Paul Seward Trible Jr. (born December 29, 1946) is an American attorney, politician and academic administrator. Trible was the president of

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1960 as Christopher Newport College, an extension school of the College of William and Mary for mid-career working professiona ...

from 1996 until his retirement in 2022. A Republican, he represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms and the U.S. Senate for one. Trible was the first Republican Class I Senator from Virginia.

Education and early career

Trible attended

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

, where he was a member of the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity and graduated in 1968 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in history. In 1971, he received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the histo ...

and was soon after admitted to the Virginia Bar. He served as a law clerk for a federal judge from 1971 to 1972, and then as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

from 1972 to 1974. Trible was later inducted as an alumnus initiate into

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

at Hampden-Sydney College in 1977.

Political career

In 1973, at age 26, Trible was elected as

Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a County (United States), county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County, Virginia, King and Queen County on the s ...

, serving from 1974 to 1976. He was appointed to the Virginia Law Enforcement Officers Training and Standards Commission in 1976 and at age 29 in November was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, winning reelection in 1978 and 1980. In 1982, the 35-year-old Trible received the Republican nomination for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

seat being vacated by Harry F. Byrd Jr., defeating Lieutenant Governor Dick Davis in the general election. After serving in the U.S. Senate from 1983 to 1989, Trible declined to seek reelection in 1988. During the last year of his Senate term, he served simultaneously as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. In 1989, Trible was the early favorite to capture the GOP nomination for governor; however, Marshall Coleman narrowly won the nomination and ultimately lost to Democrat

Douglas Wilder Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction ...

. In 1989, between his retirement from the Senate, and his run for governor, Trible was a teaching fellow at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. After his political career, Trible briefly returned to practicing law with Laxalt, Washington, Perito and Dubuc of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and Shuttleworth, Ruloff, Giordano and Kahle, P.C. of

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

Elections

*1976: Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 48.56% of the vote, defeating Robert E. Quinn (D) and Mary B. McClaine (I). *1978: Re-elected with 72.06% of the vote defeating Lewis B. Puller Jr. (D). *1980: Re-elected with 90.48% of the vote defeating Sharon D. Grant (I). *1982: Elected to the U.S. Senate with 51.18% of the vote, defeating Richard J. Davis Jr. (D).

Christopher Newport University

On January 1, 1996, Trible became the fifth president of

(CNU). The 35-year-old institution had recently achieved full university status and his arrival came at a time when the school was undergoing many changes as it evolved from a college to a university. In late 2006, CNU’s Board of Visitors announced that a new library and a merit scholarship with a $500,000 endowment would be named in honor of President Trible and his wife in recognition of their leadership and contributions to the university. Trible also serves on the Council of Presidents of Virginia’s public colleges and universities, as well as Chair of the NCAA Division III President's Council. On September 24, 2021, Trible announced his intention to complete his time as president of CNU at the end of the 2021–2022 academic year. Shortly after, it was announced that he would temporarily be succeeded by Adelia Thompson, current chief of staff at CNU, as Interim President for the 2022–2023 school year, and his successor would take office in the summer of 2023. After serving as president, Trible became

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of CNU.

Personal life

He is married to Rosemary (Dunaway) Trible and they have two children, Mary Katherine, who is married to Dr. Barrett W. R. Peters; and Paul, CEO and co-founder of Ledbury, who is married to Brittany (Gordon) Trible. His father was Paul Seward Trible, the son of George Meredith and Clara (Seward) Trible. His mother was Katherine (Schilpp) Trible.

Publications

* Trible, Paul S
"Restoring the College Core"

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-highest circul ...

2 November 2014: F3. * Trible, Paul
"Colleges Must Get Used to Collaborating With Congress"

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

15 July 2005: B16. * Trible, Paul
"Letting Colleges Down"

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

19 April 2005: A12.

References

External links

Biography
at ''

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

''
Biography
at Christopher Newport University
The Paul and Rosemary Trible Library
at Christopher Newport University * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trible, Paul S. Jr. 1946 births Living people Heads of universities and colleges in the United States County and city commonwealth's attorneys in Virginia Republican Party United States senators from Virginia Harvard Kennedy School staff Hampden–Sydney College alumni Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni Christopher Newport University Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Politicians from Baltimore People from Essex County, Virginia 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives