About

The Department of Health and Human Performance endeavors to provide equitable opportunities for all individuals to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes to maintain optimal levels of lifelong personal health and physical activity. The departments academic programs prepare individuals for leadership roles in a wide variety of school and community based physical activity, sport, fitness, nutrition, athletic training and allied health programs.

Through strong academic programs, community and school outreach, and applied research to practice, we strive to lead in the promotion of healthy lifestyles. The department aims not only to enhance the preparation of its future professionals, but also to benefits the entire student body at Radford University, the surrounding schools, and community, and the Commonwealth. The department’s collective efforts provide strong leadership in the development and maintenance of physically active and healthy lifestyles…one person at a time.

Vision

Transforming students to be exceptional professionals in their chosen field and agents of change in their community.

Mission

The mission of the Department of Health and Human Performance is to prepare our students, through student-centered activities, to be entry-level professionals skilled in evidence-based practice and lifelong learning. We aim to equip students with specific skills to serve as mature and responsible individuals, ethical practitioners, and impactful leaders who embrace diversity in their communities of practice.

Facilitation

We strive toward our vision and mission through 5 intentional initiatives.

• External Opportunities: We drive student-centered activities through engagement initiatives that are external to our curricula. We provide students the opportunities to conduct research, participate in professional conferences, and conduct service and outreach projects in local communities. These unique opportunities compliment course content and helps students to develop ownership over their program of study and to distinguish themselves from other job applicants in the field.
• HHP Research and Presentation Day: This event showcases students’ ability to demonstrate evidence-based practice. The ability to demonstrate reason and critical thinking in decision-making (i.e., evidence-based practice) is essential to the twenty-first century workplace and again distinguishes our students among undergraduates.
• Focus on Experiential Learning: The need to integrate classroom knowledge with professional skills is essential to developing impactful leaders. We require experiential learning in every degree program to ensure students are applying coursework to hands-on applications and job skill development.
• Professional Development: To address lifelong learning, we foster professional development opportunities for students before graduation. It is essential for professionals to continually build their knowledge, skills, and abilities in a field and we provide early professional development training to establish this important practice.
• Ethics in Curricula: We believe in the importance of ethics in professional decision-making; therefore, our curricula include coursework and content in ethical reasoning. We believe that it is imperative professionals understand the ramifications of their decisions and how responsible choices affect the wellbeing of others.