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Radford University experts available: Data Centers, AI and Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Radford, VA (09/15/2026) — Radford University professors are available to speak on the following topics:

Radford history professor helps bring Theodore Roosevelt to life

As the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library prepared to open on July 4, 2026, curators worked tirelessly to ensure exhibits were historically accurate. To do so, they called on a group of distinguished historians to meticulously examine various projects within the library.

One of those was Radford University Professor of History Matt Oyos, a noted Roosevelt scholar who in 2018, published the book, "In Command: Theodore Roosevelt and the American Military."

Oyos's expertise on Roosevelt's role with the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War was of particular interest to the library's creators. When the group was examining the accuracy of the library's visual representations, the professor's knowledge became especially helpful. The professor also helped ensure the accuracy of an interactive AI-powered avatar of Roosevelt, who served as U.S. president from 1901 to 1909.

Before President Donald Trump got a chance to quiz AI Roosevelt just before the library's opening, Oyos put it "through the paces," he said, "to see if I could trip it up."

He asked AI Roosevelt several detailed questions, like how the name "Rough Riders" came about, his feelings about Woodrow Wilson as president and if his daughter, Alice, really did carry a green snake coiled in her purse. The professor asked more serious and challenging questions of Roosevelt, for example, his mishandling of the 1906 Brownsville Affair in Texas.

"I asked some pretty tough questions, and it handled it really well," Oyos recalled. "There was still some tweaking to do before the library opened to the public, but in the moment, it did a pretty good job of answering my questions."

Unlike most U. S. presidents, Roosevelt's library opening came after his death, 107 years to be exact. Oyos was honored to play a role in making it happen.

"Most presidents get a chance to put their stamp on their libraries," he said. "Roosevelt didn't. As a historian, I was happy I contributed to giving him his own library."

Expertise: Military and strategic affairs, Theodore Roosevelt, American military history.

Email: moyos@radford.edu

Phone: (540) 831-5283

Preparing for more AI adoption in the workforce

When companies attribute layoffs to AI, does that necessarily mean AI replaced those workers? What can we reasonably conclude from the recent wave of AI-related layoff announcements? Which occupations and workers are likely to be most affected as AI adoption continues, and what should workers do to prepare? Radford University Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Can Dogan can offer his perspective on these questions and more concerning artificial intelligence and the workforce.

Expertise: Artificial intelligence and its effect on business and labor, international economics, how trade policies affect real-world outcomes, including the spillover effects of tariffs on housing markets.

Email: cdogan@radford.edu

Phone: (540) 831-6042

Data center opposition uniting political opponents

Chapman Rackaway, professor and chair of Radford University's Department of Political Science, is available to explain how and why the emergence of data centers in rural communities is uniting people on the political left and right. Concerns about diminishing water supplies, decreasing farmland and increasing electricity bills are top of mind as November's midterm elections loom.

Rackaway's expertise includes Virginia state and local politics and elections; political polarization, and American voting behavior.

Email: crackaway@radford.edu

Phone: (540) 831-6602

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