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Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
university in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...
, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns as Lynchburg Baptist College, Liberty is among the world's largest Christian universities and one of the largest private non-profit universities in the United States by total student enrollment. Liberty University consists of 17 colleges, including the Helms School of Government and the Rawlings School of Divinity. Most of its enrollment is in online courses; in 2020, the university enrolled about 15,000 in its residential program and 80,000 online. Its high number of students can be explained in particular by its tuition fees, which are among the lowest in the United States. Liberty's athletic teams compete in Division I of the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
and are collectively known as the Liberty Flames. Their athletics program joined
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
as a full member in 2023. The university requires undergraduate students to take three
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Bible-studies classes. Its honor code, called the "Liberty Way", prohibits
premarital sex Premarital sex is sex before marriage. It is an act of sex between two people who are not married to each other. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of religions and also considered a moral issue which is taboo in many cultures. S ...
,
cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Sexual intercourse, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. ...
, any kind of romantic relationship between members of the same sex, and alcohol use. Liberty University is perceived as a "bastion of the
Christian right The Christian right are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation ...
", playing a prominent role in Republican politics under Falwell and his son and successor Jerry Falwell Jr.; Falwell Jr. left in 2020 amid allegations of sexual and professional impropriety and was later sued by the university. Dondi E. Costin is the current president of Liberty University.


History


Establishment

The school was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by
televangelist Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...
Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns. Falwell, already a pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, served as the first chancellor of the school. From 1979 to the late 1980s, Falwell Sr. also headed the
Moral Majority The Moral Majority was an American political organization and movement associated with the Christian right and the Republican Party in the United States. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell Sr. and associates, and dissolv ...
, a right-wing political organization. The school changed its name to Liberty Baptist College in 1976. Officials said the change aimed to distance the school from the name Lynchburg, which is often mistakenly associated with
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
; co-founder Towns also said that Falwell Sr., wanted to use the name "Liberty" to ride the enthusiasm for the Bicentennial of the United States. The name changed again in 1984, to Liberty University. In 1985, the university launched a distance-learning program by mailing
VHS tape VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Mag ...
s to students; this was the forerunner to Liberty University's current online program. Two years later, Liberty University's
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
tax-exempt status was formally recognized by the IRS. In its early decades, the university was held afloat financially by major donors. The university was placed on probation multiple times in the 1990s by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools due to heavy debt loads. In 1990, the university's debt totaled $110 million; in 1996, it totaled $40million. In 1994, Sun Myung Moon's Women's Federation for World Peace funneled $3.5 million to Liberty University.


Modern history

In 2004, Liberty University named its School of Government for
Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...
, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina and a Falwell family friend. In 2005, '' Barron's Profiles of American Colleges'' ranked undergraduate admission to LU as "competitive", its fourth-highest of six ranks. When high-speed Internet connections became more widespread around 2005, Liberty began to offer online courses to a larger adult population. After Falwell Sr. died in 2007, his son Jerry Falwell Jr. became the university's second chancellor and fourth president. At the time, the university listed $259 million in assets. Liberty University Online Academy was formed in 2007, serving 23 students. In 2009, Liberty University withdrew official recognition of the student Young Democrats club, saying that the club's political positions, including support of
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
, conflicted with the school's. The school's
College Republicans College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...
club remains officially recognized. In 2010, Liberty students received about $445 million in federal financial aid money, the highest total of any school in Virginia and one of the highest in the country. A 56 percent increase over the previous year, the money was mostly in the form of student loans, but also included some grants and other forms of aid. In 2011, Liberty blocked campus internet access to the website of a local newspaper, the '' News & Advance,'' after it reported that the university received more federal financial aid than any other school in Virginia. Falwell Jr. refused to say why the block was imposed, said it was unrelated to anything published in the newspaper, and said that the ''News & Advance'' had been blocked on campus before. The block was lifted one day after the financial-aid article was published. , the university's endowment stood at more than $1billion and gross assets exceeded $2billion. In November 2020, Liberty University graduate and athletics booster Bob Good won a seat in the US House of Representatives, making him the first Liberty graduate to be in the House. On March 31, 2023, Dondi Costin was named president of Liberty University. Liberty University is a member of the advisory board of
Project 2025 Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project) is a political initiative to reshape the federal government of the United States and consolidate executive power in favor of right-wing policies. The plan was published in ...
, a collection of
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
policy proposals from
the Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...
to reshape the
United States federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
and consolidate
executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election.


Campus

The 17-story, 245-foot Freedom Tower, completed in February 2018, is the tallest building in Lynchburg. The tower holds a 25-bell
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
that includes a replica of the
Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...
. The Hancock Welcome Center celebrated its ribbon cutting ceremony on December 7, 2012. It is a three-level, 33,000-square-foot Jeffersonian-style building featuring an atrium, boardroom, theater, lounges, a banquet hall, several smaller counseling rooms, and a patio with a view of the
Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...
. The Jerry Falwell Sr. Center: Inspiring Champions for Christ, opening in 2023, will be attached to the Hancock Welcome Center. Liberty University's Center for Music & Worship hosts the Miss Virginia beauty competition which sends the winner of the state to represent it in the
Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...
Pageant. Construction was completed in August 2009 on the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, a synthetic ski slope featuring Snowflex; the centre was designed by England's Briton Engineering. The first of its kind in the United States, it includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced slopes. The Observatory Center opened in spring 2013 next to the Equestrian Center. The dome has a classroom that can fit up to 20 people. It houses a RC Optical Systems Truss Ritchey-Chrétien and several Celestron CPC 800 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes on pedestals, able to roll out under a roof. The observatory serves three purposes: instruction, public nights and research. Student Activities controls the use of the observatory and is open to all students. In 2018, Liberty University opened a $3.2 million on-campus shooting range to train students to protect themselves against shooters and terrorists.


Libraries and museums


Jerry Falwell Library

The four-story, 170,000-square-foot Jerry Falwell Library opened in January 2014 with more than 250,000 items and room for another 170,000. They are accessible via a robot-assisted storage and retrieval system, which locates requested items within a large storage room and delivers them to the front desk. There are 150 public computers throughout the building for electronic archive research. The library has group study rooms, writable walls, balconies, terraces, and a vegetative roof. At its entrance stands a 24-foot media wall, powered by three Microsoft
Kinect Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB color model, RGB cameras, and Thermographic camera, infrared projectors and detectors that map dep ...
units and integrated using a custom program that allows visitors to scroll through university news, browse pictures contributed from students, and learn about upcoming university events. The $50 million library is part of a larger $500 million building and expansion plan announced by Liberty University.


