University status
From CNUpedia, an IEEE Innovation.
Christopher Newport University, even by name, is obviously a University. It has few but nonetheless extant graduate-level programs, such as advanced courses in Computer Science, masters degrees in Physics, and an MAT program, to name some.
There used to be a great deal of graduate programs, but they have slowly dwindled over time. One anonymous employee mentioned that there were protests at one time to save one of the remaining programs. In some ways it might be reasonable to say the school is still very much an undergraduate institution, with a bit of graduate programs added on.
History
The school officially gained University status in 1991, according to the school website [1]. There was a great deal of celebration. There was even a commemorative photo shoot of faculty and staff forming the letters CNU.
There is some interest in discovering the reasons behind this change.
One anonymous source suggested that the change in status was a part of a trend, insofar as many other colleges made the same transition. The change may have reflected a general interest in maintaining status and conformity. However, providing graduate-level services may have been seen as a matter of quality in its own right in the light of this trend.
Another suggestion is that it was for monetary reasons. At the time of the change, schools were divided up into peer groups (citation needed), based upon certain similar characteristics. Each peer group was assigned a target salary, meaning that all the schools in the same group were theoretically supposed to have the same salaries/wages for corresponding employments. Supposedly then, by attaining University status, the school changed its peer group to one with a higher pay target. An anonymous source suggested that it was hoped this would get pay raises for existing faculty. Alternatively, another source said that it made possible higher salary incentives for attracting new faculty.
Trivia
- The University has been allocated the IP address range 137.155/16 (representing the Internet identities of the school computers). Those who attend to such matters may have noticed that all school computers use an address in this range (unless they are on a private network). There is a Request For Comment listing the IP address allocations, namely rfc1166, among which is listed the school. Interesting, the name used is CNC, as the document was published in July 1990.
- The memorial for Wise Woods refers to CNC, not CNU, in its dedication.
