Liberty University News http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1 Official News Releases of Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia utf-8 ScareMare still going strong after 35 years http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=220 Oct 31, 2007  
Operating the “House of Death,” currently located on Carroll Avenue, takes thousands of volunteer hours and a cast of more than 200 Liberty University students.
 
Sponsored by the Center for Youth Ministry at Liberty, the evangelistic project produced 1,604 decisions for Christ this year with 352 in one night. Saturday, Oct. 27 marked the largest single night attendance in the history of ScareMare with 4,302 visitors, according to Dr. Steve Vandegriff, the Center for Youth Ministry’s executive director.]]> LU represented at Chick-Fil-A dodgeball tournament in Richmond, VA http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=217 Oct 29, 2007  
The team, comprised of four current resident assistants, one former resident assistant and two resident directors competed under the name “Jerry Jr.’s Boys.”
 
The team included Danny Lamonte, Tom Hinkley, Ben Baxley, Charley Peele, Kyle Mullett, Glenn Housden, and Josh Geisler.
 
Lamonte organized the team.
 
The Over 18 division of the tournament, one of the 10 largest in the United States, played on 23 separate courts.
 
Proceeds from the tournament will support relief efforts in Niger, Africa.
 
“While we were thrilled with our finish and had an incredible time, we were blessed even more by the opportunity to share our testimony directly on two separate occasions and by our encouragement throughout the day,” wrote Tom Hinkley, a member of the team, in an e-mail to LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr.]]> Surprise convocation message moved crowd to tears http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=216 Oct 24, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
If you talked with someone after last Friday’s convocation at the Vines Center, you probably heard comments like, “It
Two students watch Dr. Falwell video

Two students watch the Falwell video

was a surprise,” “It was very touching,” and “It made me cry.”
 
That’s because the message was delivered by a man who means so much to so many people at Liberty University and beyond: the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
 
Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. began the session by introducing the Board of Regents who were visiting for the weekend and by reading a newspaper column written by one of them after his Dad’s passing on May 15.
 
Falwell Jr. explained how an idea had emerged to have one of his father’s vintage talks played when the Board visited this year.
 
So, with most of the audience unaware of the plan and expecting to hear more from Falwell Jr., he turned the message over to a video recording of his father.
 
The fall 2005 convocation message from Dr. Falwell was rebroadcast on the huge screens. The message was titled, “Champions for Christ.” As one student remarked after convocation was over, “From sophomores to juniors, seniors and administration … they were all in tears. There was not a dry eye in the place. We knew Dr. Falwell. He was like a grandfather to everybody.”
 
Though originally delivered two years ago, the message was appropriate for students today. Falwell Sr. encouraged students to be visionaries and prayer warriors, to have convictions, to stay morally pure and to be a soul winner.
 
He posed the question: What is it that you really want to accomplish in your life?
 
“If you’re going to be a champion for Christ, you need to have some focus in your life,” Dr. Falwell said in the message. “You don’t need to just fill up space, get a degree here … you need instead to have some idea of where you’re going and God will show you a step at a time.”
 
In this message he shared his own faith journey from the moment he accepted Christ to starting Thomas Road Baptist Church as a young pastor. He also told how he won his own family to Christ and received the vision from God to reach Lynchburg for Christ, too.
 
“Never, never quit,” he said several times.
 
A second video clip was then shown from a sermon at TRBC in 2005 shortly after Dr. Falwell had a bout with heart problems. In this clip, he spoke about Heaven: “Heaven is a real place, where real people spend a real eternity.” He shared words of a favorite song that he said he wanted sung when he died, tearing up as he read the words about what Heaven will be like.
 
Campus pastor Johnnie Moore ended Friday’s convocation in prayer, recalling the day of Dr. Falwell’s death. “I was sitting in my car … and I thought that God has not just begun through this man something that will conclude on this day, but it’s just the beginning. There’s all the vision and the testimony of this place and of these people,” he said. “He is in that great cloud of witnesses at this moment and he’s looking down at all of us and he’s saying, ‘Change the world.’”]]> Liberty freshman puts the pedal to the metal in California http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=215 Oct 24, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Wearing fireproof clothing doesn’t usually equate to having fun, but that’s exactly what it means for 19-year-old Liberty University freshman and race car driver Stephen Berry.
Stephen Berry drives in California

Berry in action on the track


 
A Huddleston native, Berry began his racing career at age 14 behind the wheel of a professional Go-Kart and has recently advanced to NASCAR’s Busch East Series.
 
Berry participated in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale, Calif., this past weekend where he moved from 14th place to 7th by lap 50. The race was Berry’s most significant to date with 65 cars narrowed down to a field of 40 drivers from across the U.S. and beyond.
 
Fans had a chance to meet the drivers and Berry signed autographs and mingled with fans on the track in front of his No. 3 car, which was sponsored by LU. He also got to spend time with someone he’s a fan of — NASCAR legend and current Fox television racing commentator Darryl Waltrip. Berry was also interviewed by and featured on the Speed Channel telecast.
 
“It was a great race. We got a lot of great coverage for Liberty. … I was really surprised at how many alumni were there,” Berry said.
 
Regionally, Berry has raced in South Boston, Pulaski and Martinsville. Nationally, Liberty has sponsored his races in Mansfield, Ohio, Loudon, N.H., and Irwindale.
 
Berry, who says he loves racing because it allows him to be “on the edge of out of control,” sees his future in the driver seat in the Busch series with no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
 
The Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale will be broadcast on the SPEED channel at noon on Thursday, Oct. 25, according to the network Web site.
 ]]> LU fall enrollment sets record http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=214 Oct 19, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Liberty University residential and distance learning programs set enrollment records this fall.
 
The total number of students enrolled in university educational programs is now 28,180, according to figures released Friday by LU Registrar Larry Shackleton.
 
On campus, the residential enrollment topped the 10,000 mark for the first time. Officially, the university enrolled 10,511 residential students for the fall semester.
 
Last year, LU enrolled 9,584 residential students in fall 2006.
 
This year, residential students are taking 151,895 hours of course work compared to 139,072 in fall 2006.
 
A record 3,915 new students started classes on the school’s Lynchburg, Va., campus in August. The new students are taking a total of 16,500 credit hours of academic work.
 
The distance learning enrollment for fall is 17,669 compared to 10,662 last fall.
 
Distance learning students this year are taking 133,122 hours of instruction compared to 75,325 last year.]]> GLTC campus ridership nears 1 million mark http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=213 Oct 18, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Greater Lynchburg Transit Company buses have carried nearly one million passengers since beginning service on the Liberty University campus in January 2007.
 
More than 93,000 miles of bus service removed an estimated 800,000 miles of foot traffic between the school’s main, east and north campuses.
 
It also helped alleviate a countless number of vehicles that previously clogged the university’s road system, said Richard Martin, LU’s director of financial research and analysis.
 
GLTC now operates eight buses on campus throughout the day and early evening. While operating, the buses average about 102 passengers per hour.
 
During peak daylight hours, the per bus average reaches about 200 passengers an hour. During one hour in the early part of the fall semester, the buses carried a total of 1,849 passengers, an average of about 30 passengers per minute.
 
LU is projected to account for 60 percent of GLTC’s total ridership for the bus line’s 2007 reporting year.
 
LU accounts for 1.5 million of GLTC’s 2.5 million annual passengers.
 
Prior to January 2007, GLTC provided little service for the LU campus.
 
GLTC’s ridership already surpasses the individual public transit riderships of Roanoke, Charlottesville and Blacksburg, Martin said.
 
LU’s cost per ride has decreased from 81 cents to 47 cents with federal and state subsidies set to be applied next fiscal year.]]> Josh McDowell gets real with relationships http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=212 Oct 17, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Josh McDowellJosh McDowell, one of the world’s leaders in apologetics and a best-selling Christian author and speaker, took the stage at Liberty University’s Vines Center on Wednesday to talk about the importance of family and relationships.
 
McDowell, who has spoken to millions of teenagers and young adults in his 47-year career, aimed his message squarely at LU students who may soon be making decisions on marriage and raising children.
 
McDowell, whose multi-colored tennis shoes, white baggy pants, pink checkered shirt and dark suit coat were designed for a younger audience, has been married to his wife, Dottie, for 37 years. The couple has four children and two grandchildren.
 
Being on the road with a packed schedule is one of the biggest challenges of his job.
 
In addition to convocation, he is scheduled to speak at Campus Church at Thomas Road Baptist Church on Wednesday night and a seminar that is open to the community at TRBC on Thursday night.
 
A proud “Papa,” as his grandkids call him, McDowell said spending time away from his family is always hard.
 
“If you ever get used to being away from your family, you’re in trouble,” he said.
 
But McDowell counts his blessings on the road, as he is encouraged every time he hears someone tell him how his ministry has touched them.
 
Sitting comfortably on a sofa in a back room of the Vines Center, McDowell said a professor approached him minutes earlier and told him he had heard him speak once and had prayed to receive Christ. Another woman told him her husband had recently read one of his books and had prayed that same prayer.
 
That lets him know his time on the road is worth it.
 
“It’s about seeing changed lives,” he said.
 
McDowell is a changed life himself.
 
The man who once considered himself an agnostic was challenged by a group of Christian students and professors at Kellogg College in Michigan, where as a student, he began to explore the Christian faith.
 
It was during his pursuit to discredit the resurrection that he came upon historical evidence that convinced him that Christ must be real. He prayed for Jesus to come into his life and forgive his sins. He has been preaching this truth ever since — truth, that is, in the context of relationships.
 
McDowell brought this point home Wednesday morning, saying that seminaries that teach, ‘“Just preach the truth’ might as well close their doors.”
 
“Teaching the truth is not what turned the world upside down,” he said — it must also include a relationship, getting to know the person and showing them your love.
 
“That’s what brought me to Christ,” he said.
 
He said he saw that group of Christians “who loved and cared for people outside their group. … that love is what attracted me.”
 
In his message to LU students, McDowell’s words of the day were “relationship,” “beliefs” and “values.” He operated on the statement that “It’s the relationship that engenders beliefs that forms our values that drives our behavior.”
 
He got students’ attention by talking about pop culture icons such as Michael Jackson and Hugh Hefner who, McDowell pointed out, lacked a loving relationship with a parent — more specifically a father. He said if Hefner had “had a loving, healthy relationship with his father, there never would have been Playboy.”
 
He also talked about the story of teenager Amy Fisher, who was released from prison two years ago after serving 10 years for shooting the wife of a man with whom she’d had sexual relations. The married man, Joe Buttafuoco, was sentenced to 6 months for statutory rape of Fisher.
 
McDowell said Fisher was fascinated with the idea that Buttafuoco loved her. “We live in a world of confused relationships and what love is,” he said. McDowell said he has found in his 40 years of teaching that 98 percent of Christians can’t define what love is.
 
That’s why McDowell has spent so much time over the years with young people, trying to teach them the truth, but also giving out hugs along the way.
 
He said he has been able to keep the same message over the years, but has adapted “the presentation.”
 
When asked what his current project is, McDowell jokingly answered with one word: “Sex.”
 
He’s planning on doing more work and expanding on his popular book “Why Wait?”
 
McDowell has written more than 100 books and has spoken in 180 countries and to 10 million students. He is known for his books on youth culture and morality, including “Right From Wrong” and “The Disconnected Generation: Saving Our Youth From Self-Destruction.” His most popular contributions on apologetics are “New Evidence That Demands A Verdict” and “More Than a Carpenter.”
 
More about McDowell’s ministry can be found at www.josh.org.]]> LU law graduates score well on Virginia bar exam http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=211 Oct 17, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Liberty University School of Law is one step closer to permanent accreditation as results of the Virginia bar exam were announced at convocation on Wednesday.
 
Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said 83 percent of the LU law students who took the exam passed it. LU’s law school had its first graduating class in May.
 