National Civil War Chaplains Museum

The National Civil War Chaplains Museum contains exhibits about clergy members and religious activity during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
era. It is the only
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
in the nation devoted to this purpose. The mission of the museum is to "educate the public about the role of
chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a ho ...
,
priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...
, and
rabbis A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as '' semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
and religious organizations in the Civil War; to promote the continuing study of the many methods of dissemination of religious doctrine and moral teachings during the War; to preserve religious artifacts, and to present interpretive programs that show the influence of religion on the lives of political and military personnel." A 501(c)(3) organization, the museum exists within the Jerry Falwell Library. The museum commemorates
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, and
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
chaplains (including
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
chaplains), and houses publications and artifacts from both the Union and
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
militaries. There are several areas in the museum that are given special attention including: * The role of the
United States Christian Commission The United States Christian Commission (USCC) was an organization that furnished supplies, medical services, and religious literature to Union troops during the American Civil War. It combined religious support with social services and recreationa ...
, which is the forerunner to today's
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
and
Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
. * "The relationship of religion to political and military leaders, common soldiers, and the public in the North and South."


Carter Glass Mansion

The Carter Glass Mansion, also called Montview, is a house built in 1923 for
Carter Glass Carter Glass (January 4, 1858 – May 28, 1946) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of United Stat ...
, a newspaper publisher, U.S. senator, U.S. treasury secretary under President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
, and Chairman of the
Senate Appropriations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committ ...
and President Pro Tempore of the Senate during the presidency of
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
. The -story house, which is flanked by slightly smaller ells, has walls of quartz fieldstone quarried from the property and a grey gambrel roof. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
and
Virginia Landmarks Register The Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is a list of historic properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atla ...
. The estate was purchased by Liberty University in the late 1970s to be the headquarters of the university administration. It housed the main office of university founder Jerry Falwell, who died at his desk on May 15, 2007. Falwell and his wife were buried on the rear lawn of the mansion and a memorial to Falwell was placed there, overlooking the rest of the campus. The estate is now largely a tourist site, with Falwell's office preserved in its 2007 condition and the upstairs section of the mansion converted to a
bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...
for Liberty University guests.


Center for Creation Studies and Creation Hall

According to its literature, the Center for Creation Studies aims to study the origin of the universe, the earth, life, and diversification of species, equipping students to contend for their faith in the creation account in Genesis using science, reason, and the Scriptures.
Young Earth creationism Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between about 10,000 and 6,000 years ago, contradicting established s ...
asserts that the Earth was created by supernatural acts by God 6,000 to 10,000 years ago rather than the
scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confer ...
that it accreted more than 4.5 billion years ago. David A. DeWittis is the director of the Center for Creation Studies. Creation Hall, on the second floor of the Center for Natural Sciences, is "dedicated to promoting young-Earth creation". Displays include replicas claimed to be of post-Flood humans and fossils allegedly buried during Noah's flood.


Athletic venues


Williams Stadium

Williams Stadium is the home field for the Liberty Flames football team. Opened in 1989, the stadium seats 25,000 spectators. An indoor practice facility was opened in 2017 at a cost of $29 million.


Liberty Arena

The Liberty Arena is the home of the men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball. The $65 million, 125,000-square-foot space, which opened in 2020, seats 4,000 spectators.


Liberty Natatorium

Liberty Natatorium is 75,000 square feet and contains a 9-lane
Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champions ...
as well as a
diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...
well 17 feet deep and fitted with 1-meter and 3-meter
springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...
s and 10-meter, 7.5-meter, 5-meter, 3-meter, and 1-meter diving platforms.Pruden, Cathleen (May 9, 2016)
"Liberty University Building 50 Meter Pool with Full Diving Tower, Separate Diving Well"
. ''
Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...
''. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
The inaugural competitive
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
event held in the swimming pool was the 2018 TYR Junior National Cup in March 2018. In 2020, one of the diving platforms collapsed for an unknown reason. Problems with the
Daktronics Daktronics, Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota, that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. It was found ...
race-timing system led the school to replace it after just three years.


Liberty Mountain

The Liberty Mountain area consists of the Hydaway Outdoor Center and its 31-acre lake, the Liberty University Equestrian Center, Liberty Mountain Gun Club, Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, Astronomical Observatory and the Liberty Mountain Trail System.


Faculty and governance

Liberty University has 735 full-time instructors and 3,075 part-time instructors for more than 96,000 students. The university is governed by a 30-member
board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
that includes Jonathan Falwell, the son and brother (respectively) of the two former university presidents. Unlike most other research universities, faculty (outside the law school) are not offered tenure, giving them less influence in governing the university than is common. Most teachers are adjunct labor. Faculty must inform school officials before they speak with the media. Dondi E. Costin is the university's president, assuming the position July 1, 2023, and taking over from now President Emeritus Jerry Prevo.


Academics

, Liberty University offered over 550 total programs, 366 on campus and 289 online. There are 144 graduate programs and four doctoral programs offered on campus. It is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
among "Doctoral/Professional Universities" and is recognized by the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
(NSA) and the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education. In 2017, ''Forbes''s list of America's Top Colleges ranked Liberty University No. 585 of 650 "Top Colleges", No. 231 as a "Research University", 371 as a "Private College", and 136 "in the South". Forbes also gave Liberty a "Forbes Financial Grade" of B+.


College of Arts and Sciences

The Liberty University College of Arts and Sciences includes eight departments and offers PhD, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees. The college teaches
Young Earth creationism Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between about 10,000 and 6,000 years ago, contradicting established s ...
, a
pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
, in its "creationist studies" classes.


College of Osteopathic Medicine

The Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) opened in August 2014, funded in part by a $12 million matching grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. In July 2015, the college of osteopathic medicine opened Liberty Mountain Medical Group LLC, a primary care clinic serving the greater Lynchburg area. The college received initial accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (AOA-COCA) in 2018. In that same year the medical school launched its first residency program, focused on neuromusculoskeletal treatment.


Helms School of Government

Liberty's Helms School of Government offers degrees in areas including criminal justice, government and public administration, international relations, pre-law, public policy, strategic intelligence, fire administration in both at both bachelor's and master's degree levels. The Helms School of Government is named after Senator Jesse Helms.


Rawlings School of Divinity

The Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity offers 44 bachelor's degrees, 44 master's degrees, and 14 doctoral degrees. It was formed in 2015 as a merger of the School of Religion with Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. It Many programs are on-campus only, while others are available online. The school includes the Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement, the Center for Church Advancement, the Center for Youth Ministries, the Center for Chaplaincy, and the Rawlings Scriptorium Museum. The Rawlings School of Divinity is housed in Freedom Tower.


Liberty Theological Seminary

Within the Rawlings School, Liberty Theological Seminary administers the graduate, postgraduate, doctoral, and certificate divinity programs. It is the nation's largest
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
by enrollment and is accredited by the ATS. The seminary was relaunched in 2024.


