Paul S. Trible, Jr.

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The Hon. Paul S. Trible, Jr.
Senator, Virginia
In office House:1977–1983, Senate:1983–1989
Preceded by	Thomas N. Downing (House) Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (Senate)
Succeeded by	Herbert H. Bateman (House) Chuck Robb (Senate)
Born	December 28, 1946 (age 60) Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Rosemary D. Trible

Paul S. Trible, Jr. (born December 29, 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland), graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1968 where he received his Bachelor of Arts in History. He received a Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee University Law School in 1971, and was admitted to the Virginia bar that same year. Trible served as a law clerk for the US District Court (1971-1972), as assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (1972-1974), and as the Commonwealth's Attorney for Essex County, Virginia (1974-1976) before winning the election as a Republican to the US House of Representatives in 1976. He won re-election in 1978 and 1980, and in 1982 received the Republican nomination for the US Senate seat vacated by Harry F. Byrd, Jr. In November 1982, he edged out Virginia Lt. Governor Richard Joseph Davis Jr. to win the Senate seat. He served in the US Senate from 1983 to 1989, refusing to stand for re-election in 1988. Although at the time his stated reason for declining to run was a desire to spend more time with his family, many believed that Trible preferred to avoid a contest with Charles S. Robb, the popular former Governor. He re-entered politics the following year, running for governor in 1989. He was the early favorite to capture the GOP nomination for governor that year, but was challenged in the primary by former Virginia Attorney General J. Marshall Coleman. During the primary campaign, Coleman launched a series of negative campaign ads against Trible. Comfortably ahead in the polls, Trible did not answer Coleman's ads and costing him dearly, as Coleman managed to pull the upset. In the latter parts of his political career, Trible served as a member of the US Delegation to the United Nations in 1988 and a Teaching Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 1989.

In 1996, he became President of Christopher Newport University (VA), after a few years of practicing law. Under Trible’s leadership, CNU has grown immensely. Applications have soared by more than 400%, the average SAT score of incoming freshman has increased by over 200 points and the campus has added more than $400 million worth of capital construction, including new dormitories and student apartments, a new student center, a new library, and a state of the art performing arts center, Ferguson Center for the Arts, designed by world-renowned Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Architects, LLP. However, he has also come under fire for some of his methods, including the attempted cuts of the masters programs in Computer Science, Physics and Biology, and his treatment of professors who successfully opposed him in these attempted cuts. The CNU president serves as Chairman of the Council of Presidents of Virginia’s public colleges and universities, and was a leader in winning approval by Virginia’s voters of the $1 billion bond referendum for capital construction. He also was instrumental in obtaining legislative approval for the restructuring of higher education to give colleges and universities expanded power to pursue excellence.

In 2006, CNU’s Board of Visitors announced that the new library and a $500,000 endowed merit scholarship will be named in honor of President Trible and his wife for their leadership and many contributions to the success of CNU. The Paul and Rosemary Trible Library is expected to open in fall 2007 and will include more than 110,000 square feet, will house 400,000 volumes and will be a dynamic teaching and learning facility and the information technology center of the campus. Its 14-story cupola marks the heart of the CNU campus.

He is married to Rosemary Dunaway Trible and has two children, Mary Katherine Trible Peters married to Barrett W. R. Peters, and Paul S. Trible, III.

[edit] External links

• Political Graveyard entry
• Christopher Newport University (VA)
• CNU's Ferguson Center for the Arts
• The Paul and Rosemary Trible Library

Preceded by Thomas N. Downing	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st congressional district 1977-1983	Succeeded by Herbert H. Bateman
Preceded by Harry F. Byrd, Jr.	United States Senator (Class 1) from Virginia 1983 –1989 Served alongside: John Warner	Succeeded by Charles S. Robb