Students enjoy interacting with esteemed faculty.

An energetic, fulfilled faculty

Our faculty enjoy an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual respect. Such an environment rewards outstanding teaching, fostering active intellectual and creative engagement. The University's beautiful, 260-acre campus integrates CNU's liberal arts vision as it nurtures mind, body and spirit and inspires scholarly and social connections among the CNU community.

Productive scholars and researchers, our faculty receive support through summer stipends and yearlong internal grants programs. CNU faculty are also Fulbright scholars, National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship winners, and National Science Foundation grant recipients. Our proximity to national research laboratories such as the NASA Langley Research Center and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility enable world-class faculty-student collaborations. Nearly 70 percent of our faculty have worked with undergraduates on a research project.

Faculty and administrators actively consult and collaborate as the University forges a culture of scholarly inquiry, informed debate and civic action. The result is a supportive, cohesive academic setting in which the University cultivates and carries forward its mission.

Beyond the classroom, faculty enjoy a lively local arts and music scene and a family friendly central location on the eastern seaboard near oceanfront resort beaches, our state and national capitals, significant historical landmarks, and popular theme parks. Attractive salary, health and retirement benefits packages, plus a well-designed family leave policy, further enhance our workplace.

New, state-of-the-art facilities

The Tribal Library

Matching CNU's academic success is the physical transformation of our campus. New academic buildings, including a $35 million humanities and social sciences complex and an $80 million integrated science center, will soon join the cutting-edge, recently opened Trible Library, the intellectual center of campus. Combining the finest features of a traditional library with state-of-the-art technology, the facility has quickly taken instruction, learning and research to exciting heights. Beginning fall 2008, the Trible Library will house the Mariners' Museum Library, which contains the Western Hemisphere's largest maritime collection.

Potomac River Hall

Nearly 3,000 students live in state-of-the-art residential facilities, and our four new residence halls and two new apartment complexes have won raves from students and parents alike. New residential living areas include CNU Village, a unique mixed-use development that also houses restaurants and retail stores.

World-class Ferguson Center for the Arts

The $60 million Ferguson Center for the Arts is the crowning jewel of Christopher Newport University. Here we celebrate teaching and learning in the 1,700-seat Concert Hall, 500-seat Music and Theatre Hall, 200-seat Studio Theatre, classrooms, sound-isolated music practice spaces, rehearsal halls, dance studios, costume shops, lighting labs and set design studios.

Concert Hall, Ferguson Center for the Arts

Opened in September 2005, the center has hosted such extraordinary talents as Itzhak Perlman and Tony Bennett. Its amazing annual performance schedule typically includes more than 40 attractions featuring artists from around the world in genres ranging from symphony and opera to modern dance and ballet; from jazz, gospel, blues, pops, country and western to Broadway and children's theater. The Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Festival draws noteworthy performers and delights audiences annually.

The Ferguson Center makes possible exciting and challenging educational opportunities. Students work with, and learn from, the world's finest artists. One student even received the experience of a lifetime when he sang alongside opera sensation Andrea Bocelli for a sold-out Concert Hall performance.

A vibrant campus life

From lecture series and artistic performances to athletic contests and symposia, CNU provides a wealth of activities and programs. Students participate in more than 100 clubs and organizations, along with dozens of recreational and club sports. Student organizations reflect a variety of interests, including community service, academic and cultural enrichment, student leadership, religious pursuits, athletics, and international or ethnic ties. Whether a student is interested in biology field trips to the ocean or becoming a leader in campus government, an array of activities makes life beyond the classroom productive and memorable.

Learning beyond the classroom

Education extends beyond campus as students and faculty engage the surrounding community in service learning partnerships initiated by our new Center for Civic and Service Learning. Students also study abroad with increasing frequency, either accompanied by CNU faculty or through independent programs. These rich cultural experiences are as unique as the destinations chosen, and what students learn overseas enhances their education immeasurably.

Since its creation in 2005, CNU's Office of International Programs has provided information, guidance and support for study-abroad initiatives. It oversees the recruitment of students and coordinates the application process for national and international scholarships and fellowships.

Faculty members accompany select students to Oxford University's Harris Manchester College each summer to teach alongside Oxford dons. Also each summer, a CNU faculty member is selected as a visiting fellow of Oxford University at Harris Manchester College, enriching his or her scholarship by completing research in Oxford's Bodleian Library.

CNU enjoys partnership or exchange agreements with nearly a dozen overseas institutions or organizations, providing students from all majors and programs with rich opportunities. Students spend semesters or full academic years in Japan, Costa Rica, India, Russia, Mexico, England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Australia. Depending on the program, students engage in lectures, seminars, tutorials, language immersion and internships.

CNU students travel the globe.

One recent initiative, made possible through a State Department grant, built bridges between cultures. This exchange program brought 21 students from Morocco and Algeria to CNU in summer 2006 to partner with 21 CNU students. The following summer, the CNU students traveled to Morocco to reunite with their student partners. They attended seminars on the region's history, religion and culture and explored cultural/historical sites. Hosted by TALM (Tangier American Legation Museum), the students visited with members of the Moroccan government, U.S. embassy diplomats and local families. CNU students were granted a rare opportunity to serve as goodwill ambassadors and did so with grace and maturity.

Located near the ocean and mountains in a history-lover's paradise

Located in Newport News, Virginia, on the Virginia Peninsula, CNU is in the heart of Hampton Roads (a top tourist destination). It is a two-and-a-half-hour drive south of Washington, D.C., plus a three-hour drive from Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Less than an hour's drive away is Virginia Beach, a classic American beach resort and the world's longest pleasure beach, offering 35 miles of beaches along the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, a three-mile boardwalk, adventure sports, dolphin/whale-watching, and more. Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA amusement parks are also nearby.

Minutes from campus are the attractions of the Historic Triangle: Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th-century capital of colonial Virginia and the largest living history museum in the United States; Yorktown, site of the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War; and Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement in America. Christopher Newport University is named for the leader of the expedition to Jamestown, and the University played a pivotal role in Jamestown 2007, the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the settlement.

Internships enhance the academic experience.

The Hampton Roads region is a military and high-tech development leader as well, home to the Naval Station Norfolk (the world's largest naval base), as well as many Army, Air Force and Coast Guard installations. The University enjoys strong ties with nearby NASA Langley Research Center and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Labs), one of the world's premier physics research facilities.

Within walking distance from campus is a peaceful, 550-acre woodland park with a five-mile jogging and hiking path that offers majestic views of the James River. The park also houses The Mariners' Museum, one of the world's largest maritime history museums, and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center.

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