School of Aeronautics

Liberty offers 11 bachelor's degrees in aeronautics from professional pilot to UAS. In 2018, Liberty's School of Aeronautics had more than 1,200 students in-person and online. Liberty has worked with American Eagle,
Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. ( ) is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in Wicomico County, Maryland, near the Salisbury, Maryland, city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American ...
, and Wayman Aviation to alleviate their pilot shortages.


School of Behavioral Sciences

The School of Behavioral Sciences includes four departments: Community Care & Counseling, Counselor Education & Family Studies, Psychology, and Social Work. It has an acceptance rate of 38%. The Community Care & Counseling department offers 28 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees. The Counselor Education & Family Studies department offers five master's degrees and one doctoral degree. The Psychology department offers two associate degrees, 14 bachelor's degrees, six master's degrees, and six doctoral degrees. The Social Work department offers one bachelor's degree. As of 2020, the dean was Kenyon C. Knapp.


School of Business

Liberty University's School of Business offers 46 bachelor's, 67 master's, and 14 doctoral degrees. Liberty's school of business is accredited by
ACBSP The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a United States–based organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on tea ...
. In 2019, the School of Business was nearing completion of a new 78,000-sq.-ft. building.


School of Communication & the Arts

The School of Communication & the Arts has five departments: Cinematic Arts, Digital Media and Journalism, Strategic and Personal Communication, Studio & Digital Arts, and Theatre Arts. More than 12,000 residential and online students enroll in this school.


School of Education

As of 2022 the School of Education enrolled 4,441 students.


School of Engineering

Liberty's School of Engineering offers degrees in computer engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial & systems engineering, and mechanical engineering. The engineering program is accredited through the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology ABET (pronounced A-bet), formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and appli ...
(ABET). In 2017, Liberty bought The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) facility in Bedford, Virginia. The School of Engineering has spent considerable resources on a project titled "Simulating Genesis" "to show how the laws of physics align with biblical history."


School of Law

82% of Liberty University School of Law's Class of 2018 obtained full-time, bar passage, or JD-required employment nine months after graduation, according to ABA-required disclosures. The law school has been accredited by the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
since 2010. In February 2019, all of its graduates who took the Virginia Bar Exam passed. The school is ranked 140 out of 196 law schools ranked by the U.S. News & World Report in its 2024 law school rankings.


Center for Law and Government

In 2017, Liberty announced its new Center for Law and Government will be led by former U.S. representative Robert Hurt. The center will house the Liberty University School of Law and the
Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...
School of Government.


School of Music

The departments of worship and music studies and of music and humanities merged in 2012 into a school of music, composed of two distinct centers. The School of Music offers 32 bachelor's degrees, 15 master's degrees, and four doctoral degrees. Liberty University has a comprehensive band program. The Spirit of the Mountain is the official
marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...
of the university, performing in a corps style at Liberty football home games and other events. Liberty also has
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
s,
concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...
s, a pep band, and an in indoor
drumline Marching percussion instruments are percussion instruments (usually drums, such as snare, bass, and tenor drums) specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier ...
which competes in
Winter Guard International Winter Guard International (WGI) is an American governing body that sanctions championship events for three competitive performing arts activities: winter guard, percussion ensembles, and indoor wind ensembles. WGI was founded in 1977 in respon ...
.


College of Applied Studies and Academic Success

Liberty University's College of Applied Studies and Academic Success houses the Academic Success Center, the Eagle Scholar's Program, Technical Studies, Continuing Education, and Success Courses.


Technical studies and trades

Along with over 15 other associate programs, Liberty offers
vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...
with various associate degrees in
carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. C ...
;
electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
;
heating In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, atom ...
, ventilation,
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
(
HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...
);
plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses piping, pipes, valves, piping and plumbing fitting, plumbing fixtures, Storage tank, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. HVAC, Heating and co ...
; and
welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melting, melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Co ...
. These trades are approved by the National Center for Construction Education and Research.


Student outcomes

According to the
College Scorecard The College Scorecard is an online tool, created by the United States government, for consumers to compare the cost and value of higher education institutions in the United States. At launch, it displayed data in five areas: cost, graduation rate ...
, Liberty University has a graduation rate of 34%. Median salary after attending ranges from $11,455 (AA in Teacher Education) to $72,022 (Electrical Engineering). 54% earn more than a high school graduate. Of those repaying student loans two years after entering repayment, 26% were in forbearance, 25% were not making progress, 14% were making progress, 14% were in deferment, 9% defaulted, 5% were paid in full, 5% were delinquent, and 2% had their loans discharged.


Rankings

Liberty University was listed as 394-to-435th among "National Universities" in the 2023 ''U.S. News & World Report.'' It was ranked 428 out of 442 schools by the ''Washington Monthly'' in 2022. In 2018, Liberty was among the ten colleges that enrolled the most undergraduates in the fall semester and, when including online students, enrolled the most students of any U.S. university. In 2023, Liberty had an endowment of $1.71 billion, 43rd-largest among U.S. colleges and universities. Liberty was ranked as the "Most Conservative College in America" by niche.com in 2016 and 2018, but by 2023 had been replaced by
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
.


Affiliation

The university is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
). Since 1999, Liberty has had an informal relationship with the organization; two of its members sit on the university's board of trustees.


Accreditation

Liberty is accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...
(Level VI). In addition to institutional accreditation, many programs have programmatic accreditation granted by the following specialized agencies: * Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) * Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) *
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a United States–based organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on te ...
(ACBSP) *
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology ABET (pronounced A-bet), formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and appli ...
(ABET) * Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) * Commission on Accrediting of the
Association of Theological Schools The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History The ATS was found ...
(ATS) *
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is a professional accreditor focused on accrediting teacher education programs in U.S. colleges and universities. It was founded in 2013 as a result of the merger of two predecesso ...
(CAEP) *
Virginia Department of Education The Virginia Department of Education is the state education agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is headquartered in the James Monroe Building in Richmond. The department is headed by the Secretary of Education (currently Aimee Guidera) ...
(VDOE) *
Association Of Christian Schools International The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an international organization of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It offers tiers of oversight, from school accredit ...
(ACSI) * Commission for the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) * Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) *
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
(ABA) *
National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Resto ...
(NASM) *
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is a nursing education accrediting agency in the United States. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The commission's headquarters are in Washington, D.C. CCNE acc ...
(CCNE) *
Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation The American Osteopathic Association's (AOA) Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) educational accreditation, accredits medical schools granting the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree in the United States. The US Department ...
(COCA) *
Council on Education for Public Health The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) is an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health and public health programs offered in settings other than schools of public health. T ...
(CEPH) *
Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
(CoARC) *
Council on Social Work Education The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association in the United States representing more than 2,500 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1 ...
(CSWE) * Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) Liberty was previously accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) in September 1984, but resigned its TRACS accreditation on November 6, 2008.


