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

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, the first permanent English ...

until his retirement in 2021. He was a Republican politician from Virginia, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms and the U.S. Senate for one term.

Education and early career

Trible graduated from

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , cou ...

in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. In 1971, he received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley reg ...

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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

from 1972 to 1974. Trible was later inducted as an alumnus initiate into Omicron Delta Kappa 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, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a 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 on the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,599. ...

, 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, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, 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 the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seat being vacated by

Harry F. Byrd Jr. Harry Flood Byrd Jr. (December 20, 1914 – July 30, 2013) was an American orchardist, newspaper publisher and politician. He served in the Senate of Virginia and then represented Virginia in the United States Senate, succeeding his father, Harr ...

, 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 an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. 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. 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 Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

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

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

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

. 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 will temporarily be succeeded by Adelia Thompson, current Chief of Staff at CNU, as Interim President for the 2022-2023 school year, and his successor will take office in the summer of 2023.

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, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

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 a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...

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

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

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 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

''
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