College Profile RADFORD UNIVERSITY


Named president of Radford in 2016, Brian Hemphill is leaving in June to become Old Dominion University’s ninth president.


A growing legacy S


ince his selection as president of Radford University five years ago, Brian Hemphill has fulfilled the


mission he set when he was hired: to increase fundraising and open channels to boost enrollment. During Hemphill’s tenure, he has seen


the university reach record enrollment numbers and grow its endowment by $20 million. But all things must come to an end — or at least be passed on to a successor. In February, Hemphill announced that he will be leaving in June to become


56 | APRIL 2021


the ninth president of Old Dominion University in Norfolk. He will succeed John Broderick, who is retiring after 13 years at ODU’s helm. Hemphill, who through a spokesperson


declined to be interviewed for this story, came to Radford with a background of success in fundraising and boosting enrollment in his previous position as president of West Virginia State University (a historically Black university). “Under [Hemphill’s] leadership,


we have … seen a dramatic increase in fundraising that has directly benefited our


Exiting Radford president bolstered finances, enrollment by Gary Robertson and Sydney Lake


students,” says Katie Hilden-Clouse, the university’s faculty senate president. “More than $55 million has been raised to directly benefit student aid and scholarships. President Hemphill is a student-focused leader.” And there are more Radford students


than ever — the university grew total enrollment from 9,401 students in fall 2016 to a record 11,870 students in fall 2019. In the wake of the pandemic, fall 2020 enrollment dropped to 10,695 students; it was still the university’s second-highest enrollment year.


Photo courtesy Radford University


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