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Christopher Newport University has been newly designated as one of the top research universities of its type in the country, according to the American Council on Education’s Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
CNU was included among Carnegie’s “Research Colleges and Universities.” The designation recognizes institutions that spend at least $2.5 million on research a year and includes liberal arts colleges and regional institutions that are primarily focused on teaching but integrate meaningful research. CNU faculty are awarded research grants from outside organizations that far exceed that $2.5 million level.
“This is especially significant because of our focus on undergraduate research and the fact that much of this grant work involves our students,” said Provost Quentin Kidd. “Our faculty are doing world-class research, while also involving their undergraduate students in that research.”
First designed a half-century ago, the Carnegie Classifications help policymakers, researchers, and higher education officials categorize the roughly 4,000 American colleges and universities. Their missions, resources, and student bodies vary greatly. “R-1” and “R-2” universities, such as the University of Virginia and Stanford, offer doctoral degrees. CNU offers undergraduate and master’s degrees but does not award doctorates.
The designation reflects the significant research that CNU faculty and students are accomplishing, said Associate Provost of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies Dr. Lynn Lambert.
“Grant-funded research benefits our faculty, the University, the community, and our students. In the past three years, faculty from every CNU college and school have received grant funding to support their research. The designation allows us to recruit top students and faculty and be recognized as the prestigious university that we are,” she said.
Christopher Newport University faculty and students conduct research across an array of disciplines. For example:
In the School of Engineering and Computing, faculty conduct cutting edge research on topics ranging from drones to gravitational wave astronomy. The University offers numerous technologically advanced labs for on-campus research. Additionally, grants from the National Science Foundation allow students to spend their summers working with CNU nuclear physics faculty at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, a world-class research facility located within several miles of campus.
Biology professor Dr. Anna Salazar’s grant-funded research (pictured above) examines how the gut impacts aging, neurodegeneration, and overall health.
“Working with my students, our research may lead to future therapeutics that can help people to live a longer, healthier life,” Salazar said.
Other grants have supported Economics Professor Dr. Rik Chakraborti as he created a Center for Economic Education to help K-12 teachers adopt a personal finance curriculum and Modern and Classical Literatures and Languages Professor Dr. Laura Deiulio so that she could add Italian as a foreign language choice for CNU students.
The focus on scholars and students working together is year-round. Summer Scholars is a unique, fully-paid full-time opportunity for students to engage in collaborative research and creative work with faculty. Working together, the student-faculty teams have examined issues in every discipline, from art to zoology. More than 450 Summer Scholars have completed work in the program since it was founded in 2015.
Research is a key element in the University’s newly-adopted Strategic Compass, a visionary plan for the next five years. It includes this commitment: “The University will be a resource for residents who seek learning opportunities and for organizations who seek assistance in solving complex problems and capitalizing on unique opportunities. To model civic responsibility, we will directly serve our community through research activity, community-engaged learning, and collaborative partnerships.”
The newly awarded Carnegie designation indicates the University is quickly moving toward fulfilling that promise.