Last week, Ferguson Enterprises renewed support for the Ferguson Center for the Arts and Christopher Newport University. 

Ferguson's commitment of $12 million will enable us to sustain the programming excellence and success of the Ferguson Center and create two transformative opportunities for our students by supporting scholarships in the performing arts and service in our community.  This is the largest donation in our 51 year history!

• $10 million will provide support for the Ferguson Center's operations and programs.

• $1 million will create the Ferguson Enterprises Performing Arts Scholarships to provide support for full-time students in music, theater and dance. These scholarships will enable CNU to recruit and retain students of extraordinary talent with an ongoing commitment to academic and artistic excellence.  An important expectation of Ferguson Scholars is that they will engage in service opportunities - sharing their talent and intelligence in creative ways throughout our community.

• $1 million will provide support for the Center for Community Engagement.  Ferguson has partnered with CNU's Center for Community Engagement for several years, particularly through the support of local internships.  Through these internships, Ferguson supports experiential learning opportunities for students to serve the citizens of our community and Commonwealth.

For more than a decade, because of the vision and leadership of CEOs David Peebles, Charlie Banks, Chip Hornsby and Frank Roach, Ferguson and Christopher Newport University have formed and sustained a marvelous partnership.  That partnership created a model for corporations and institutions of higher education in making a difference in the quality of life for Virginia and for exponentially increasing the educational experience for students.

CNU is immensely grateful for our longstanding partnership with Ferguson and for Ferguson's strong support through the years.

Ferguson is a model for good corporate citizenship.  Ferguson encourages its associates to actively engage in the communities where they live and work and contribute generously to the success of those communities and the company leads the way.

You can read the Daily Press editorial here.

Every year at graduation we invite as our speaker a person who has lived a life of success and significance. Our commencement speaker this year will be Larry Pope, President and Chief Executive Officer of Smithfield Foods, one of America's largest and most respected corporations.

Smithfield Foods was founded in 1936 and has grown from a small meat packing company located on the banks of the historic Pagan River in Smithfield, Virginia into a $13 billion global food company employing more than 53,000 people worldwide.

Smithfield Foods is not only a highly successful international company but is also a good citizen. For the 12th consecutive year, Smithfield Foods has been named by Fortune magazine as one of America's Most Admired Companies. Smithfield Foods has been honored for its social responsibility and environmental policies and for its generosity in supporting humanitarian purposes.

Smithfield Foods and the Smithfield Luter Foundation have been strong and generous supporters of CNU. The Smithfield Leadership Scholars Program provides scholarships for hundreds of our students.

Larry and Mary are also personally committed to making a difference. The chapel at CNU is named in honor of Larry and Mary Pope because of their caring hearts and remarkable generosity. We are honored to have Larry Pope as our commencement speaker on May 11th.

We look forward to welcoming  CNU's family and friends as we honor this year's graduates on the Great Lawn. For complete event details and schedules, please visit cnu.edu/commencement.

Christopher Newport University continues to be a first choice for the best and brightest students in America. The incoming class boasts stellar academic credentials and more and more students are choosing CNU because they share our passion for leadership and engagement. 

Over the past year a record number of prospective students and their families have visited our campus and participated in admission events, tours and interviews. 

This year we received more than 7,000 applications and will welcome a class of 1,250 outstanding students. This class earned a high school grade point average of 3.78 and an SAT score of nearly 1,200 (critical reading and mathematics).

Almost 400 students have committed to the President's Leadership Program. These young men and women have a high school grade point average of 3.98 and an SAT score of 1,254 (critical reading and mathematics).

We look forward to welcoming the class of 2017 to our beautiful campus.    

The Men of Vision and Excellence (M.O.V.E.) recently hosted the fourth annual Academic Bowl, continuing a fine campus tradition. Twelve teams of student organizations competed in a "Jeopardy"-style tournament for bragging rights and $200 in prize money.  This year the Math Club team made up of Andrew Garmon, Darius King-Rodman, Joe Baker, Matt Collins and Erik Branting took the top prize. The team's name will be engraved on the Founder's Cup on display in the Trible Library rotunda.

This year the Captains will once again return to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament after dominating the USA South Athletic Conference Championships in four straight games and outscoring opponents 31-3. CNU closed the regular season with a seventh-straight 30-win season, going 15-1 down the stretch, and finishing 32-11 overall. 

This year's womens lacrosse team is ranked 13th in the nation with an impressive 17-2 record and will play in the NCAA tournament after capturing an eighth straight USA South championship. CNU hosts Sewanee at Captains Turf Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m. for the first round. 

Led by USA South Player of the Year, junior Ashton Marshall, the Captains have set record marks with 333 goals and 183 assists. 

Marshall leads the attack with 70 goals and 17 assists, while Elena Obregon has set a new freshman record with 50 goals scored and 25 assists. CNU ranks among the national leaders across the board offensively and defensively.

Led by first-team All-Conference selection Brian Jaeger, the Captains finished second at the USA South Athletic Conference Golf Championship. Sophomore Scott Davidson also earned All-Conference honors, and finished the year with a 75 stroke average in his first year with the Captains. Jaeger, a senior, led the squad with a 73.5 average, tying the program record for low season average, while also setting a new low single round record (65) at the Camp LeJeune Intercollegiate Invitational in March.

Competing with 300 cheer and dance teams, the Storm advanced to the finals and finished fifth in the nation! 

Kim Morrissett

Both the men's and women's teams reached the USA South Tournament Championship match. Senior Kim Morrissett broke the school record with 65 career victories in singles play and earned 50 wins in doubles. Five of the six women's tennis starters earned USA South honors. 

 

On the men's side, four players earned All-Conference honors, led by freshman Chiraag Shetty and senior Kyle Tobin as first-team selections.