Radford Hub aims to connect students, biz community

For The Hub at Radford, location is everything.

The new economic development support center, which opened in October 2023, is just across the street from Radford University in downtown Radford.

“Our location … is symbolic to the vital role we play as an anchor institution and as a strong contributor to the well-being of the city of Radford and the region,” says Angela Joyner, the university’s vice president of economic development and corporate education.

The 12,581-square-foot resource center, which houses multiple entities related to economic development, has several aims, including connecting students to internships; strengthening connections between the university and the region’s business community; and providing entrepreneurial programming and workforce training.

“The real key element here is that this is a resource for businesses,” says Radford Mayor David Horton.

Radford University’s economic development division, which is housed in the new center, has been working with university leadership since fall 2022 on getting The Hub off the ground.

“Upon the arrival of President [Bret] Danilowicz [in July 2022] and an increased focus on economic development, the Economic Development and Corporate Education Division was created,” Joyner says. “This commitment to positively contribute to the economic well-being of our region and specifically the city of Radford served as a catalyst to move forward this initiative.”

The first phase includes renovating The Hub’s building and moving in staff from the new division as well as the Vinod Chachra Innovative Mobile Personalized Accelerated Competency Training (IMPACT) Lab, which provides online, self-paced training in cybersecurity, data science, K-12 teacher training and geospatial intelligence. The lab, in partnership with Radford’s College of Education and Human Development, launched a program to help provisionally licensed teachers take courses needed to earn full licensure.

The remaining space is planned for coworking space, work-based learning/internships and meeting space, Joyner says.

“One of our objectives as we move forward is identifying companies who may want to have a footprint in the region and hire our students … [in-person or] remotely,” Joyner says.

The center also has the potential to address the shortage of skilled workers in information technology, particularly in cybersecurity and computer science. The Hub plans to establish a certification center for various high-demand fields like technology and computer science.

“The strategy and development of the certificates, micro-credentials and courses are developed on site,” Joyner says.

Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky contributed to this story.