Highlanders in the News: Week of April 27, 2026

Our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. In this column, we highlight some notable mentions from local, regional, national and international news media. Whether our students, alumni, faculty and staff are featured as subject matter experts in high-profile stories or simply helping make the world a better place, we'll feature their stories.

Off the tee

Three stars of Radford's women's golf team - each of which are earning degrees with summa cum laude distinctions this weekend - recently scored handsome Big South Conference postseason awards for their success in collegiate athletics and academics.

Macy Johnson - whom you can see profiled here - was named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second season in a row. A Salem, Virginia, native, she graduates this weekend with a major in economics and a minor in accounting and also boasts a 4.0 GPA. Johnson plans to stay at Radford and finish her MBA next year.

After an individual championship win at the Elon Invitational in September, Mckenzie Weddle of Riner, Virginia, nabbed Second Team All-Conference honors and, during the regular season, was named Big South Golfer of the Week. She's about to earn her bachelor's degree in allied health science.

For the kudos Shea Smith collected across the season - including the team's third-best scoring average and tying a program record with a five-under round at the Edisto Island Invitational in October - she took home an Honorable Mention All-Conference nod. On Saturday, Smith, from Charlotte, North Carolina, graduates with a degree in management and has earned a Highlander Honors distinction.

And all of that information is actually the short version of the accolades this trio has garnered, but you can read the full details in a recent story on the New River Valley Times website or on the Radford Athletics page.

'Depth of talent'

On April 20, Salem City Schools Superintendent Curtis Hicks announced that four longtime local educators will be taking administrative roles in the system for the 2026-2027 school year.

Among those is Nicole Doherty, who is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education from Radford University. She also holds two bachelor's degrees from Roanoke College and a Master of Arts degree from James Madison University.

Starting July 1, Doherty will serve as one of two assistant principals at Salem High School, and she comes to that position after teaching for more than two decades at Roanoke's Patrick Henry High School. She replaces Andrea Johnson, who's headed to a job with Roanoke County.

Each of these new appointments, Hicks noted in a news release, "reflects the depth of talent we saw throughout the process, as we had an exceptionally strong pool of candidates.

"Their collective impact will strengthen teaching, learning and school culture across the division."

The appointments of Doherty and her colleagues were also reported on April 22 in the Salem Times Register.

Tick talk 2

Back in March, we told you about some of Associate Professor Jenny Hall's efforts to help the public avoid ticks and the illnesses those parasites can spread. She had just spoken to Cardinal News for a piece in which she covered "the four Cs," which are: cover, clear, check and clean.

That wasn't long ago, but here's the thing - as April gives way to May, the five months of Tick Season 2026 are only 20% completed, and they'll carry on through September.

In the meantime, Hall remains out there fighting the good fight.

She recently talked to WFXR (Roanoke), with tips for dealing with the toxic hitchhikers, particularly how to remove them safely.

"If a tick has bitten you, experts recommend taking a pair of tweezers and using a gentle but firm scooping motion at the base of the skin," Hall told the station. "Pull straight up and out, don't twist it, flip it or squeeze it. You don't want to squeeze it with your fingers because I tell people [the tick] is like a tube of toothpaste that you can squeeze the pathogen into our bodies."

Hall also gave an interview with WSLS (Roanoke) in which she warned of the lone star tick, which often displays a light-colored star-shaped spot on its back - hence its handle - and which skews more aggressive in its approach to its prey.

"With the lone star tick, they're actually going to come out after you," she warned. "So they will come out into the lawn more."

That sounds like nightmare fuel for sure, but it's also news you can use, and you can find a lot more helpful information on the subject at Ticks in Virginia, the website Hall founded.