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Radford University enrollment rockets after rebrand

Summary:

  • saw 20% undergraduate enrollment growth in 2024
  • School rebranded and refocused recruitment on local high schools
  • now make up 41% of undergraduates

By recruiting at local high schools, emphasizing its affordability and giving itself a timely rebrand focused on its regional roots, Radford University has surpassed what many other schools have struggled to do: It significantly increased its enrollment in a single year.

In fall 2024, Radford enrolled 6,161 undergraduates, up from 5,074 the previous fall — a whopping 20%. President Bret Danilowicz hopes to keep the trend going this year and beyond.

Last year’s enrollment growth marks a turnaround for Radford, which experienced eight years of declining numbers and was one of three public Virginia universities named last fall as having “some viability risks” in a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study. Researchers focused on enrollment, finances and appeal to prospective students, and Radford had the state’s highest loss of enrollment at 29% between 2014 and 2023.

Danilowicz joined Radford in 2022 determined to help the school rebound, and in 2023, the university unveiled its new website with rebranding to focus on attracting more commuter students from around the .

“One of the things we did was re-engage with the high schools, the communities, the commuters within range here, to show that we are here for them, and specifically we’re trying to help their communities,” Danilowicz says. “And part of our resurgence in enrollment has been from our region. That’s where a lot of our students have come from.”

Money matters

Affordability is another major selling point for Radford, Danilowicz adds. “We leaned into our very hands-on experiences [with] students in the classroom, that we’ve got a very small student-to-faculty profile. We really leaned into being an affordable institution.”

Also, he notes that Radford ranks high on the State Council of for Virginia’s list of the most affordable four-year public institutions in the commonwealth.

“We are the fourth most affordable in the commonwealth of Virginia, but we’re only out of third place by a little over a hundred dollars,” Danilowicz says, and over the past five years, other four-year schools have raised their tuitions by 3% to 5%, while Radford’s increases have remained below 2% over the past two years.

“The governor has been saying we don’t want institutions to exceed 2.5% [increases] in tuition, some have still exceeded that. We have not. We are purposefully trying to reduce costs.”

In response to the JLARC study, Danilowicz wrote a letter to JLARC’s director saying that he believed his university deserved a designation of “low risk,” and that the agency’s methodology could be improved by including new transfer students as well as first-year students.

While more students are considering return on investment of attending four-year college, Danilowicz notes that in-state students pay an average of $12,952 in tuition each year at Radford, as opposed to $25,575 for tuition, fees and room and board.

“Our room and board is a little over $12,000 a year, it ranges up to $19,000 with some of the institutions in the state. It’s a wide range,” Danilowicz says. “But if you commute to the institution, you don’t have to pay that. So, when people look at affordability, they often see the bundled tuition, room and board all together, and they say that’s a big price tag. Part of regionalism is if people can commute to Radford from within an hour, suddenly you’re looking at [a decrease] of $12,500, before we’ve given any support.

“So it’s $50,000, more or less, over four years to get a degree. People start saying, ‘I can see how that works.’”

Last fall, the Radford Tuition Promise launched for in-state students with $100,000 or less in household income. If they are full-time undergraduate students — new, transfer or returning — they are eligible for the program, which pays full tuition.

It’s a “purposeful commitment which started this past fall … where we re-bundled our financial aid and we made the commitment for any student that attends Radford University from the commonwealth of Virginia,” Danilowicz says. Students still must pay for room and board and certain fees, but the program represents a significant cost savings for many.

“As I tell students and their parents, if you work a part-time job over the course of the year and the summer, and you qualify for that Radford Tuition Promise, you won’t have any expenses by the time you graduate,” Danilowicz says. “You’ll have covered your full costs. You’re not borrowing money from your parents, there’s no loans, so higher education can be very affordable for students. A part of that is being willing to commute to the institution rather than living on campus.”

As a result, about 41% of all undergraduates in the 2024-25 academic year commuted. Danilowicz says that this has become a key point in Radford’s recruitment efforts at area high schools, which he has personally engaged in.

“I went to the regional high schools — part of a big network — and met with families and students in the evenings,” he says. “Just getting us back out there personally. I tend to be a very personable individual. So for us in this area, because it is more rural, people are more ready for personal connections. [My] being at these institutions was part of this messaging.”

That was a change from pandemic-era recruitment meetings that necessarily took place virtually and then continued that way even after shutdowns lifted.

“That had been a trend for a while,” Danilowicz says. “We pulled it almost all back from virtual and put it back in person. So, our recruiters were almost all back in person, traveling to visit students in their space.”

Another significant change at Radford was to focus less on recruiting out-of-state students, who bring in more tuition money but require expensive marketing efforts. In recent years, Danilowicz says, Radford had “been building more and more marketing out of state. And I get that, but that’s an expensive proposition. We’re an in-state institution, our service is to the state, so we pulled back in almost all that out-of-state expenditure and kind of redoubled our marketing here in the area. We put up regional billboards for the first time in a long time.”

Radford also made its athletic teams much more visible in its recruiting efforts. In May, the university announced it would launch a new men’s indoor and outdoor track and field program as NCAA Division I programs, and discontinue men’s and women’s tennis programs. Women’s flag football will start as a club sport this fall, and possibly become a varsity program later.

Apart from its rebranding and targeted local recruitment efforts, Radford has recently won awards that help attract students, Danilowicz says, including Blue Ridge Outdoors naming Radford its “Top Adventure College” earlier this year. The school won a bracket-style popular vote competition, highlighting its location near the Jefferson National Forest, the Appalachian Trail and the New River, as well as group exercise classes held outdoors. It also was named a 2025-26 military-friendly school by Viqtory, an advocacy organization for veterans.

“We are proud to continue to serve our military-affiliated students, help grow that population and receive this recognition,” says Bill Wilson, director of Radford’s Military Resource Center.

Furthermore, guidance counselors, school superintendents and principals have been invited to campus over the past couple of years, Danilowicz says. “Again, that was trying to re-engage them with the university.”

Radford also took a cue from a partnership between George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College that allows a “seamless transfer process” for graduates of NOVA’s advanced two-year program continuing their education at Mason.

In 2024, Radford launched the “Tartan Transfer Program” with nine nearby community colleges to ease the transfer process for area students.

“When a student signs up to attend Virginia Highland Community College, and they say they’re interested in Radford University, they’ll be able to attend Radford University events, they have another layer of advising that’s also aligned with Radford University, [and] all of their classes will be able to transfer here, so there’s no loss of credit,” Danilowicz explains. “We’re trying to help them feel like they’re part of the Highlander community here before they’ve even graduated from Virginia Highlands.”

Local engagement

The Hub at Radford, meanwhile, helps keep the university engaged in its city. Founded in 2023, the support center is based in downtown Radford and works with local businesses.

“It has several purposes, but one of them is to link businesses to our students and faculty as a talent base,” Danilowicz says. “Part of it is internships; part of it is helping businesses with the projects they struggle with, to get the talent and encouraging our students to stay there once they graduate.”

Like many rural regions, the New River Valley has a “big issue” in keeping a healthy talent pipeline for regional employment, and Radford has a stake in this battle, Danilowicz says.

“Our faculty and many of our departments want to work with businesses and help solve problems for them. They want to take a real-world problem from that company and actually work with their classes on it. That’s not a charge, that’s a free service.”

Meanwhile, students gain experience that could help them find their future careers, he notes. “It’s a complete win-win for us.”

Radford also is less vulnerable to cuts in federal funding, a serious situation for other universities, Danilowicz says. Unlike other Virginia higher education institutions with major research facilities — among them the , Virginia

Tech and George Mason, which are classified R-1 for the number of doctoral degrees they award annually — Radford is less reliant on federal grants and indirect benefits, Danilowicz notes.

“We’re an institution that is focused on education and the research experience … but we haven’t built it around grants,” he says. “For example, 76% of our students graduate having conducted undergraduate research here. That is a really huge number, it is a colossal number. Yet we don’t have the grant infrastructure. We’re largely resilient to the change. It doesn’t change how we teach, the purpose of our teaching.”

Also, Radford has never used race-based or legacy admissions processes, Danilowicz says, which meant it didn’t have to adjust much after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in college admissions in 2023, or when Virginia banned legacy admissions in 2024.

Danilowicz says that he feels positive that Radford’s enrollment momentum will continue into the fall semester.

During a university board of visitors meeting earlier in the year, he acknowledged that Radford “had ambitious goals to stabilize enrollment and initially expected to meet those goals by the fall of 2025. That we are ahead of schedule and exceeded our new student enrollment target by 20% is a remarkable testament to the work that was done across all divisions, and by all our faculty and staff, to continuously raise the profile of Radford University.”

Radford at a glance

Founded
Radford University was established as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Radford in 1910. Later called the State Teachers College at Radford, it went coed in 1972 and became Radford University in 1979.

Campus
Set against the Blue Ridge Mountains along the New River, Radford’s 211-acre main campus includes three quadrangles and a pedestrian thoroughfare. Many of its structures are built in a red-brick Georgian style. Radford also operates Radford University Carilion in Roanoke and within the Southwest Higher Education Center in Abingdon.

Enrollment

  • Undergraduate: 6,161
  • Graduate: 1,651
  • In-State: 7,018 (90%)
  • Minority: 2,651 (34%)

Faculty

  • 422 full-time

Academic programs
Radford has 76 undergraduate degree programs in 47 disciplines — including economics, biology, criminal justice and theater — as well as 28 master’s programs and six doctoral programs, including health-related professions.

Undergraduate tuition and fees

  • In-state tuition: $8,648
  • Out-of-state tuition: $21,733
  • Room and board: $12,060

Statistics are based on fall 2024 data

Salem manufacturers plan expansions

Summary

  • to add 83 jobs with 13K sq. ft. catheter facility
  • invests $5M to boost spore production, adding 5 jobs
  • to expand office and lab space, creating 12 jobs

Three advanced operations with roots in recently revealed plans to expand facilities in the city.

Integer Holdings, which has operated in Salem for 30 years, announced expansion plans in April. The Texas-based medical contract developer and manufacturer of medical devices and components has leased a 13,000-square-foot facility on Electric Road to manufacture catheters.

The company did not disclose the cost, but it plans to create 83 jobs, including engineers, production managers and maintenance technicians.

“This is a multiphased investment over a period of five years designed to increase production of medical device components for Integer’s growing cardio and vascular business segment,” says spokesperson Lauren Ban.

Currently, the company employs about 600 workers at its 110,000-square-foot site on Yorkshire Street.

Also in April, Novonesis (formerly Novozymes), a company with five Salem facilities, announced plans to invest $5 million to expand spore production at three of those sites. The project will create five jobs.

Headquartered in Denmark, Novonesis has ties to Salem dating back to the 1940s with the founding of microbial manufacturer G.A. Jeffreys & Co., which was acquired by Novozymes in the early 2000s.

Its Salem facilities produce biosolutions that support plant growth, animal health and aquaculture systems, as well as products for water treatment and industrial cleaning.

Salem’s third major business announcement came in May when announced QualiChem, a Salem-based producer of metalworking fluids and water treatment chemicals, will move its administrative offices and laboratory operations into a 48,580-square-foot space on Idaho Street that has been vacant since 2016. Renovations are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“As our workforce grows year after year, so does our need for additional office and lab space … a positive challenge driven by our success,” says Susie Corey, QualiChem’s brand strategist.

Founded in Salem in 1990, QualiChem has completed two building expansions and added three facilities in the city over the past two decades, according to Corey. The latest expansion — part of a $9 million investment over 10 years — is slated to create 12 jobs and free up space at QualiChem’s Industrial Drive location to increase production.

Tommy Miller, Salem’s director of , notes the new jobs created extend beyond basic manufacturing.

“There is a lot of high-tech automation, not just assembly line production,” Miller said.