Student life

Liberty University is a conservative Evangelical college, which is reflected in its honor code and other policies. The university teaches
creationism Creationism is the faith, religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation, and is often Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific.#Gunn 2004, Gun ...
alongside the science of
evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...
. Its honor code, called the "Liberty Way", emphasizes purity culture.


Safety

In 2017, the school invited
Ray Rice Raymell Mourice Rice (born January 22, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers ...
, who had been videotaped beating his fiancée three years earlier, to give a lecture on
domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
. In 2021, a dozen anonymous women sued the school, charging that it failed to curb domestic violence and sexual assault on campus. A 2021
ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...
investigation found that "an ethos of sexual purity, as embodied by the Liberty Way, has led to school officials discouraging, dismissing and even blaming female students who have tried to come forward with claims of sexual assault." The school sought for years to conceal campus crime and safety statistics, according to a preliminary 2023 report by the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...
reviewed by the ''Washington Post.'' The report, whose findings may yet be appealed by the school, documents alleged violations of the Clery Act, which requires schools that receive federal money to disclose crime and safety statistics. Instead, the report indicates, university officials destroyed documentation and failed to notify the campus of sexual predators, bomb threats, and gas leaks. In March 2024 the U.S. Department of education fined the university $14 million for its treatment of sexual assault survivors and the misclassification or underreporting of crimes. Victims were afraid to report crimes for fear of reprisals or were punished for violating the student code by administrators.


Demographics

In fall 2017, the acceptance rate for new first-time, full-time students entering Liberty's resident program was 30%. In 2011, the overall acceptance rate, which includes online students, was 51 percent. Liberty University Online is an open enrollment institution. Liberty's Black population has declined from 19.9 percent in 2011 to 10.4 percent in 2019, with a graduation rate of 17% among full-time Black students.


On-campus demographics

As of 2021, the residential student body is 74% White, 5% Latino, 4% Black, 3% two or more races, and 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, less than 1% Native American, and 7% "other". Its male-to-female ratio is 45% to 54%.


Online demographics

Including online students, Liberty's undergraduate population in 2017 was 51% White, 26.5% race/ethnicity unknown, 15.4% Black or African American, 2.3% two or more races, 1.7% Hispanic/Latino, 1.4% non-resident alien, 0.9% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaskan native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., are represented along with 86 countries. The online male-to-female ratio is 40% to 60%. More than 30,000 military students and over 850 international students attend Liberty. Liberty ranks 174th out of 2,475 schools in overall diversity, 94th out of 3,012 schools in age diversity, and 82nd out of 2,525 schools in location diversity. , when including online students, LU was the largest
Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
university in the world. , LU was the largest private non-profit university in the United States. In terms of combined traditional and distance learning students, Liberty University is the 7th-largest four-year university, and the largest university in Virginia.


LGBTQ+ stance

Words and actions indicating "LGBT states of mind" are prohibited for students as of the 2021 version of ''The Liberty Way'', the student handbook. Sexual relations are only permitted in a Biblically ordained marriage between a man and a woman. The student handbook says gay sex is prohibited by the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, and thus by the school. Kissing, holding hands, or dating a member of the same sex are also prohibited under ''The Liberty Way''. Students have criticized the university for being unwelcoming to
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
students. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' has reported that LGBTQ+ students hide their dating behavior in order to graduate and to avoid being fined. Campus Pride, an organization that advocates for
LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
on college campuses, listed Liberty University as one of the worst universities for LGBT students. The school offers conversion "therapy" to gay students, a practice that peer-reviewed studies have shown is ineffective and harmful. In 2021, a former Liberty University student was part of a class action lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the institution should not be eligible to receive federal funding because of its discriminatory practices against LGBT students. In 2015, Liberty University denied the discounted tuition to same-sex and trans spouses of military personnel that it offered to heterosexual military couples. In 2016, the university ordered a version of a psychology textbook that omitted sections with LGBTQ+-focused content. The school says it does not engage in unlawful discrimination or harassment because of race, color, ancestry, religion, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability or military veteran status. But it "reserves its right to discriminate on the basis of religion to the extent that applicable law respects its right to act in furtherance of its religious objectives."


Honor code

The Liberty University honor code forbids students to be alone with a member of the opposite sex "at an off-campus residence" or to have premarital sex anywhere. Students may not consume alcohol or tobacco. In 2015, Liberty revised the code to allow students to watch R-rated movies and to play video games rated "M". In 2017, the curfew policy was changed to permit students age 20 and over to sign out and stay out past curfew. In 2018, the administration rejected a resolution from the student government that would have allowed off-campus drinking, "profane language", and the use of tobacco.


Convocation

Liberty's convocation, held at the Vines Center on Wednesdays and Fridays, is the largest weekly gathering of Christian students in America. Attendance is mandatory for residential undergraduate and graduate students and commuter students under 21 years of age. They must report to their assigned Resident Assistant and sit in their assigned section, though they may skip Convocation once per semester if they notify their Resident Assistant at least 24 hours in advance. They are fined $25 for each of their first two unexcused absences, and $50 for each subsequent absence. Commuting students over 21 are encouraged to attend.


Clubs and organizations

According to Liberty's website, there are over 100 registered on-campus clubs and organizations.


''Liberty Champion''

''Liberty Champion'' is Liberty University's official student newspaper. In 2019, Will Young, a former editor of the ''Champion'', recalled his experiences in a lengthy ''
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 ...
'' article. In his first week in that role, he had been rebuked for attempting to get the campus's police blotter. He found that school officials often overrode student editors' decisions and imposed censorship, which was part of "an infrastructure of thought-control that Falwell and his lieutenants adintroduced into every aspect of Liberty University life". Young wrote that when he eventually resigned, the school did not appoint a new student editor, opting instead to turn the newspaper "into a faculty-run, student-written organ and seizing complete control of its content." Student journalists became so frustrated that they launched an independent newspaper, the ''Lynchburg Torch'', to cover stories the administration tried to suppress. It operated from 2017 to 2019.


Speech and debate

Liberty's Inter-Collegiate policy debate program ranked first overall (i.e., combining the results at the varsity, junior varsity, and novice levels) for their division at the National Debate Tournament in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In varsity rankings, Liberty finished 20th in 2005, 17th in 2006, 24th in 2007, 12th in 2008, 9th in 2009, 4th in 2010, and 4th in 2011. In 2017, the team finished atop the final rankings of all three national debate tournaments for the eighth time, sweeping the American Debate Association, the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), and the National Debate Tournament (NDT). As of 2017, Liberty was the only school to finish first in all three in a single year. As well, it had placed first in the CEDA for eight straight years, first in the NDT for seven of those, and first in the ADA for 13 of the last 14. Through 2016, Liberty hosted the
Virginia High School League The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the principal sanctioning organization for interscholastic athletic competition among Public school (government funded), public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VHSL first sponsored deba ...
's annual Debate State Championships each April. VHSL stopped holding debate competitions at the school after Chancellor Falwell said students should arm themselves to "end those
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
" who committed the 2015 San Bernardino attack. League officials said they sought an "environment free from harassment, personal threat, or physical or mental harm."


