The institution now known as Radford University was founded by the Virginia General Assembly in the spring of 1910. The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Radford grew out of a late nineteenth-century effort to expand Virginia's public school system and prepare a sufficient number of teachers. The school was to be located on 33 acres in east Radford known as the Heth Grove. On October 3, 1911, Dr. John Preston McConnell was appointed president of the institution.With no dormitories, the school rented two nearby buildings for student housing, Heth House and La Belle Inn. Life on campus was very strict and required the ladies to be Southern Gentlewomen observing Victorian values and prudence.

In 1924, the school's name was changed to State Teachers College. In 1943 a merger was proposed between Radford and nearby Virginia Polytechnic Institute as part of a statewide effort to consolidate higher education institutions and give students the most adequate opportunity for a broad professional and technical education. As the Women's Division of V.P.I., Radford students would have the opportunity to pursue the same programs available to men and duplicate courses were eliminated between the two schools. To see a complete history of the University see the Our History page on the Radford University Website.