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A Newport News-Christopher Newport University task force is making progress as it explores the impact of decisions regarding the location and growth of the University and the city’s role in that development.
The task force has met seven times to organize and define its scope of work. The research by task force members includes gathering documents and hearing presentations from historians, land use experts and others. The task force will continue its effort to identify families that were impacted by the placement of the University. A research assistant is helping guide the work. A timeline for completion of the research is under development.
Christopher Newport University President William G. Kelly and Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones appointed the members of the task force and gave the group this formal charge as it began its work in April 2024:
We charge the task force with researching the removal of the historic Shoe Lane community and expansion of the campus of Christopher Newport University. You will assess the circumstances that led to those decisions and their impact. We charge you to approach the work with integrity, diligence, and open minds. Your work has the potential to serve as a model for our Commonwealth and the nation at large for how institutions and cities can preserve and address the past while charting a path toward a just and inclusive future that includes the voices of all vested parties.