiansburg
6/23-27, Men's Soccer Summer Camp I
June-July, Quest Orientation for New Students
(See RU Calendar for more listings;
contact RU Athletics at 831-5228 for information on summer sports camps)

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