As prepared for delivery in the Diamonstein Concert Hall at the Ferguson Center for the Arts on August 18, 2026
Good morning Captains and welcome to all of our friends and supporters who have taken the time to join us this morning.
Bruce - Thank you for welcoming all of us to your on-campus home and congratulations to all of our winners this morning!
As I begin my fourth year at Christopher Newport University I am inspired by the efforts of our faculty, staff, coaches, and students and I am grateful for all the support we receive from our community and our partners across the Commonwealth.
Rector Tillett, members of our Board of Visitors, distinguished guests, faculty, staff, students and friends—thank you for being here, and thank you for everything you continue to do for Christopher Newport.
I want to begin this morning with a story.
Alex is one of our new students who arrived on campus this past weekend. Alex attended our Setting Sail orientation program this summer. After his session, I received a note from his parents.
I want to share some of their words with you.
“Sending a child off to college is both thrilling and a little nerve-wracking. From the very start, however, your team helped put us at ease with genuine hospitality, kindness, and respect. They made Alex—and both of us—feel seen, supported, and at home.”
They went on to recognize two members of our community: Taryn Boone and Dr. Sean Heuvel.
“On the final day of orientation, Ms. Boone and Dr. Heuvel went far above and beyond by taking time to meet with us, sitting down with us over coffee, and speaking with Alex as well.
“They welcomed our questions, shared thoughtful guidance, and showed sincere care. While we never doubted that Christopher Newport was the right choice for Alex, their generosity and compassion truly strengthened our confidence and deepened our trust in CNU.”
That's Christopher Newport.
A student arrived here with all the excitement and uncertainty that comes with beginning college. His parents arrived with all the hopes—and probably a few of the fears—that come with entrusting your child to someone else.
And two members of this community said, through their actions:
We see you. You belong here. And we will walk with you.
That is who we are, that is who we have been, and that is who we will continue to be.
And because I know that is who we are, I can say this morning with absolute confidence:
The state of Christopher Newport University is strong.
We will meet this moment.
We will innovate.
We will excel.
And we will thrive.
Because We Are All Captains.
That’s why what I want to say next is so heartwrenching. We enter this academic year missing four cherished members of our Christopher Newport family. Members from every corner of our campus who embodied what it truly means to be a Captain and who we lost too young.
Please join me in a moment of silence as we remember Cornelius Colbert, Dr. Rob Lange, Dr. John McGuire and Dr. David Pollio.
Thank you.
We dearly miss each of them, and our hearts remain with their families and all who knew and loved them.
Now, if you have been connected with Christopher Newport over the years, you have heard this university described in many different ways.
So let me address a question I hear with increasing frequency:
Who are we?
The answer begins with understanding where we have been.
Christopher Newport was founded to serve this community—local students, veterans, working adults and people seeking an opportunity to change the trajectory of their lives.
Under President Santoro's dedicated leadership, we became a university.
Under President Trible's visionary leadership, Christopher Newport underwent an extraordinary transformation.
We became a selective, residential university with statewide and national aspirations—a university anchored in the liberal arts, committed to students and increasingly recognized for excellence.
Today, we are writing the next chapter of that remarkable story.
And let me be very clear:
We are not walking away from what made Christopher Newport special. We are building upon it.
We will remain rooted in the liberal arts because we believe deeply in critical thinking, in the power of the written and spoken word, in leadership, and in ethical citizenship.
We will remain student-focused.
We will remain guided by honor, service, scholarship and leadership.
And we will remain anchored in excellence, measuring ourselves against the very best universities in America.
Those things are non-negotiables.
But the world around us is changing. Virginia is changing. Hampton Roads is changing. The students who need us are changing.
And great universities respond to change—not by abandoning their identity, but by applying their strengths to the needs of a new generation.
That is why our Strategic Compass points us toward becoming the premier regional public university in the nation.
I want to spend a moment on those words, because they matter.
“Regional” does not describe the limits of our ambition. It describes the depth of our commitment.