Athletics

Liberty's athletic teams compete in Division I of the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
and are collectively known as the Liberty Flames. Liberty is a member of the
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
for 17 of its 20 varsity sports. Women's swimming competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association, and women's field hockey competes in the Big East Conference. The field hockey team had belonged to the
Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference The Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) was an NCAA Division I conference that only sponsored women's field hockey. Founded in 1982, it began as a California-based conference, but expanded over time to include schools across the Unit ...
before that league's demise after the 2014 season. It competed as an independent in the 2015 season, then join the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
for the 2016 season. Starting in 2018, the football team began competing in the FBS as an independent. In 2020, Liberty entered the rankings in the AP Poll at 25 for the first time in program history. They finished the season being ranked 17 in the AP Poll and 18 in the Coaches Poll of top football teams in the country. The university regularly competes for the Sasser Cup, the Big South's trophy for the university that has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty has won the Sasser Cup ten times, the most in the Big South. In 2012, Liberty became the first Big South school to win five consecutive Sasser Cups.


Football

As of the 2023 season, the Liberty Flames compete in
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) as a member of
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
. The team used Lynchburg's City Stadium as their home stadium until October 21, 1989, when the Flames played their first home game at Williams Stadium. The Flames won their first three bowl games: the Cure Bowl in 2019 and 2020 and the LendingTree Bowl in 2021. Since 2022, the Flames' head coach has been Jamey Chadwell. In 2023, the Flames went undefeated (12–0) in the regular season, the first Division-I team from Virginia to do so, and won the CUSA Championship Game. On January 1, 2024, they played in their first New Year's 6 bowl, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, against the
Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...
Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...
, losing 45–6.


Basketball

Liberty University's basketball teams play most home games in the 4,000-seat Liberty Arena; some are moved to the 9,547-seat Vines Center. Several members of the men's Liberty Flames have been recruited to the NBA. The women's Liberty Lady Flames was honored by the Big South "with the Top 25 'Best of the Best' moments in League history from 1983–2008; with Liberty University's 10-year women's basketball championship run from 1996–2007 was crowned the No. 1 moment in the Big South's first 25 years." In 2019, the men's basketball program won the
Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...
basketball tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament. Liberty earned its highest ranking ever when it was selected as the No. 12 seed in the East Region. Liberty set a school record with their 29th win as they upset Mississippi State 80–76 in the first round of the East Region in the 2019 NCAA tournament.


Baseball

The Liberty Baseball Stadium, completed in June 2013 and home to Liberty Baseball, was ranked No. 4 among college ballpark experiences by Stadium Journey website in 2015. The stadium includes 2,500 chairbacks, locker room, four indoor batting tunnels, four luxury suites, offices for the baseball program, a weight room, team room and a fully functional press area. Several Liberty Flames baseball players were drafted during the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Local stations air some games. Some games have aired nationally on
ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...
.


Ice hockey

Liberty University has men's and women's club ice hockey teams. The women's team has won six
American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegi ...
(ACHA) D1 national championships (2015, 2018-2023) and is currently coached by Chris Lowes. Men's hockey started in 1985 when Liberty students organized a team to play surrounding colleges and clubsLohmann, Bill, "Playing for the Lord; Liberty finds it has passion for ice hockey"''Richmond Times Dispatch'' p. G-1. February 4, 2007. but has since become a competitive club team competing against much larger schools such as University of Oklahoma, University of Delaware, and Penn State University. In 2006, Liberty became the only Virginia school with a men's ACHA Division I club hockey team; and opened the 3,000-seat LaHaye Ice Center, a gift of Timothy and Beverly LaHaye. The men's Division I team is coached by Kirk Handy.


Cross country

Individual NCAA Division I champions include Josh McDougal (2007) and Samuel Chelanga (2009–2010). Chelanga took two gold medals and three silvers in outdoor and indoor competition in three years and won All-American honors 14 times.


Subsidiaries


Liberty University Online

Liberty University has an Internet education component called Liberty University Online, also known as LU Online or LUO, which provides degrees from associate's level to doctorate.Liberty University offers 100% online associate degrees and bachelor's degrees, as well as certificates, in many areas of study. Online students constitute the overwhelming majority of the university's students and revenue, "subsidizing the university" and making them "a killing", according to faculty members, despite the "steep drop-off in quality from the traditional college to the online courses." Critics have argued that the online division subsidizes campus resources, such as the ski resort and gun range, and that online enrollment is run in a boiler room fashion. Online instructors are mainly engaged in answering emails and grading rather than creating and delivering content.


Liberty University Online Academy

Established in 2007, the Liberty University Online Academy (LUOA) is a K-12 private school serving about 18,000 students for academically talented students worldwide. It is accredited by SACS (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges). In 2018, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that Liberty faculty acknowledge that courses taken via the lucrative Liberty University Online program are worse than the university's traditional in-person classes.


Standing for Freedom Center

In November 2019, Liberty and
Charlie Kirk Charles James Kirk (born October 14, 1993) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political activist, author and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist media personality. With Bill Montgomery (activist), Bill Montgome ...
of
Turning Point USA Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. It was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgo ...
launched a think tank subsidiary called the Falkirk Center for Faith and Liberty. The name was derived, in part, from the
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
combining the names of Jerry Falwell Jr. and Charlie Kirk, as well as Falwell's affinity for the film
Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...
and the
Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (; ), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by Edward I of England, King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scottish people, Scots, led by William Wal ...
, which was depicted in the film. The think tank hired Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and Trump surrogate Sebastian Gorka as fellows and paid for political Facebook ads promoting Trump and other Republican candidates during the 2020 election campaign. In March 2021, the university renamed the organization the "Standing for Freedom Center", having chosen not to renew Kirk's contract several months earlier. In November 2021, the Standing for Freedom Center hosted former Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American retired politician who served in the First presidency of Donald Trump#Administration, first administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fr ...
, author
Eric Metaxas Eric Metaxas (; born June 27, 1963) is an American author, speaker, and conservative radio host. He has written three biographies, ''Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery'' about William Wilberforce (2007), ' ...
, and former Arkansas governor
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...
.


