Every two weeks, Highlander Highlights shares with readers some of the extraordinary research and accomplishments happening on and off campus through the tireless work and curiosity of our students and faculty.
Campus voting rate earns national recognition
Radford University has earned a bronze seal from the All IN Campus Democracy Challenge based on the university’s 2022 campus voting rate.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. Radford was recognized along with more than 500 campuses based on data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) out of Tufts University.
“Since we started the Campus Voter Team in 2022, we've been doing a lot of things to make sure students get registered, but registration isn't the ultimate goal – getting students to vote is,” said Professor Chapman Rackaway, chair of the Department of Political Science, who leads the campus initiative to increase student voter participation. “So, we're building toward even higher voter turnout numbers, and I hope to see that turnout rate grow here in 2024.”
Much of the success, the professor said, can be attributed to the hard work of the students in Highlanders Vote. “It started with I'yonah Cartwright ’23, and now it continues with students like Lane Chrepta.”
A history and economics double major, Chrepta said they have dedicated themselves to helping fellow students find more ways to be civically engaged.
“Getting students registered to vote, helping them find ways to the polls or showing them how to request an absentee ballot, hosting events tailored to helping students have politically charged discussions, or even just answering simple questions; these are all things that I do through Highlander's Vote and are things that I love to do,” the junior from Newport News, Virginia, said. “Seeing students get passionate about a topic they care about and then helping their peers find their passion and speak up about it is what makes all the hard work worth it.”
Earning the ALL IN bronze seal “shows that Radford University is dedicated to helping students be educated and engaged in their community, both locally and nationally,” Chrepta said. “Having students see this seal shows them that we want to help students develop the skills and knowledge they already have to make a positive impact on themselves and the community around them.”
Understanding fire patterns in restoration strategies
Professor of Geospatial Science Stockton Maxwell is co-author of a new publication for the journal “Tree, Forests and People.”
In the paper, “Pine woodland fire dynamics mirror industrial history at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia, USA,” Maxwell and his co-authors present their research results revealing that “since the late 19th century, fire activity in pine woodlands at the New River Gorge has been driven primarily by human ignitions associated with industrial activities, and that periods of drought have amplified landscape-scale fire occurrence.”
Maxwell and his fellow researchers argue that “land managers should consider these historical fire patterns when developing restoration strategies that may include prescribed fire, thinning treatments and managed wildfires.”
Using AI for business solutions
Assistant Professor of Marketing Luke Liska spoke to the Roanoke Blacksburg Business Council on Sept. 12, providing ideas for how local business leaders can adopt artificial intelligence and a framework for efficiently and effectively using AI to solve business challenges.
Liska, who also directs the Davis College Fellows at Radford, was one of three speakers who addressed the impact of AI on business practices at the event held at Virginia Tech’s University Club inside Lane Stadium.
“Overall, this talk was important because there is much interest in the topic of artificial intelligence and its current and potential applications to business,” Liska said. “However, there remains a lack of understanding of what exactly AI is and how we can effectively utilize it to solve business problems.”
‘Doing is learning,’ say STEL faculty authors
Two School of Teacher Education and Leadership (STEL) faculty members contributed a chapter to the recently published book, “Active and Engaging Classrooms: A Practical Exploration of Higher Education.”
Professor and STEL Director Amanda Bozack and STEL Professor Boyoung Park penned the chapter, “Doing Is Learning in Entry-Level Coursework,” along with Emily W. Fielder, who serves as an adjunct faculty member in STEL.
The chapter topic is interesting “because we all have taught a version of the same class using very different approaches to engagement and experiential education,” Bozack said. “Over the years, I've learned that the more any student has the opportunity to apply what they’re learning, the more they enjoy and value the experience. You won’t find a greater champion for experiential education than me and my STEL colleagues.”
Wicked talk
What’s the latest with Radford University’s wicked problems initiatives?
Find out when Professor of Political Science Paige Tan and Associate Professor of Design Thinking Meg Konkel speak to the “With Good Reason” public radio program. Their interview will air beginning Sept. 28 on 129 radio stations across the United States. Listeners in the New River Valley can hear the program at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, on Public Radio WVRU 89.9. The show will also be available as a podcast at withgoodreason.org.
“With Good Reason” is produced by Virginia Humanities for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium, which comprises all of Virginia’s public colleges and universities. The award-winning program is heard by an estimated 100,000 people each week on public radio stations in 38 states, including Virginia and Washington, D.C. Thousands more listeners download the episodes via iTunes.
The fall 2024 Wicked Festival is set for 5-8 p.m. Nov. 14 in the new Artis Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity.