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Goal 2: Advance Academic Innovation and Transformative Learning Experiences

student looking through a microscope

Roanoke College’s faculty puts students at the heart of everything it does, expanding possibilities and opening doors to opportunities in growing fields that are shaping the future. This year, professors created an impressive 10 new degree programs, including our second-ever graduate school program (Master of Education) and a first-in-Virginia bachelor’s degree program (Cannabis Studies).

These aren’t curricula designed in a vacuum — they’re real-world programs crafted to offer solutions for evolving workforce needs. By fusing practical, applied skills with the versatility and breadth of a strong liberal arts foundation, we’re equipping the next generation to adapt and innovate in the new economy.

At Roanoke, we aren’t just preparing students for that first job out of college. We’re preparing them to lead into the future.

In addition to creating new programs in Disability Studies, Public Policy, Economics-Finance and more, our faculty encourages students to challenge themselves by diving into hands-on research work and unique learning opportunities.

 Here are a few milestones reached this year: 

  • Roanoke unveils Master of Education program

    Education students in class

    Roanoke has been training great teachers for more than 30 years; now it is offering a Master of Education: Educational Inquiry to give educators an opportunity to grow in their careers and make a difference at all levels of the field.

  • Roanoke College announces new Cannabis Studies Program

    cannabis plant

    Roanoke’s new academic program — the first of its kind in Virginia — will allow students to obtain a B.S. in the science of cannabis or the social justice and policy issues around cannabis regulation. 

  • Grant helps restore wildlife habitat on campus

    Rachel Collins with students and an insect house

    The Environment Center, 10 acres of meadows, wetlands and woods, offers an extraordinary training ground for science majors who can get firsthand experience in habitat restoration and research work. This spring, its mission was recognized with a nationwide grant from the National Wildlife Federation and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom College and University Grant Program. 

  • All rise, mock trial court is now in session

    Mock Trial

    Roanoke’s new mock trial competition team immerses students in simulated court cases that challenge them to analyze evidence, build compelling arguments and present them to a judge and jury. 

  • Inside-Out partnership expands to second community

    Roanoke City Sheriff's Office

    Praised for its impact, Roanoke College’s Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program brings together incarcerated people (insiders) with traditional college students (outsiders) to learn alongside one another and break down preconceptions. The innovative program was invited to expand into Roanoke City this year after its proven success in Roanoke County. 

  • CSSR receives grant for student research programs

    CSSR Presentation

    The Center for Studying Structures of Race reached a milestone in its four-year effort to uncover the names of enslaved people in the Roanoke Valley. After documenting over 2,800 people in historical records, it launched a free, public database with the information. The project, carried out by student researchers, deepens our understanding of our history.