 

Port of Virginia nears finish of $450M dredging project

Summary

  • Port to reach 55 feet depth, becoming East Coast’s deepest harbor
  • Widening completed in February 2024 for dual ultra-large vessels
  • $83M rail expansion at NIT doubles portwide capacity to 2M lifts

Seven years after the launched a $450 million to become the deepest and widest harbor on the East Coast, the massive endeavor will be completed by the end of this year as the shipping channels are dredged to 55 feet deep.

The port, which is coming off two consecutive years as the fastest-growing American port, completed the widening portion of the project in February 2024.

With the widening, two ultra-large container vessels, each capable of carrying more than 20,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), can safely move through the channel simultaneously.

“It’s a big step forward in efficiency,” says port spokesperson Joe Harris. He adds that the port serves the largest vessels in the Atlantic trade. “We’ve seen vessels up against 18,000 TEUs. A deeper and wider channel keeps the flow of cargo coming into and out of the port and reduces downtime.”

The project is just one way the port is improving efficiency and increasing capacity. In August 2024, the port completed an $83 million expansion of ‘ central railyard to accommodate 1.1 million rail TEUs annually. “It doubled the rail footprint at NIT,” Harris adds. “We can now handle, portwide, 2 million rail lifts per year.”

In addition, the first phase of a $650 million modernization expansion of NIT’s north terminal is expected to be completed in October. The project will create capacity for an additional 1.4 million TEUs with the installation of four new electric ship-to-shore cranes, bringing the port’s complement of ship-to-shore cranes to 33, including four replacement cranes that went into service at Virginia International Gateway in April.

NIT’s container stack yard also will be reconfigured, supported by semiautomated stacking cranes. When the project is finished in summer 2027, NIT will have capacity of 3.6 million TEUs, while the port overall will have a total capacity of 5.8 million TEUs.

In March, the port concluded the $220 million transformation of Portsmouth Marine Terminal into an hub to support Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, as well as similar projects that could be built along the East Coast. Dominion Energy leases 72 acres of PMT for staging and preassembly of CVOW components.

“We’re in a very good position,” Harris says. “Our efficiency continues to improve and sets us up for the future.”

Trump coal policy changes could boost Southwest Virginia

Summary

  • Trump’s executive orders ease regulations and extend plant operations
  • leaders say orders will stabilize coal economy
  • Coal remains region’s top-paying industry, with salaries over $100K

Southwest Virginia officials say President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at revitalizing the United States’ struggling coal industry will be a boon to the region.

This spring, Trump signed the “Unleashing American Energy” series of executive orders, which lifted barriers to coal on federal lands, allowed some coal-fired facilities scheduled for retirement to continue producing electricity and granted coal-fired plants a two-year exemption from federal regulations reducing emissions of certain toxic chemicals. U.S. coal production was at 1 billion tons in 2014 but dropped to 578 million tons by 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Trump has emphasized boosting coal production as a way to secure the nation’s economic prosperity and national security, while lowering the cost of living and meeting increased electrical demands from emerging technologies. Critics argue that coal is outdated, costly and dangerous, citing illnesses like black lung disease, as well as the fact it contributes to climate change.

The ‘s support is welcomed in Southwest Virginia, where coal remains an economic staple.

“Trump has always been favorable to the coal industry, and the executive orders will have a very big benefit on the region,” says Jonathan S. Belcher, the Virginia Coalfield Authority’s executive director and general counsel. “Coal is the most important industry in southwestern Virginia. Even if the executive orders don’t cause the industry to grow, at least it will be able to sustain itself.”

According to Belcher, the coal industry pays the highest wages in the region, with typical salaries topping $100,000 annually — twice the average pay of other industries in the region.

Ben Beakes, president of the Producers Association, says regulatory changes noted in the executive orders allowing certain coal-fired plants to comply with a more lenient version of the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule would make the industry more predictable when it comes to enforcement and permitting.

Most of the coal produced in Virginia is metallurgical coal used in making steel. Beakes says changes in coal regulations would not necessarily increase production of metallurgical coal but would prevent industry struggles that have limited production.