Our region is where we plant our flag. It is where we listen.
It is where we partner. It is where we solve problems.
And it is where we demonstrate what Christopher Newport can do. We will be exceptionally good at meeting the needs of Hampton Roads. We will educate teachers, nurses, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and civic leaders. We will partner with our military installations and our shipbuilding industry. We will support our schools, health systems, businesses and communities. And we will increasingly serve as a catalyst for economic growth and civic vitality.
And if we do those things exceptionally well, our influence will extend far beyond Hampton Roads. We are regional in commitment and national in impact.
And the word public matters just as much. We belong to the people of Virginia.
That means excellence and access cannot be competing ideas.
We will continue to provide an extraordinary residential liberal arts education while opening our doors more widely to community college and transfer students, veterans, military families, first-generation students and working adults, not to mention the members of our LifeLong Learning Society who we cherish so much.
Students may reach Christopher Newport by different paths.
But when they get here, they all deserve the same extraordinary Christopher Newport experience.
We will embrace artificial intelligence, engineering, nursing, allied health and emerging technologies without surrendering the human dimensions of education that have always distinguished us.
That is what I mean when I talk about a modern regional public university.
Student-centered.
Deeply rooted in the liberal arts.
Public in purpose.
Regional in commitment.
National in impact.
And anchored in excellence in everything we do.
That is who we are.
And knowing who we are gives us enormous confidence about where we are going.
Because the question before us is not whether Christopher Newport will change.
Every great university changes. The question is whether we will have the courage to innovate while protecting what makes us special.
Whether we will continue to excel even in challenging times. Whether we will build a Christopher Newport positioned to thrive for generations to come.
And whether, through all of that change, we will keep students like Alex at the center of everything we do.
I believe the answer to every one of those questions is a resounding yes.
Innovate.
Excel.
Thrive.
Those are not simply words on a t-shirt. That is not just our theme for this year.
It is how we will write the next chapter of Christopher Newport University.
Writing that next chapter will require us to confront some very real challenges.
Competition for students is more intense than at any time in modern American higher education history. The nation's birth rate has declined dramatically since 2007. The demographic cliff we have talked about for years is no longer approaching.
It is here.
The rising cost of higher education is causing families to ask harder questions about value and affordability.
Changes affecting international student enrollment are putting additional pressure on universities across Virginia.
And Christopher Newport is not immune.
Our enrollment of first-time-in-college students fell short of our projections this year.
At the same time, uncertainty surrounding the state budget and financial pressures associated with partially funded state waiver programs—particularly VMSDEP—continue to place significant pressure on our operating model.
These are serious challenges.
But I want to make an important distinction.
Challenges do not determine our future. How we respond to them does.
We can retreat—or innovate.
We can lower our expectations—or excel.
We can simply endure this moment—or make the choices necessary to thrive.
I know which path our Captains will choose.
We have something many universities do not have:
A community-created Strategic Compass to guide our journey forward.
And we have something even more important.
We have you.
A talented, dedicated, creative and innovative faculty and staff who care deeply about this institution and the students we serve.
Against that backdrop, facing significant challenges, we are making difficult choices. We are implementing approximately $10 million in expenditure reductions for fiscal year 2027.
We are eliminating approximately 60 vacant positions. We are exploring voluntary separation opportunities. And, sadly, we had to eliminate a small number of filled positions across the university.
I am grateful that our faculty have agreed to take on an extra class and I know that will make your time even more precious.
These decisions can understandably lead to concerns, frustrations, and disappointment.
They are difficult because behind every position is a person, a family, a Captain. We could have simply passed our challenges along to students and families through a significant tuition increase.
We chose not to do that.
Our tuition increase was the smallest in Virginia and Christopher Newport was recently recognized among the nation's Top 10 - Best Value institutions among universities of our size, and SCHEV has highlighted our efforts to advance affordability for Virginia families.
That matters.
Because being a public university carries an obligation.
Excellence must remain affordable and within reach of all.
We know who we are. We understand the challenges before us.
And fortunately, we know where we are going.
As Bob Colvin liked to say: “A stationary object doesn't need a compass.”
CNU is definitely not stationary.
Our Strategic Compass gives us four priorities.
And across every one of them, you can see Christopher Newport doing exactly what this moment requires:
Innovating. Excelling. And building the capacity to thrive.
Innovation at Christopher Newport does not mean abandoning the liberal arts.
It means demonstrating just how relevant the liberal arts are to the future.
Our Liberal Learning Core Curriculum Review Committee will soon issue recommendations designed to ensure that our core continues to prepare students with the capabilities employers, communities and our nation desperately need:
Critical thinking. Communication. Teamwork. Adaptability. Ethical decision-making.
And the ability to make sense of complicated problems. Those are not yesterday's skills. They may be the most important skills of tomorrow.
Look at what is happening around us.
The Science and Engineering Research Center is now open and serving our students, our faculty and the Commonwealth. And I just received some great news this weekend, the makerspace - a key component of the SERC, is now fully operational and will be ready to go on the first day of classes.
In the coming weeks, the SERC will also be the setting for a major announcement about new allied health programs offered in partnership with Riverside College of Health Sciences, building on the successful launch of our nursing partnership with Riverside.
We are offering one of Virginia's first Artificial Intelligence majors, while our AI literacy Quality Enhancement Plan will move into full gear this year.
Think about that combination. Artificial intelligence grounded in human intelligence. Technology informed by ethics. Innovation strengthened by the liberal arts. That is Christopher Newport University.
We are responding to Virginia's urgent need for educators. And just last week, SCHEV recognized our Office of Teacher Programs as CNU's new Department of Education and we received great news from across the State as five of our recent Master’s of Art in Teaching graduates were recognized as teachers of the year.
And our Virtual Reality Lab, created by the Institute for Public Humanities, is becoming a model for other institutions and finding applications both on campus and with our partners in the community. Opportunities we could hardly have imagined just a few years ago.
We do not have to choose between tradition and innovation. We can Innovate while remaining true to who we are.
If regional describes the depth of our commitment, then this priority is where that commitment comes alive.
A great modern day regional public university does not simply exist in its community.
It helps its community thrive.
We are nearing completion of Christopher Newport's first comprehensive economic impact study and we just received the preliminary topline result. The estimate from the firm doing the analysis, Chmura Economics & Analytics, indicates that, in Fiscal Year 2026, the economic impact of Christopher Newport University on the region was more than a half billion dollars. That's a billion with a B!.
When that study is complete, for the first time, we will be able to demonstrate in a comprehensive way what we already know intuitively:
Christopher Newport makes Newport News, Hampton Roads and Virginia stronger.
We have a tradition of doing that. The Ferguson Center is entering its third decade, the Torggler is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Together, they offer art, inspiration, and entertainment that uplifts us all.
We also have a tradition of athletic excellence and we’re taking that to the next level, too. And we are leveraging athletics to serve our community as we host the inaugural Anchor Bowl when our football team takes on the Newport News Apprentice School on Saturday, September 5th at TowneBank Stadium.
We’re not stopping there.
We are expanding partnerships throughout the region.
With Newport News Shipbuilding.
With public and private schools across the region.
With the Hampton Roads Alliance and Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable.
And with businesses and industries throughout our region.
These are not simply partnerships.
They are an expression of our public purpose.
When Hampton Roads needs artists, scientists, musicians, historians, economists, health care workers and engineers, we should ask:
How can Christopher Newport help?
When employers need talent:
How can Christopher Newport help?
When our schools face challenges:
How can Christopher Newport help?
When our region needs ideas, innovation and leadership:
How can Christopher Newport help?
That is what it means to plant our flag here.
We are regional in commitment and national in impact.
There is another measure of whether Christopher Newport is thriving.
Are our students thriving?
Not just some of them. All of them.
Our President's Council on Inclusive Excellence brings together faculty, staff, students and community members to help us become an even more welcoming university.
