Christopher Newport University, the youngest comprehensive university in the Commonwealth, was founded in 1960 as a two-year branch of the College of William and Mary. In 1961 it first opened its doors to 171 enrolled students and in 1971 the two-year branch became a four-year baccalaureate, degree-granting institution. In 1977, just six years later, the Institution became an independent college and remained so until it gained university status in 1992.
Surrounded by the city of Newport News, Virginia’s Christopher Newport University sits on approximately 260-acres of land located two and a half hours south of Washington D.C. and less than an hour from Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. The University holds a student population of 4,884 of which forty-five percent are male and fifty-five percent are female. The students of Christopher Newport University come from every region of Virginia as well as 25 other states and 30 foreign nations.
The University currently succeeds in combining a traditional liberal arts and science curriculum with many contemporary teaching ideologies and a growing emphasis on leadership of the future. The current President of the University, a former U.S. Senator from Virginia, Paul S. Trible Jr. was first inducted in 1996. Three years later in 1999 CNU was named #2 among regional public liberal arts colleges in the South by U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.”
In 2001 the university established its role in NCAA Division III football, and now competes in 22 other NCAA sports as well. The University ranks fifth nationally in NCAA Division III Team Championships, and has proudly produced more than 500 All Americans.
Christopher Newport University maintains a rich Greek Life with its 14 recognized fraternities and sororities. Each and every Fraternity and Sorority has offered its own part in the foundation of brotherhood/sisterhood, community service/philanthropy, scholarship and character.
An estimated 12% of the University’s undergraduate population is associated with either a Fraternity or Sorority and this number is steadily growing with each passing year. The students who take part in the Greek Life at CNU hold active leadership roles across campus and donate their time and skills to help assist those in need locally, regionally, and nationally through their community service and philanthropy efforts.