“The industry has been on a rocky road for the past several years as presidential administration changes created unpredictable, confusing regulations,” he says. “Now we’re able to level the playing field.”

Transco pipeline to expand for Virginia power demand

Summary

  • to carry 950M more cubic feet of gas daily
  • Expansion targets power needs north of Station 165 in
  • Project aims to use existing rights of way to ease permitting
  • Increased gas supply supports Virginia’s AI and growth

In May, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based energy company Williams announced an expansion of its Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line, a move designed to help meet Virginia’s voracious appetite for power.

Currently extending 10,000 miles from South Texas to New York, the pipeline, better known as Transco, will be expanded to carry an additional 950 million cubic feet of daily, said former Williams President and CEO Alan Armstrong on the company’s May 6 first-quarter earnings call. (On July 1, Armstrong became executive chairman of Williams’ board, with Chad Zamarin succeeding him.)

The expansion will serve areas north of Transco’s Compressor Station 165 in Chatham.

“The project is backed by a significant commitment from an anchor shipper and will utilize existing [rights of way] and infrastructure to dramatically reduce permitting risk and provide scalability,” Armstrong said during the May call.

A Williams spokesperson declined to elaborate further, stating that the project is in its early development stage. In May, the company noted it expects what it’s calling the Transco Power Express expansion to be operational by the third quarter of 2030.

In Virginia, the current Transco pipeline runs from Danville through Appomattox and Buckingham counties and into Northern Virginia, according to Glenn Davis, director of the Virginia Department of Energy. Davis says he’s had preliminary discussions with Williams about the Transco expansion.

“There will be significant benefits for surrounding counties and cities as well,” Davis says. “If this is using existing [rights of ways], obviously there’s going to have to be some trenching, but the benefits greatly outweigh any inconvenience.”

As of late June, Williams had not filed any documents with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, according to Greg Weatherford, deputy director of information resources. Williams also had not filed anything with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Kenneth Bowman, a member of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors representing the Chatham-Blairs District, did not respond to a request for comment.

The commonwealth’s thirst for power comes from a variety of growing industries, including , according to Davis. But , especially ones supporting operations, are also consuming a significant and growing amount of energy.

“We’re very excited about the opportunities this could bring to various parts of Virginia,” Davis says.

 

The Lake surf park, retail hub rises in Chesterfield

Summary

  • The Lake’s 13-acre artificial lake now set to open in 2026
  • Chipotle, Soccer Post among retail tenants already operating
  • 170-room hotel and additional retail in development pipeline

The Lake development in is starting to shore up. The 105-acre mixed-use development will include a surf park as well as commercial, hotel and residential properties.

The centerpiece of The Lake will be a 13-acre artificial lake with a tow cable for wakeboarding, kayaking, standup paddle boarding and other water-related activities. It was originally slated to be completed by this summer, but “permitting has taken way longer than expected,” explains developer Brett Burkhart of Lake Adventures and Flatwater Ventures. The lake itself isn’t projected to open until 2026. It will also include a 6-acre surf park, one of few in the U.S. that can generate waves for surfing.

But waves of tenants have already started moving into the development’s commercial space. The first three retail buildings — totaling 20,000 square feet — are complete, Burkhart says, and half the tenants are operating, with a few more getting ready to start construction. (Chipotle and Soccer Post have opened at The Lake, and Starbucks and Saffron Nail Lounge are expected to open soon.) Developers have another 87,500 square feet of retail space in the permitting stage, Burkhart says, as well as townhomes, apartments and a hotel.

J.C. Poma, executive director of sports, visitation and entertainment for Chesterfield County, says The Lake development complements since they’re in such close proximity. About 500,000 people visit the sportsplex for tournaments each year, so it’s mutually beneficial to have restaurants and other attractions for tourists, he says.

“The Lake is filling a big void and really helping with that gateway model for River City,” Poma says. “A lot of the business attraction there very much has to do with what River City has become.”

There are also plans to develop more hotel space around The Lake to help with the surplus of sports tourism visitors to the county, thanks to the sportsplex. Currently, Chesterfield has about 4,200 hotel rooms, Poma says, but occupancy is “overflowing” between the attraction of the sportsplex as well as construction workers staying there during projects.

The 170-room hotel slated for The Lake should start construction as soon as developers get the permits, Burkhart says, but they don’t have an exact date or timeline yet. Burkhart and his team have also selected a hotel operator, but he declined to share more information.

 

Hampton Roads health care accelerator launches

Summary

  • Bloom’s 12-week accelerator supports 24 health-related businesses
  • Program covers compliance, funding access, revenue modeling and more
  • Funded by , LISC , Blocker Foundation

A new accelerator supporting 24 small and growing health care-related businesses in the Hampton Roads area wraps up its 12-week program in August. Developed by nonprofit coworking space Bloom as a program of the , the Bloom Accelerator is helping local entrepreneurs build relationships, scale their operations and navigate the unique challenges of the health care industry.

The program, funded by Sentara Health, and The Blocker Foundation, stemmed from a need for deeper support to the largely Bloom supports, according to Executive Director Michelle Wren. Of Bloom’s 200-plus entrepreneurs, about 97% are minority-owned.

“They’ve got barriers of entry that go along with minority ownership they’re trying to overcome — for example, to develop relationships with banks to access capital. We found our general programming just wasn’t fully meeting their needs,” says Wren.

With nearly a quarter of its coworking businesses being in the health care sector, Bloom decided to pilot an accelerator where members could learn from industry-specific experts and address pain points unique to health care businesses. Participants included nine home health companies, seven in behavioral health, five in women’s health or overall wellness, and three in health-care-related business services.

The accelerator program, hosted at Bloom’s Portsmouth space, included weekly deep dives on such topics as revenue models, regulatory compliance, market analysis and segmentation, and ethics, paired with mentoring and discussion sessions designed to help businesses incorporate the learning into their operations. In between sessions, participating entrepreneurs also took in presentations from Bloom partners such as the Hampton Roads Workforce Council, Old Dominion University’s Strome Entrepreneurial Center and local hospital systems.

For entrepreneurs like Tiffany Crayton, founder of Inspire. Empower. Change. Counseling & Consulting and a tenant, the program has been a game changer.

“I’ve been a clinician for over 20 years, but as a new business owner, having access to a program targeted to the unique needs of my industry has been a tremendous benefit,” says Crayton, a licensed professional counselor. “The program has shifted my mindset to see what’s possible. The presenters have blown me away, and the camaraderie in the group makes me feel like I’m not alone in my business challenges.”

Bloom hopes to build on the health care accelerator’s success with other industry-specific programs as well as follow-up programs targeting the area’s health care businesses.

StartVirginia: Heard Around Virginia August 2025

AgroSpheres, a company developing nontoxic crop-protection products, announced in late June it was launching commercial sales of Fun-Thyme, a biofungicide derived from thyme oil. The company is partnering with Denver-based agricultural products marketer and distributor Wilbur-Ellis to introduce the product to U.S. farms. Fun-Thyme is billed as a highly effective alternative to traditional products for conventional and organic farming. It’s approved for use in Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin, and its registration is pending in California. (Richmond Inno)

Backed by Nvidia and other heavy hitters, Emerald AI — a new AI startup with offices in Arlington County — emerged from stealth on July 1, stating that it aims to alleviate some of the concerns about ‘ energy usage through software that will help data centers adjust energy consumption, making them more efficient in their energy usage during periods of peak power demand. The startup, which was incorporated last year in Washington, D.C., but has its primary offices in Clarendon, said it has secured $24.5 million in seed funding. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Lockheed’s R&D division for aerospace and defense technologies, and Manassas aviation startup Electra.aero signed a memorandum of understanding to “explore opportunities” for Electra’s EL9 ultra-short takeoff and landing aircraft, according to a mid-June news release. Lockheed Martin will collaborate with Electra to explore ways to accelerate development of the EL9, which can take off and land in 150 feet. The Skunk Works and Electra teams will also seek opportunities for potential programs of record with the U.S. Defense Department and global customers; about 85% of Skunk Works’ work is classified. Lockheed Martin Ventures signed a strategic cooperation agreement to invest in Electra’s Series A funding round in 2022. (News release)