The Community Captains program with the Newport News Public Schools continues to grow, and the Hampton Captains program is off to a strong start with our colleagues in the Hampton city school system.
We are expanding support for first-generation students, military veterans, active-duty military and their families, working adults and students returning to college after time away, and transfer students. I don’t want to jinx it but those numbers are looking really good and the students who are the faces behind those numbers are simply outstanding.
For all of those students, their paths to Christopher Newport may look different.
Our promise to them does not.
When you become a Captain, you belong here.
And when we say we will walk with students every step of the way, it doesn't matter how fast they are moving or where their journey began… I’m certain Alex and his family can attest to that.
Every student matters.
And that means our responsibility doesn't end when we recruit them.
We must help them stay, grow, graduate and thrive.
Our first-to-second-year retention rate is approximately 85 percent—well above the national average.
That is good. But I ask all of us to focus our efforts on retaining the students who have said yes to CNU. Retention is critical to our long term success.
We will also reach more aggressively into our own region—to high schools, community colleges and families across the Peninsula, Southside and Virginia Beach.
Because there are talented future Captains right here in Hampton Roads who do not yet know that Christopher Newport can change their lives. We need to make sure they know about us
And finally, thriving requires a university that is sustainable—not simply this year or next year, but for generations.
We had another extraordinary fundraising year: $15.3 million. Much of that support is going directly to scholarships and our students.
And something else about that number inspires me. More than 4,900 gifts were $100 or less.
Together, those gifts totaled more than $280,000. This year, a record-setting 37 percent of our Captains for Life connected to their alma mater, giving of their time, talent, and treasure. That tells us something important. Our graduates love their university and they value their experience here.
And I am grateful for the new group of supporters for CNU, The Legacy Captains, this group of dedicated retired faculty and staff have stepped up to support with their time, talent, and treasure and I am grateful for their continued dedication to our university.
Every gift matters. Every person matters. Every Captain and Every Captain for Life can make a difference.
We are also becoming better stewards of the resources already entrusted to us.
Construction will begin on our new Plant Operations building, which will be Christopher Newport's first net-zero building for energy use.
We are completing our first comprehensive study of space utilization so we can make better use of the extraordinary facilities we already have.
With the completion of the SERC parking lot we are expanding electric vehicle charging stations.
We are opening The Helm in the DSU, a self serve 24/7 convenience store option for our students, faculty and staff.
We are reducing energy and water consumption.
We are using artificial intelligence in Advancement, Student Affairs, Admissions and elsewhere to save time and improve our engagement.
But as we embrace AI, I want us to remember something.
A machine can process information.
It cannot care about Alex. It cannot sit down with his parents over coffee. It cannot look a nervous student in the eye and say, “You've got this.” It cannot be a mentor. It cannot inspire. It cannot believe in someone before they believe in themselves.
That is what you do.
And that brings me back to the most important asset Christopher Newport has.
We talked this morning about enrollment. Budgets. Artificial intelligence. The SERC. Nursing. Teachers. Community partnerships. Fundraising. Facilities. And our Strategic Compass.
All of those things matter.
But none of them by itself is the reason Christopher Newport is special.
You are.
Our people are our competitive advantage.
People who care.
People who innovate.
People who refuse to accept “good enough.”
People anchored in excellence.
And people who come to work every day believing that what they do can change the trajectory of another person's life.
This year, our staff will have another important voice in the future of the university through our new Staff Senate.
I would like to recognize Staff Senate President Lara Devereaux and the members of the Executive Board. Would you please stand if able.
We also have new Captains scattered throughout the audience today—new members of our faculty and staff.
Would all of our new faculty and staff please stand if able?
Welcome to Christopher Newport.
You have joined a special place.
And you now have a role in writing its next chapter.
Captains, we are about to begin our 65th year of classes.
Think about the people who opened Christopher Newport's doors on September 18th, 1961.
They could not have imagined the SERC. Artificial intelligence. Virtual reality. Our magnificent campus. National championships. Or the Christopher Newport University we know today.
But they understood something that remains true 65 years later:
A university exists to change lives.
That was our purpose in 1961, and our very first faculty set the tenor for how we would engage with our students and I continue to be impressed each and every day with the inspiring stories of our faculty engagement with our students. You have demonstrated for our staff, our coaches, and our community what it truly means to be student focused and I thank you for living into the spirit and vision of our very first faculty members.
It reminds us that our responsibility is not simply to preserve what previous generations built for us.
Our responsibility is to prepare Christopher Newport for the generation that comes next.
That will require courage. It will require hard choices. And it will require us to think differently.
We will innovate.
But change will never mean compromising the standard that defines Christopher Newport.
We will excel.
And if we stay true to who we are, put students first, follow our Compass and believe in one another:
Our students will thrive.
Our people will thrive.
Our community will thrive.
And Christopher Newport University will thrive.
Let me welcome Taryn Boone and Sean Heuvel on stage. I started this morning with the “thank you note” about Taryn and Sean and Alex.
One student.
One family.
One cup of coffee.
And two people who took the time to show them what Christopher Newport is all about.
That is how universities change lives.
One student. One conversation. One act of kindness.
One extraordinary person at a time.
Which means there is only one appropriate way to conclude this State of the University.
By recognizing our people.
Our Captains of the Quarter are nominated by their colleagues because they represent the very best of Christopher Newport.
They do not simply talk about our values.
They live them. They innovate. They excel. And because of what they do, Christopher Newport thrives.
These are our Captains of the Quarter to date and I would like to ask those who are with us today to stand so we can recognize you.
Thank you.
And now, it is time to recognize our newest Captain of the Quarter.
Our nominees are on the screen.
Each was nominated by fellow Captains and I ask each nominee to please stand if able so we can recognize you.
Each team member represents the values of honor, service, scholarship and leadership.
And each reminds us that excellence at Christopher Newport isn't found in a strategic plan.
It is found in people.
Congratulations to all of our nominees.
And now, our newest Captain of the Quarter, escorted by First Lady Angie Kelly and Captain Chris.
This Captain represents what I have been talking about all morning.
Someone whose work makes others better.
Someone whose commitment makes Christopher Newport stronger.
Someone who reminds us that no matter how much technology changes, no matter how higher education changes, and no matter what challenges come our way—people will always make the difference at Christopher Newport.
Our newest Captain of the Quarter is Donna Woodbury.
Donna, please come forward.
She is warm, compassionate, and genuinely committed to supporting every student and family she encounters. Her thoughtful approach, unwavering kindness, and willingness to go above and beyond make a lasting impact on those she serves. She is a constant source of positivity and encouragement within the Office of Admissions, and they are truly fortunate to have her as a member of their team. She embodies the meaning of putting students first, consistently demonstrating the "Student First" philosophy through her actions, dedication, and genuine care for others.
Captains, look around this room.
This is Christopher Newport.
We are student-centered.
We are public in purpose.
We are regional in commitment.
We are national in impact.
We are anchored in excellence.
And we are ready for what comes next.
We began today with the story of Alex and his parents and we close by celebrating our newest Captain of the Quarter.
Those stories are a reminder that Christopher Newport is defined by its people.
By faculty who inspire and challenge. By staff who care deeply and make this university work each and every day. By coaches who develop champions in competition and in life. And by people like Sean, Taryn, and Donna, who remind us that sometimes the greatest impact we make comes through the simple act of caring for another person.
I am grateful for each and every one of you—and I am inspired by what we can accomplish together.
As we begin our 65th year of classes, we do so with confidence in who we are, clarity about where we are going, and an unwavering commitment to Innovate, Excel, and Thrive—for our students, for this university, for Hampton Roads, for the Commonwealth, and for our nation.
Our best days are not behind us.
They are ours to create. Together.
Thank you for all you do for Christopher Newport. I wish each of you fair winds and continued success in the year ahead.
And, as always: Go Captains!”