“That rate is better than most of the other law schools in the state that have been there for hundreds of years,” Falwell said.
 
Statewide, the average passing rate for other schools taking the bar exam was 72 percent.
 
In May, LU graduated 50 law students. Eighteen of them took the Virginia bar exam and 27 took bar exams in other states.
 
Five of the May graduates are waiting to take bar exams after the first of the year.
 
Falwell congratulated Mat Staver, the law school’s dean, who said he was surprised by the announcement.
 
“It really puts us on the map,” Staver said. “Usually a brand new law school is passing the bar at a 30 to 40 percent passage rate. We’re right now competing with the University of Virginia.”
 
LU School of Law was started in the fall of 2004 and received provisional accreditation. A factor in determining how fast a school receives permanent accreditation is how well its first graduating class does on the bar exam.]]> Dr. Falwell honored at Stand in the Gap 2007 http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=210 Oct 9, 2007  
Falwell, who died May 15, was given a place on a virtual Wall of Honor, an online remembrance and recognition of Christian leaders.
 
Falwell was the founder of both Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church.
 
Among others honored were William Wilberforce, General William Booth, D.L. Moody, Dr. Edwin Louis Cole and Dr. Bill Bright.
 
Stand in the Gap 2007, which was held on the grounds of the Washington Monument, called men to prayer and worship of Jesus Christ and love and service to their fellow man.
 
The event marked the 10th year anniversary of the inaugural Stand in the Gap rally, a Promise Keeper event that took place in Oct. 1997. Another Stand in the Gap is planned for October 2017.]]> Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.'s letter announces magazine launch http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=209 Oct 8, 2007  
It has been a while since you have received the National Liberty Journal. In a few days, you will receive the next edition in the mail.
 Stacks of the Liberty Journal

Stacks of the Liberty Journal await finishing

You will immediately notice that the National Liberty Journal has a new name — simply, the Liberty Journal — and a new look. Since my father’s passing in May, we have considered how we can best fulfill his vision for Liberty University. We were asked if LU would continue to publish the NLJ. My father was personally involved with the Journal. He spent many hours each month editing and proofreading every article and every advertisement. He spent many Saturdays in the office with Mark Smith and Laura Sipple of the NLJ staff compiling new editions. The paper was truly one of his passions in life. When each new edition was delivered to the LU campus, he would proudly hand-deliver copies of the NLJ to many of us at the University as well as to everyone else in his extended family. Because my father was so intimately involved in the production of the NLJ, some thought that it would be the most difficult part of this ministry to continue. We pondered our options and decided that, not only should the NLJ continue, but it should be upgraded. We have invested in a new format that we hope will make the Journal more convenient for you to read and share with others. Our goal is to not only provide coverage of national issues affecting Christians and churches across the country, but also to provide more detailed coverage of events here at LU for our alumni and supporters.
  
Ron Brown has been a reporter at The News & Advance here in Lynchburg for the last few years. When he was assigned to cover news from Liberty in 2004, he told us that he felt it was his calling from God to document the legacy of Liberty. Ron attended Rosalind Hills Baptist Church in nearby Roanoke and had been a Christian for many years, but we were skeptical at first because our relationship with the local press had not always been harmonious. Over time, Ron proved that he was determined to be fair and accurate in all his reporting on Liberty. He was also tenacious, calling my father, me and others here at Liberty almost daily for updates on anything happening that might be of public interest. Ron did such an excellent job of documenting what was occurring that we began to copy all of his articles and present them to the Board of Trustees at their annual meetings. The last such presentation occurred in March of 2007 and the book of articles presented to the board was almost 2 inches thick! It then occurred to us that all these exciting events at LU were not being reported to our larger national audience of alumni and supporters.
 
Ron joined the Journal staff in August as executive editor along with former News & Advance copy editor Tara Maxwell, who serves as the Journal’s managing editor. Mark Smith will continue with the Journal as the editorial page editor. All other staff members are continuing in their former role. Thank you to all of our staff who have invested many hours in this first issue of the Liberty Journal.
 
One of our primary goals will be to keep you better informed about the many exciting developments and blessings from God here at LU. While the most enjoyable aspect of my new position as Chancellor has been working more closely with our wonderful students and getting to know them better, I have also thoroughly enjoyed working on the Journal. Finally, I want to thank my wife, Becki, an avid magazine reader, for her valuable advice and input. We also invite your comments and suggestions when you receive your copy.
 
Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Chancellor]]> Students encouraged to cast their votes http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=208 Oct 3, 2007 Liberty Journal

The right to vote for all U.S. citizens was a hard-fought victory that every Liberty University student is encouraged to exercise, even those far from home.
 
Although a lot has changed since past chairman of the Lynchburg Republican Party Wendell Walker was a Liberty student in the 1970s, Walker told students during Wednesday’s convocation, “One thing that has not changed is the opportunity for you to become a great citizen and make a difference in the cultural war being fought in our country.” 
 
Walker said he asked Dr. Falwell, years ago, what he could do as a country boy from south Georgia. Falwell told him to concentrate on Christian conservative voters that could make a difference in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
 
“You can make a difference. One vote sometimes can change the direction of history. So please do not miss the opportunity to become a registered voter,” Walker said. Walker encouraged students to register online and request absentee ballots.
 
“Some states you are from may have very important elections, some may be very close. You are the ones who can request an absentee ballot sent to you here at Liberty to be able to vote if you can’t travel home for elections in November.”
 
In Virginia, Walker said, “We’re in a tough battle to keep the majority in the General Assembly. Sen (Steve) Newman, R-Forest, needs help in keeping the majority in the Senate, because he is a pro-life, family values representative who cares about the passion we share and cares about the direction of the Commonwealth.”
 
For Virginia residents the deadline to register to vote for November elections is Tuesday, Oct. 9. Visit the Virginia State Board of Elections Web site for information and necessary forms.
 
LU Chancellor Jr. Falwell Jr. encouraged students to vote in upcoming elections and reminded them to read the Liberty Champion.
 
“The next issue of the Liberty Champion will carry three stories The News & Advance did this summer about why it’s important for Liberty students to vote in the City of Lynchburg. It was one of the last interviews my dad did and a project he was working on. It really is important,” Falwell said.
 
Falwell also announced that former LU student Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council is holding a Voter Values Summit in Washington, Oct. 19 through 21, with all the Republican presidential candidates in attendance. Students can attend the event at a discounted rate.]]> TRBC listed among nation's top churches http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=207 Oct 3, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Thomas Road Baptist Church has been listed among the largest and fastest growing churches in the nation in a special edition of Outreach Magazine.
 
According to a listing released Tuesday, TRBC is the eighth largest and seventh fastest growing church in the United States. It also experienced the largest increase of any church on the magazine's fastest-growing list.
 
Hundreds of people have joined the church since the Rev. Jonathan Falwell took the reigns of leadership that his father, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, held from the time of the church’s 1956 founding until his death on May 15.
 
Over the summer and early fall more than 1,000 new members have joined the church. More than 700 people have made salvation decisions and more than 450 have been baptized.
 
Since TRBC moved into its new worship center on the Liberty University campus in July 2006, a total of 4,750 new members have joined the church, an increase of about 37 percent.
 
“Dad started this church years ago to reach out to this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” the Rev. Jonathan Falwell said. “He remained faithful to that mission. That continues to be our primary mission. We have seen God do incredible things over the past two years. The period of growth that we’ve had has just been stunning.”]]> Gary Bauer rallies troops at Convocation http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=206 Oct 1, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Liberty University students were called to the frontlines of the Culture Wars Monday by Gary Bauer, former Republican presidential candidate and founder of the non-profit educational organization American Values. Introduced by the Rev. Jonathan Falwell as “a hero for the Christian faith,” Bauer told the students gathered at the Vines Center for convocation that they were not merely college students.
 
“You are in boot camp here,” he said. “You’re being trained to go to the frontlines of a war … a war of ideas, fought out in letters to the editor columns in newspapers … on Election Day all over the United States …”
 
“Jerry Falwell fought this conflict all of his life. He left this university behind; now his sons have stepped up to make the case in this great debate.”
 
That debate, he said, is between two worldviews: the view that Americans’ right to freedom is about doing “whatever makes you feel good,” versus the founding fathers’ ideas that there is “ordered liberty under God.”
 
Bauer said it is a battle that “someone will win.”
 
“When an unborn child has no more rights than a Styrofoam cup, someone’s values have won,” he said.
 
Bauer shared his pro-life stance several times and received applause, the loudest coming when he responded to a student’s question on the 2008 Presidential Election.
 
He reminded Christian voters that the country is one vote away on the U.S. Supreme Court “from stopping abortion on-demand.”
 
He said if a conservative is put in the White House, in a couple of years, “You are going to read a headline: ‘Court Overturns Roe, Finds Right to Life.’”
 
When asked about his stance on stem cell research, Bauer said that when it comes to the point where embryos are created for the purpose of research, that is “a slippery slope that would result in great horrors in our lifetime.”
 
Bauer also shared his story of success, from his beginnings as a son of a janitor in northern Kentucky, to working for Ronald Reagan’s administration as domestic policy advisor.
 
He challenged students to “dream big dreams” like he did and to “bring the country back to Godly values.”
 
“We need you,” he said, commenting on his more than 30 years in Washington. “You can’t be AWOL in this war.”]]> Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. announces new contribution http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=205 Sep 26, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Wednesday that the school will receive the majority of a $1.5 million estate of a 101-year-old retired railroad worker.
 
Falwell made the announcement in a convocation service at the Vines Center on the LU campus.
 
Students gave the donor, Oliver Durbin, who lives in a small town in Nebraska, a standing ovation after the gift was announced.
 
“He lived frugally, saved his money and was married for 61 years,” Falwell said. “He had never heard of Liberty and had no prior connection. When someone mentioned Liberty to him, he said he could die in peace knowing his assets will be used in training young champions for Christ.”
 
Falwell said the school’s estate planning department is having a banner year in obtaining contributions.
 
“Last year, they had brought in about $900,000 by this date in trusts and gift annuities,” he said. “This year, we have brought in $4.8 million.”
 
In addition to the gift announced Wednesday, the university earlier this month was given Lynchburg’s The Plaza shopping center by Sandor Development Co., a Scottsdale, Ariz., firm. The shopping center has an assessed value of $11.7 million.
 
Falwell said he considers the contributions as gifts from God.
 
“There’s a groundswell of support for Liberty,” he said. “God is just blessing Liberty in ways that we just never expected.”]]> Liberty Athletics development reaches $1 million in fundraising http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=203 Sep 19, 2007  
The Flames Club began in 1979 and is the grass-roots booster club for the Liberty University Athletics Department. Funds contributed through the annual fund help to meet the operational needs of the athletics program. Membership begins at $50, with ascending levels up to $10,000. Members can receive preferred seating, parking and pre-game dining privileges, based upon contribution level. Membership is annual, and donors can also refuse benefits for tax purposes.
 
As recently as 2004, the Flames Club annual fund total had never been higher than $53,000. A new record was reached in 2006, when the annual fund total reached $243,000, contributed by 281 members. As of Sept. 16, 2007, the Flames Club had 275 members, who had donated a total of $284,000, breaking the 2006 record with three-and-a-half months remaining in the fiscal year.
 
Capital gifts are donated to help construct new facilities or improve existing ones. Capital gifts do not result in Flames Club benefits for the donor, but can result in naming-rights opportunities. Gifts can range from $1,000 to name a locker to seven-figure gifts to build a new facility. Total year-to-date capital gifts are $718,000, compared to just $75,000 at the end of 2006.
 
The combined total for the Flames Club annual fund and capital gifts this year-to-date exceeds the $1 million plateau. These totals do not include contributions from the 750-member Student Flames Club, designed for resident undergraduate students, or the 200-member Flames Kids Club, comprised of kids age 14 and under.
 
Bob Good, Director of Athletics Development & Flames Club, pointed to key personnel in the athletics department who have changed the culture as the reason for the recent increase in contributions.
 
"Obviously, hiring Danny Rocco in December of 2005 created a new era of enthusiasm and optimism for Liberty Football and Liberty Athletics in general. As a result, people have responded by partnering with us through their financial support. We have seen a significant increase in new donors. At the same time, many of our long-term donors are increasing their gifts in a renewed commitment to the shared sacrifice that is required to take our program to the highest level."
 
Good went on to echo the often-heard statement by Director of Athletics, Jeff Barber, that they fully expect recent hires Ritchie McKay and Jim Toman to have the same kind of impact on the men's basketball and baseball programs, respectively.
 
When Barber stepped on campus 19 months ago, he brought a new vision for Liberty Athletics. Poised with the experience and knowledge to execute that vision, from increased attendance, improvement of facilities, to the efficiency and professionalism of operations as evidence, Barber and his staff have set a standard of excellence and cultivated an environment for success.
 
For all of the progress made thus far, Good said this is just the beginning. "Our short-term goal is to reach $500,000 in Flames Club annual fund giving and then work our way to over $1 million in contributions, apart from capital gifts. The best in FCS football are raising $2-3 million in annual fund donations and we have to compete with them in that arena as we also compete with them on the field."
 
For more information about the Flames Club and contributing to Liberty Athletics, call 434-582-2178, e-mail FlamesClub@Liberty.edu, or visit www.LibertyFlames.com.]]> Woman makes quilt as tribute to Dr. Falwell http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=202 Sep 21, 2007 Liberty Journal

Kim Payne didn’t plan on a specific pattern for the quilt she began sewing three and a half years ago as a token of gratitude to Dr. Jerry Falwell, but a heart shape emerged.
 
The quilt, named “Jerry’s Heart,” was presented to Macel Falwell on Friday at the Carter Glass mansion as construction continued on the nearby burial garden containing Dr. Falwell’s grave.
 
Dr. Falwell, the founder of both Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church, died May 15.
 
“It was the least that I could do. I was in awe of a man of his stature taking the time to say hello,” Payne said. “As much power and influence as Dr. Falwell had, he cared about everyone … he truly had a heart for people and he mirrored the heart of God so well.”
 
Payne, whose son Joey is a member of the Flames football team, said she met Dr. Falwell while working as a training manager at a local fast-food restaurant on a day she was normally not required to work.
 
She had gone through some family turmoil. Joey had his sights set on attending Virginia Tech, although Payne was hoping God would intervene and he would choose to attend Liberty. Dr. Falwell told her he would guarantee Joey’s acceptance into LU and put him on the fast track.
 
Now Joey is in his fourth year at LU.
 
“I will never ever forget what (Dr. Falwell) did. He touched our lives and changed them forever,” Payne said.
 
In the past, Payne made quilts for several LU students with special needs, and much of the material that went into “Jerry’s Heart” was from those quilts. Macel Falwell said Friday that she will treasure the quilt. “For somebody to sit there and sew this, I just can’t imagine it,” she said.]]> Liberty offers free education to wounded service members and veterans http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=201 Sep 17, 2007 Liberty University
 
Through its Heroes Fund Scholarship, Liberty University has awarded $37,968 within the past year to U.S. military service members and veterans who were wounded in the Gulf Wars, as well as to spouses of soldiers who were killed in action during these conflicts. This includes men and women who served in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
 
Introduced in the fall of 2006, the Heroes Fund Scholarship is made possible through Liberty’s partnership with a vast number of generous outside donors. Awards provide students an amount to cover all remaining tuition and fees once financial aid, military aid and Veteran Affairs benefits have been deducted from the total cost.
 
Thirty-two Liberty students are currently approved to receive this scholarship, while twelve of these students are actively utilizing funds from this scholarship.
 
“As a university, Liberty is so proud of the American men and women who have knowingly risked their lives to protect the freedoms that we hold dear — the very freedoms that allow Liberty to function and grow as a great university,” said Liberty University’s Chancellor and President, Jerry Falwell Jr. “Our desire through this scholarship is to honor these brave men and women who have sacrificed so much, as well as the spouses of men and women who lost their lives during their time in service.”
 