Mountain High Seltzer announced in June that its beverage is the first legal THC seltzer to be distributed statewide by major companies: Hoffman Beverage and Virginia Eagle Distributing, an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler. The milestone is a significant win for Mountain High Seltzer founder and CEO Joe Kuhn, who began his business under the name Albemarle Hemp Co. in 2019 in Crozet. The new beverage contains just 30 calories and zero alcohol, featuring a blend of 2 milligrams of THC and 4 milligrams of CBD. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Reston cybersecurity and cloud services provider Neovera closed a deal on June 18 to buy Greenway Solutions, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based fraud detection and prevention firm. The deal marked Neovera’s fourth acquisition in 20 months and brought its workforce to nearly 200 people. Neovera CEO Scott Weinberg said Greenway’s customers include many of the country’s top 100 banks, which are using its tech to run fraud simulations across payment platforms and call centers to identify vulnerability points, find where controls fail and learn how systems can be implemented to prevent attacks. (DC Inno)

As of early July, Charlottesville wedding flowers company Poppy Flowers had raised $1.7 million in equity funding, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company is seeking to raise $3 million total, and the round includes six unnamed investors. The first sale in the round was recorded on May 30. Cameron Hardesty launched Poppy in 2020. It provides flowers for weddings through a national network of floral designers and via boutique growers in Latin America and has raised about $8 million across several rounds since its founding. (Richmond Inno)

Top Five: August 2025

The most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from June 10 through July 10 included news of President Jim Ryan’s resignation amid federal pressure over university policies.

1   |  Buc-ee’s opens first Virginia location in Mount Crawford

Some fans camped out overnight and some drove from as far away as Alabama for the June 30 grand opening of the mega travel center’s new Rockingham County store. (June 30)

2   |  U.Va. president resigns under pressure from DOJ

University of Virginia President James E. “Jim” Ryan resigned his post at the state’s flagship university due to pressure from the federal government over U.Va.’s DEI policies. (June 27)

3   |  EU set to launch antitrust probe of $35.9 billion Mars-Kellanova deal

The European Union’s antitrust watchdog is expected to launch a full-scale investigation into McLean-based ‘  $35.9 billion acquisition of , probably delaying the merger. (June 24)

4   |  New Virginia Beach economic development chief resigns suddenly

Citing “pressing family matters,” Christian Green resigned in June after serving less than four months in the post. (June 12)

5   |  State Senate Dems claim in lawsuit

Youngkin is trying to nullify BOV rejection vote Nine Virginia Democratic senators sued the rectors of three universities, claiming that was nullifying a Senate committee’s refusal to confirm eight people appointed to the public universities’ boards. (June 24)

Out and About: August 2025

1. Smoov Moving founder Orlando “Took” Barbour; Regional Chamber of Commerce Community Engagement Director Ann Marie Hohenberger; and Quinton Harrell, a leader of the chamber’s Minority Business Alliance, were among those celebrating the July 1 opening of the moving company’s Albemarle County office. (Photo courtesy Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce)

2. CYMNow Flowers owner Huan Vo speaks with Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones and lieutenant governor candidate state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi at the Falls Church shop June 27. (Photo courtesy Spanberger for Governor)

3. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, GOP gubernatorial candidate Virginia  and Delta Star President and CEO Jason Greene attended the opening of Delta Star’s new Delta Iron Works in Lynchburg. (Photo courtesy Delta Star)

4. L to R: Virginia Community College System Chancellor Dr. David Doré, Dr. Robert H. “Bobby” Sandel, who retired in June after 24 years as president of Virginia Western Community College, and Deborah Petrine, chair of the Virginia Western Educational Foundation board, attended a June 14 retirement gala for Sandel. (Photo courtesy Virginia Western Community College. Photo by Natalee Waters)