Radford University sets high mark in undergraduate research program

Radford University students and faculty are once again making their mark on the national undergraduate research stage, earning the university its largest representation ever in the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Scholars Transforming through Research program.

For the third consecutive year, Radford University has the nation’s largest institutional representation in the program, continuing a remarkable record of student participation in one of the nation's leading undergraduate research development programs.

“The 2026 cohort, with 12 students and five faculty, is a record for the largest participation of any college or university in the history of the program,” said Joe Wirgau, director of Radford University's Office of Undergraduate Research.

CUR recently announced the selection of 48 teams and 193 participants for the 2026-27 STR program. The national cohort represents 39 institutions in 18 states and includes 50 campus representatives and 143 undergraduate researchers in more than 30 disciplinary areas. The program helps undergraduate researchers develop skills to communicate the value and impact of their research beyond the university and connect their work with civic engagement and their communities.

The STR program is more than an opportunity for students to present their research. CUR describes it as a competitive, application-based professional development program in which institutional teams develop the skills needed to communicate the value and impact of undergraduate research to audiences outside the campus community.

Radford's selection includes five teams, making the university's presence particularly significant within a highly competitive national program. Radford is the only college or university in the nation to have participated in all five years of the program, and the university has by far the largest number of historical participants.

“Our students and faculty who participate in the STR program represent Radford University so well,”
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Bethany Usher said. “We are known for our excellence in experiential learning, especially undergraduate research, as well as our commitment to serving our communities."

As Wirgau put it, the students are creating “new knowledge that is impactful and shapes our communities and world.”

Beginning this November and continuing through March 2027, participants will strengthen their communication skills, explore ways to connect research with civic life and consider how their work can engage communities and contribute to issues beyond the university.

The STR program allows Radford students to take their research beyond the traditional setting of the laboratory, classroom or presentation and consider how it can become part of a larger public conversation.

Previous Radford participants have taken their research to Washington, D.C., where students met with congressional staff and communicated their work to policymakers and other audiences. Those experiences have demonstrated one of the central ideas behind STR: undergraduate research can become a bridge between the university and the wider community.

In announcing the participants, CUR Executive Officer Lindsay Currie said the annual program demonstrates the extraordinary range of undergraduate research taking place across the country.

“Every year, the STR cohort reminds us of the remarkable range of undergraduate research and the students and mentors who are committed to making that work matter.”

Currie said the program gives students and faculty an opportunity to explore what it means to connect research with civic life, including learning how to communicate what they know, build relationships, listen to different perspectives and create opportunities for their research to have greater impact.

The Radford University cohort includes faculty mentors from the Artis College of Science and Technology and the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, along with undergraduate researchers whose work spans multiple areas of study.

Radford University faculty participants

From the Artis College of Science and Technology
- Joyce Caughron, Associate Professor of Biology
- Jesse Harden, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
- Jamie Lau, Associate Professor of Biology
- Tara Pelletier, Associate Professor of Biology
From the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences:
- Morgan Montañez, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Radford University Undergraduate Researchers
- Arsam Hosseinimarashi
- Bethany Kifle
- Ella Seymore
- Haley Taylor
- Isaiah Moore
- Jackson Harold
- Katelyn Meyer
- Kristina Wagner
- Leo Winston
- Star Kane
- Tamara Wimbush
- Therese Root

Students will work alongside faculty mentors to develop ways to communicate their research to audiences outside their academic disciplines and explore how their work can contribute to their communities.

For Radford, the emphasis on student voice is especially important.

“On an application where the student voice drives the writing, this recognition speaks volumes about the talent of our students and the pivotal role their faculty mentors play in guiding them,” Wirgau said.

The significance of Radford's continued participation ultimately goes beyond the size of its delegation. The university has established a sustained presence in a national program that asks students to think carefully about why their research matters, who it can serve and how they can communicate its importance to people who may not share their academic background.

For Radford University, the latest STR selection is another indication that undergraduate research is not simply something that happens within the boundaries of a campus. Through the work of its students and the guidance of its faculty mentors, that research is finding its way into larger conversations about communities, civic life and the world beyond the university.

The complete announcement from the Council on Undergraduate Research, including the national participant information, can be read here.