Publications

The ''Journal of Statesmanship and Public Policy'' explores topics in the realms of national security, international relations, domestic policy, and political philosophy from a deeply thoughtful, ethical, and Christian perspective." Recent articles have been published on
strict constructionism In the United States, strict constructionism is a particular Philosophy of law, legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that limits or restricts the powers of the federal government only to those ''expressly'', i.e., explicitly and clearly, ...
and
critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...
. The ''Liberty Bell News'' is an online publication whose mission is "to maintain the vision of the founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr., to develop and train Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world."


Finances, marketing, and recruitment

In June 2021, Liberty University had $3.94 billion in assets and $474 million in liabilities. Its operating revenue was $1.15 billion and its operating expenses were $840 million. Its endowment was valued at $1.71 billion in fiscal year 2021. In fiscal year 2020, Liberty University received $800 million from online tuition and $361 million from residential student tuition. According to Third Way, Liberty uses less than 20 percent of its revenues for instruction. In its early years, the university was held afloat financially by major donors. In 1987, Liberty University's
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
tax-exempt status was formally recognized by the IRS. In the 1990s, the university was placed on probation several times by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools because of heavy debt. In 1990, the university owed $110 million; in 1996, it owed $40 million. The
Unification Church The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
was an early donor. In 1994, the university received $3.5 million through Sun Myung Moon's Women's Federation for World Peace. In 1996
News World Communications News World Communications Inc. is an American international news media corporation. History News World Communications was founded in New York City, in 1976, by Unification Church founder and leader Sun Myung Moon. Its first two newspapers, ''Th ...
loaned $400,000 to Liberty. In 2006, the university had net assets—cash, property, investments and other holdings—of roughly $100 million. At the start of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s presidency in 2007, the university listed $259 million in assets. Five years later, in May 2012, Falwell Jr. said the total had risen to $1 billion, thanks to proceeds from its online learning program and from accelerated facility expansion. In December 2010, Liberty sold $120 million in facilities bonds to finance expansion. It sold an additional $100 million in taxable bonds in January 2012 to help finance $225.2 million of planned capital projects around the campus over the next five years. The bond offering was part of Liberty University's campus transformation plan which included several renovations and additions to academic buildings and student housing, as well as fund the new Jerry Falwell Library and formation of a medical school. The bonds received a rating of "AA" from Standard & Poor's and in 2013 received an upgraded rating of "Aa3" along with a "stable outlook" projection from Moody's Investors Services based on "the increasing scope of the University's activity", "its large pool of financial reserves", "uncommonly strong operating performance", and "discipline around building and maintaining reserves". In March 2017, Falwell Jr. said that the university's endowment stood at more than $1 billion and gross assets are in excess of $2 billion. The U.S. Department of Education rated Liberty as having a "perfect" financial responsibility score. According to a 2018 report by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', most of Liberty University's revenue comes from taxpayer-funded sources. In 2019, Falwell Jr. was accused of using the university for his family's financial benefit. Staff members said the university has funneled tuition money into real estate investments that benefit friends and family of the Falwells, including a shopping mall owned by the university and managed by Falwell's son Trey, a university vice president. Falwell responded to the accusations by asserting that the FBI would investigate a "criminal conspiracy" in which individuals stole university property and shared it with reporters in an effort to damage his reputation.


Marketing and recruitment practices

In 2018, ProPublica and ''The New York Times'' reported that Liberty University students were sixth in terms of receiving federal aid for the year 2017. Most of Liberty University's revenue came from taxpayer-funded sources. ProPublica/''The New York Times'' reported that each of the university's 300 salespeople were pressured to enroll up to eight students per day. A division of 60 salespeople targeted members of the military specifically because they had greater access to federal tuition assistance. The university's salespeople were instructed to make the university appear more affordable by describing the tuition costs per credits rather than per course. The salespeople were also instructed to not inform potential students of the Christian orientation of the education; the first classes include three required Bible-studies classes. The credits for the Bible-studies classes are usually not transferable to other universities, which disincentivizes students from leaving Liberty University for other universities. According to a former employee, the university accepts any student with a grade point average above 0.5 (equivalent to a D-minus).


Sponsorships

Liberty University has sponsored
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver William Byron, also a LU student, since 2014 in a late model program run by
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...
's
JR Motorsports JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L. W. Miller, L.W. Miller, and Rick Hendrick. It c ...
. Liberty is in the midst of a deal with Byron and
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
team
Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
that runs through 2026.


Federal funding

In 2019, Liberty University reportedly received about $700 million in federal funding.


Student loans and defaults

Liberty University students have a lower default rate compared to the national average of graduates from all schools. However, Liberty University students have a higher rate of defaults within three years of completing their studies compared to graduates of other private, non-profit, four-year colleges. Liberty University spends far less on instruction than traditional private universities, for-profit colleges and other nonprofit religious colleges. In connection with being named to a Trump administration task force on deregulating higher education, university president Falwell alluded, as an example of regulatory overreach and "micromanagement", to Obama-era regulations that govern student loan forgiveness for students who have been cheated by fraudulent colleges.


Politics


Influence

Liberty University has been described as a "stage of choice in Republican presidential politics", and a "pilgrimage site for GOP candidates." According to ''The Washington Post'', Republican candidates are drawn to the university because it is viewed as a "bastion of the Christian right".
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's close relationship with the university gave it significant publicity in its early years. In 1990, 41st U.S president
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
was the first sitting U.S. president to speak at Liberty's commencement. In 1996, U.S. Supreme Court justice
Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...
gave the commencement address at Liberty University. Republican leaders Ronald Reagan,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
,
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
,
Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...
,
Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Republican Party, Jindal previously served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana from 2005 t ...
, and
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
have visited the campus. Libertarian presidential candidate
Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...
spoke at the university. In 2017, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
gave his first college commencement speech as sitting president at Liberty University. In 2019,
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
gave the school's commencement address. Liberty was a satellite location for CPAC 2019, hosting numerous conservative speakers on-campus. In 2009, LU stopped recognizing LU's Democratic Party student group; school officials said this was because the Democratic Party platform goes against the school's conservative Christian principles. Democrats such as
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
,
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
, and
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...
have spoken there. In 2018, former 39th U.S. president
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
gave the commencement speech. However,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
,
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, and
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
have rejected invitations to speak at LU. In 2021, Interim President Jerry Prevo told Scott Lamb, then the university's senior vice president for communications and public engagement, that he wanted the school to become "a more effective political player by helping to influence elections." Prevo said getting conservative candidates elected was "one of our main goals". ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' wrote that his comments "raise new questions about the blurred line between education and politics at the university, which as a 501(c)(3) charity is not supposed to participate directly in political campaigns".


2015 concealed handguns remarks

In a December 5, 2015, convocation speech, President Jerry Falwell Jr. encouraged the student body to obtain concealed handgun permits. Falwell discussed the attack in San Bernardino and said, "If more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in." This was met with public condemnation for singling out the Muslim religion rather than the attack itself. Governor
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...
called the statement "repugnant". Falwell later said he was referring to the Muslim shooters in the San Bernardino attack, not all Muslims.


