Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, US
Liberty University Former names
Lynchburg Baptist College (1971–1976) Liberty Baptist College (1976–1984) Motto "Knowledge Aflame"[ 1] Type Private university Established 1971; 53 years ago (1971 ) Founder Jerry Falwell Sr. Elmer L. Towns Accreditation SACS Religious affiliation
Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention )Academic affiliation
NAICU Endowment $2.1 billion (2022)[ 2] [ 3] Chancellor Jonathan Falwell President Dondi E. Costin Provost Scott Hicks Academic staff
735 full-time, 3,075 part-time (fall 2022)[ 4] Students 96,709 (fall 2022)[ 4] Undergraduates 48,906 (fall 2022)[ 4] Postgraduates 47,803 (fall 2022)[ 4] Location , , United States
Campus Small city[ 6] , 7,000 acres (28 km2 )[ 5] Newspaper The Liberty Champion Colors Navy blue, white, and red[ 7] Nickname Liberty Flames and Lady Flames Sporting affiliations
Mascot Sparky the Eagle Website www .liberty .edu
Liberty University (LU ), known simply as Liberty , is a private evangelical Christian [ 8] university in Lynchburg, Virginia . It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention ). 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.[ 9] [ 10]
Liberty University consists of 17 colleges, including the Helms School of Government and the Rawlings School of Divinity.[ 11] [ 12] Most of its enrollment is in online courses ;[ 13] [ 14] in 2020, the university enrolled about 15,000 in its residential program and 80,000 online.[ 15] [ 16] Liberty's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Liberty Flames . Their athletics program joined Conference USA as a full member in 2023.[ 17]
The university requires undergraduate students to take three Evangelical Bible-studies classes.[ 18] Its honor code , called the "Liberty Way", prohibits premarital sex , cohabitation , any kind of romantic relationship between members of the same sex,[ 19] and alcohol use.[ 20] [ 21] Liberty University has been described as a "bastion of the Christian right ", playing a prominent role in Republican politics under Falwell and his son and successor Jerry Falwell Jr. [ 22]
^ "Liberty University Quick Facts" . Liberty.edu . Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2016 .
^ Moody, Josh (October 2, 2018). "Liberty University passes $3B in gross assets, report says it generates more than $1B annually in economic activity" . The News and Advance . Retrieved March 8, 2024 .
^ Andrews, Kate (March 1, 2023). "Liberty to pay off $189M in bonds early" . Virginia Business . Retrieved March 8, 2024 .
^ a b c d "College Navigator – Liberty University" . nces.ed.gov .
^ "Rankings" . usnews.com . Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2019 .
^ "College Navigator - Liberty University" . nces.ed.gov .
^ "Colors & Fonts" . Liberty University. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019 .
^ Team, LUCMS (July 11, 2023). "What We Believe | Liberty University's Mission and Values" . Liberty University Residential . Retrieved September 9, 2023 .
^ McDonald, Michael (February 26, 2013). "God a Click Away as Web Courses Fuel Falwell's College" . Bloomberg Business . Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017 .
^ Jenkins, Jack (April 27, 2018). "Liberty University is no longer the largest Christian university" . Religion News Service . Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018 .
^ "Liberty University's Rawlings School of Divinity" . Liberty.edu. Retrieved February 28, 2022 .
^ "Liberty University Quick Facts – About Liberty – Liberty University" . Liberty.edu . Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2019 .
^ "Liberty University is a private, non-profit Christian university" . Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017 .
^ Montet, Virginie (March 10, 2010). "US creationists unswayed by evolution exhibition" . The Daily Telegraph . London. ISSN 0307-1235 . Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
^ "Jerry Falwell Jr. relishes new fight for Donald Trump as Liberty University peaks" . Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018 .
^ Chumney, Richard (October 3, 2020). "Liberty University enrollment spikes, despite statewide drop in new college students" . News & Advance . Retrieved August 23, 2021 .
^ "Liberty Moving to Conference USA for 2023-24 Season" .
^ MacGillis, Alec (April 17, 2018). "How Liberty University Built a Billion-Dollar Empire Online" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
^ The Liberty Way liberty.edu October 2022
^ Boorstein, Michelle (March 25, 2015). "Here's why Liberty University has become a pilgrimage site for GOP candidates" . The Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286 . Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
^ Strauss, Valerie (October 30, 2015). "The world's largest Christian university relaxes some rules for students" . The Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286 . Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
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