Mr. Russell B. Shrader

Assistant Director

The senior member of University Honors, Mr. Shrader has been on staff since August 2004. The only child of two public school educators, he was born and raised in Princeton, West Virginia. He knew from an early age the value of a quality education. He graduated from Concord University (Athens, West Virginia) with a B.S. in biology (pre-med focus), and then earned a master’s degree from Marshall University (Huntington, West Virginia) in biological sciences. His master’s work focused on an ecological vegetation study of the McClintic Wildlife Management Area near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and his major professor was Dr. Jeffrey D. May. McClintic Wildlife Management Area was the former TNT manufacturing site during World War II, which was personified in the movie The Mothman Prophecies.

Upon graduation from Marshall, Mr. Shrader worked at Concord University as Counselor/Coordinator for the now defunct Upward Bound Math/Science Program, which at the time was the only program of its kind in West Virginia. This position allowed him to work with underserved and underrepresented high school student populations in southern West Virginia as they prepared to enter their college years.

From Concord, Mr. Shrader worked for three years as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Radford University. While there, he traveled extensively throughout the entire New England region as well as the Hampton Roads, Richmond, Northern Neck, and Shenandoah and Roanoke Valley areas of Virginia.

Since coming to Virginia Tech, he has been involved in a variety of activities with University Honors. He coordinates the application process for all incoming freshmen and upperclass Honors students. He also is responsible for all student scholarships from Honors, including the prestigious sophomore Honors scholarship competition held each spring. He also coordinates room and roommate assignments for the two Honors residential communities, Hillcrest Hall and Main Campbell Hall and is in charge of the in-Honors Honors diploma.

Continuing his very eclectic blend of education and experience, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in public administration and policy from Virginia Tech. Because of his varying experience, Shrader encourages all Honors students to think of all possibilities with their education. Varying experiences can only make a student more well-rounded.