Links to Donald Trump

The school is noted for its official embrace of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
before and during his term as U.S. president. The businessman twice spoke at the university Convocation: in 2012, when he was awarded an honorary doctor of business degree, and in 2016. As U.S. president, Trump was the keynote speaker at the May 2017 commencement, when he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Falwell Jr. commended Trump for "bombing those in the Middle East who persecute and kill Christians," and that Trump had "proved that he is a man of his word." As of 2022, three honorary degrees Trump received from other institutions have been rescinded, but Liberty has not rescinded the two it granted Trump. Falwell Jr.'s uncritical support for Trump was characterized as a repudiation of Christian values. Various school officials and students criticized this support and the university's ties with Trump. Among them was Mark DeMoss, Falwell's chief of staff, who was forced to resign from Liberty's board of trustees. Another was Liberty alumnus Jonathan Merritt, whose invitation to speak on campus was rescinded. Still another was Christian author Jonathan Martin, who was expelled from campus. The school reportedly censored articles critical of Trump in the student newspaper. In 2016, a student editor said that Falwell had censored an opinion column that criticized Trump for his lewd comments caught on an ''
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
'' tape. Other articles in the student newspaper which mentioned Trump were reportedly spiked by faculty members. In 2018, two student editors were fired, reportedly for running articles critical of Trump; one of the student editors lost a $3,000-a-semester scholarship. In 2019, this censorship and other factors led the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to rank Liberty University among the worst universities in terms of free speech. In 2017, some students protested after President Trump criticized both white supremacists and counter-protesters at the August Charlottesville rally where three people died and 33 were injured. Following Trump's remarks, Falwell said that he was "so proud" of Trump for his "bold truthful" statement on the tragedy. A number of alumni returned their diplomas to Liberty University and called on the university to disavow Trump's remarks. The graduates argued that Trump's remarks were "incompatible with Liberty University's stated values, and incompatible with a Christian witness." In 2018, some Liberty students went to Washington, D.C., to support President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge
Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...
. That same year, students at the university gave a standing ovation to
First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...
Melania Trump Melania Knauss Trump (born Melanija Knavs, April26, 1970) is a Slovenian and American former model who is married to U.S. President Donald Trump. Since 2025, Melania Trump has served as the first lady of the United States, a role she previous ...
, along with several Trump cabinet officials who spoke at the university during a convocation that focused on the
opioid epidemic The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse or abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates or opioids since the 1990s. It inc ...
. In spring 2018, Liberty's Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center co-produced a feature film called '' The Trump Prophecy''. The film focuses on a retired firefighter from Florida who says God revealed to him in 2011 that Trump would one day be president. The film was shown in some cinemas in October 2018. In 2019, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' and ''
Inside Higher Education ''Inside Higher Ed'' is an American online publication of news, opinion, resources, events and jobs in the higher education sphere. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold it to Times Higher Education, itself owned by Inflexion Priva ...
'' reported that Liberty CIO John Gauger allegedly accepted cash, through his IT consulting firm unaffiliated with the school, to rig two online polls for Trump before he became a candidate.


Controversies

In 2019, Will E. Young, a former editor-in-chief of Liberty's ''Champion'' student newspaper, described the "culture of fear" at Liberty University, noting that the school "founded on principles of fundamental Christianity, is now a place that has zero tolerance for new questions and ideas. Those who harbor them must remain silent, or leave." Young later argued that Liberty must address its racist past, beginning with Jerry Falwell Sr. and that it must include people of color and LGBTQ people as it makes decisions. In spring 2020, during the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, Liberty allowed some students to return to campus after spring break over the objections of the city's mayor and contrary to the practices of most U.S. colleges and universities. When a
ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...
reporter and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' photographer investigated why the university remained partially open, the university pushed the local district attorney to charge them with trespassing. A few months later, then-president Falwell Jr. posted a picture of Virginia's then-governor
Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...
's black face in a tweet that many found racist. Some staff resigned in protest; some black students pursued transfers, many contending that the tweet was a symptom of a larger problem at the university. In response to internal and external criticism, Liberty University officials hired Kelvin Edwards, an alumnus and former NFL player, to lead diversity initiatives on campus, then fired him three months later. Edwards sued the university, alleging a breach of contract. In fall 2021, an outbreak of COVID-19 forced all classes on the Lynchburg campus to go online-only for two weeks. More than 400 students and 50 staff members tested positive for the virus. The campus did not require
COVID-19 vaccinations A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, COVID19). Knowledge about the structure ...
, masks, or social distancing. Outdoor events, including a convocation and football game, were scheduled to continue. In July 2024, Liberty was sued for $300,000 by Ellenor Zinski, whose lawsuit alleges that the university violated Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
when it fired Zinski, who is transgender, since the university explicitly cited Zinski's gender as the reason for her firing. Liberty University contends that Zinski's contract was violated by knowingly breaking LU's policies that are based in their religious beliefs and thus protected by the Constitution. Liberty University's doctrinal statement lists "denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender" is an example of "sinful acts prohibited by God." In February 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia denied Liberty's motion to dismiss the case. Liberty's motion to dismiss had been based on
first amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
grounds, and parts of the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at through (also known as RFRA, pronounced "rifra"), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religio ...
.


Falwell Jr. scandals

Falwell Jr. was placed on indefinite leave on August 7, 2020, after media began reporting allegations, including photographs, of personal and professional impropriety. A few weeks later, he resigned. He claimed that he was entitled to $10.5 million in compensation from the university because he resigned without either admitting to wrongdoing or having formal accusations opened against him. At the end of Falwell Jr.'s presidency in 2020, the university listed over $2.5 billion in assets. Following Falwell's resignation, ''
Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
'' reported that Liberty University was "facing growing criticism over perceived resistance to diversity" following the departures of Edwards, board chair Allen McFarland, and pastor David Nasser. Jonathan Falwell, a son of Jerry Falwell Sr., replaced Nasser. In late 2020, three reform efforts took place. A group of Liberty University alumni called Save71 was organized in an effort to reform the school. Three Liberty University athletes, Kennedi Williams, Dee Brown, and TreShaun Clark, organized a
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
protest on campus, drawing a crowd of about two hundred people. Student leaders also created an
online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
to force Liberty to shut down the school's think tank, the Falkirk Center, named after Jerry Falwell Jr. and conservative activist
Charlie Kirk Charles James Kirk (born October 14, 1993) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political activist, author and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist media personality. With Bill Montgomery (activist), Bill Montgome ...
. The petition garnered about 400 signatures. In 2020, the university's former president Jerry Falwell Jr. was accused of
nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...
, racism, and alcohol use contravening Baptist teaching on
teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to b ...
. Falwell and his wife Rebecca were involved in a number of sex scandals. These eventually led to his resignation on August 24, 2020. The following year, the university sued Falwell Jr. for $40 million in damages for breach of contract and violation of fiduciary duty. In the same month, the Liberty University board of trustees replaced acting chairman Allen McFarland, the first African American board chair, with Tim Lee, "a pro-Trump pastor". In fall 2024, Falwell's ban on attending on-campus events was rescinded, and he attended that year's
homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...
game. In May 2025, it was reported that Liberty had paid Falwell Jr. about $15 million to settle all litigation between Liberty and Falwell.


Mismanagement of sexual assault

In July 2021, the university was sued by twelve anonymous women, including two employees, who alleged that the university created an environment that increased the likelihood of sexual assault and rape in violation of federal Title IX law. The lawsuit alleged that the school's student honor code makes it difficult to report sexual violence because it does not clearly
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...
students; that the university had a tacit policy that condoned sexual violence, especially by male student athletes, by weighing a denial more heavily than an allegation; and that the school retaliates against women who report sexual violence. In one of the alleged incidents, a 15-year-old who was allegedly attacked by Jesse Matthew (Matthew later confessed to murdering Hannah Graham), was told she would be criminally charged with filing a false report, before they began an "investigation" into her claim. The investigation allegedly only consisted of a demand that she strip and submit to being photographed naked by the chief of police—which she refused to do. She later was not taken to the hospital but the police later pestered her until she agreed to be photographed naked by a female debate coach. In a written response to the lawsuit, Liberty University officials said "The allegations are deeply troubling, if they turn out to be true", and said that would look into each allegation detailed in the lawsuit. Ten of the women settled in a confidential agreement. Also in July 2021, Liberty University diversity retention officer LeeQuan McLaurin, a black gay man, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the school, claiming that his supervisor's view that Christianity condemns homosexuality forced him to quit. An October 2021, a ''
ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...
'' investigative report found that Liberty University discouraged and dismissed students coming forward about sexual assault; former students said they were threatened with punishment after coming forward with accusations of sexual assault. Multiple witnesses said school officials manipulated their statements in support of a sexual assault victims to undercut the victims' accounts, eventually expelling one such witness. Additionally, the school neglected to report every case to the Title IX office or to inform students of their option of reporting incidents to law enforcement. Sexual assault victims shared accounts of university staff erroneously telling them that speaking to law enforcement would compromise a Title IX investigation and of being made to sign documents agreeing not to report their sexual assault to the police. According to a Liberty alumna who spoke to ''ProPublica'', after she reported her rape to the university's Title IX office, a school official listed the potential infractions she could be disciplined for in the incident, including having premarital sex. ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' also reported that a former Liberty University official, Scott Lamb, also accused Liberty University of violating its
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
nonprofit status. ''Politico'' had previously reported that the school had invested in "Republican causes and efforts to promote the Trump administration". Lamb told ''ProPublica'' that he was fired on October 6, 2021, for telling school officials about staff members' failure to report sexual assaults appropriately. He characterized the tendency of university leaders to ignore sexual assault reports once they made their way up the chain of command as "a conspiracy of silence". In fall 2023, a preliminary report by the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...
alleged that school officials had failed to report campus crime and safety statistics, had destroyed evidence of assaults, and had retaliated against at least one employee who raised concerns about violations of the Clery Act, the federal law that requires such disclosures by schools that receive federal funding. Crimes the report finds were covered up include sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence. Specific acts by Liberty employees detailed in the report include tasking IT with wiping specific hard drives, failing to secure and potentially shredding incident reports, failing to log or follow up on a police report alleging a rape by an unnamed former university president, re-promoting an employee who was demoted after accusations of drugging and assaulting a colleague, and allowing a football player to remain on the team from 2018 to 2022 despite accusations of rape and of stalking a university employee during that time. The report states that the university's culture of "substantially and systematically underreported" crime statistics might trace back as far to 1992. Liberty faces a fine of up to $37.5 million for Clery Act violations. An alumna who says Liberty pressured her to retract a report of sexual assault told ''USA Today'' of potential fines, "A little fine is not going to make them change their ways. They can make back any amount of money with a snap of fingers". In March 2024, Liberty University was fined $14 million for the Clery Act violations. As described by ''
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
'', the investigators' final 105-page report documents "serious, persistent, and systemic violations" by officials who "discouraged students from reporting crimes, did not adequately respond to incidents of sexual violence, failed to tell the campus about criminal activities or dangerous situations (such as gas leaks), and did not maintain an accurate or complete list of crimes". Liberty was placed on Federal monitoring until April 2026.


Notable alumni

File:Shannon Bream crop.jpg,
Shannon Bream Shannon Noelle Bream ( DePuy; born December 23, 1970) is an American journalist and Lawyer, attorney who is a host of ''Fox News Sunday'' on Fox News. She is also chief legal correspondent for the channel. In 2022, she became host of ''Fox News S ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
host File:William Byron Driver Introductions Las Vegas 2024.jpg, William Byron
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver File:Costin 2018.jpg, Dondi E. Costin
President of Liberty University File:2009 NCAA Freshman of the Year Seth Curry (cropped).jpg, Seth Curry,
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
File:Nick Foles Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LII Victory Parade (40140602902).jpg,
Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. A member of six teams, he achieved his greatest success wi ...

NFL
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
File:Bob Good 117th U.S Congress.jpg, Bob Good
U.S. Representative 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 ...
for Virginia's 5th congressional district File:Kevin Grantham.JPG, Kevin Grantham
Former president of the
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File:Senator Pete Kelly.jpg, Pete Kelly
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File:Vic Mignogna by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg,
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voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...
Rep. Troy Nehls official photo.jpg,
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for Texas's 22nd congressional district File:Tony Perkins 1.jpg, Tony Perkins
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Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against access ...
File:Samantha Steele at Iowa State.jpg, Samantha Ponder
Sportscaster File:Adrian Smith, official 110th Congress photo portrait.jpg, Adrian Smith
U.S. Representative 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 ...
for File:Phil Snyder.jpg, Phil Snyder
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voice actor and
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File:Jackie Walorski, official portrait, 113th Congress.jpg, Jackie Walorski
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for Indiana's 2nd congressional district


Notes


References


Further reading


Laats, Adam. 2018. Fundamentalist U. Oxford University Press.
*


External links

*
Standing for Freedom Center
{{Coord, 37.352, N, 79.180, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Universities and colleges established in 1971 Baptist Christianity in Virginia Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention Private universities and colleges in Virginia Evangelicalism in Virginia Opposition to same-sex marriage in the United States Osteopathic medical schools in the United States 1971 establishments in Virginia Conservatism in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in Virginia Jerry Falwell Aviation schools in the United States Universities and colleges in Lynchburg, Virginia Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States