Theresa Latham, a Heroes Fund Scholarship recipient and Liberty distance learning student earning her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, was widowed when her husband, SSG Ronald Richerson, was killed in action while serving as a military policeman in Somalia in 1993.
 
“When I heard that knock at my door at 6 a.m. … I knew that I had lost my husband in the war,” said Latham. “But the Lord sent so many amazing people to comfort me and minister to me in my days of hurting. And now, He sent [Liberty]. Thank you for understanding the sacrifice that my husband made. And thank you for helping me to pursue a dream.”
 
Injured while serving in Iraq, Army Reservist Colin Pilch received the Heroes Fund Scholarship this fall, allowing him to continue pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration as a Liberty resident student. “Receiving this scholarship is just a blessing. Financially, I don’t think I would have otherwise been able to finish my degree.”
 
Virginia Sen. Steve Newman shares his support for the efforts of Liberty University to offer the Heroes Fund Scholarship to the most deserving men and women who have laid their lives on the line to preserve our freedom and protection. “The Heroes Fund Scholarship is an opportunity for these wounded soldiers [as well as the spouses of those soldiers who lost their lives while in service] to earn — free of charge — an education that will help them achieve their personal goals and provide for their families,” said Sen. Newman.
 
“Dr. Falwell had a special place in his heart for every soldier,” said Dr. Ronald Godwin, Liberty’s Executive Vice President. “We wanted to see to it that any soldier wounded defending our freedom had the opportunity to get a Christian education. We are honored and humbled to have heroes among us on the campus [as well as through our Distance Learning Program] here at Liberty University.”
 
For more information or to apply for the Heroes Fund Scholarship, please contact Emily Foutz, Liberty University’s Director of Military Affairs, by calling (434) 592-3805 or emailing efoutz@liberty.edu.]]> LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. announces land acquisition http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=198 Sep 7, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
An Arizona real estate development firm has agreed to donate Lynchburg’s The Plaza shopping center to Liberty University, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Friday.
 
Falwell’s announcement came during convocation at LU’s Vines Center.
 
“Our target closing date is Sept. 30,” Falwell Jr. said.
 
The Plaza’s 42-acre site and its 467,000 square feet of buildings have an assessed tax value of $11.7 million. The shopping center’s current owner, Sandor Development Co. of Scottsdale, Ariz., has signed the agreement formalizing the donation.
 
Falwell Jr. said the donation and LU’s involvement could provide a shot in the arm for Lynchburg’s Midtown development plan.
 
Currently, less than half of The Plaza’s floor space is occupied by tenants.
 
The city has been working for several years to revitalize the shopping center and its surrounding area. That plan will enhance the road corridors serving that section of the city.
 
“The city’s Midtown Connector (road) project will make it easy for two or three hundred LU employees to move in,” Falwell Jr. said. “The value of the gift is the vacant space, really. “It gives us space to house some of the offices that don’t have to be here on campus. Any space we free up on campus can be used for faculty offices and classrooms. It just means that we can accommodate more students, and we have more space before we will have to build new classroom buildings. That’s the real benefit of the gift.”
 
Falwell said there will be an ongoing evaluation of the property.
 
“We’re looking at the condition of all the buildings and the property and evaluating all the costs we might incur,” he said.
 
The gift will include the shopping center and all its outparcels, including buildings that house a movie theater, a McDonalds and a 73,000-square-foot building that formerly housed a Rose’s department store.
 
Falwell said the university will continue to lease the shopping center to its current tenants.
 
“We intend to honor all the leases that are already in place,” he said. “It appears there is enough income there to cover all the costs.”
 
The old Rose’s building is a particularly attractive site for retrofitting as office space for some of the distance learning program’s employees. It could house distance learning program admissions counselors, academic counselors and financial counselors.
 
As the distance learning program grows, more employees will be needed.
 
“The distance learning program is quickly outgrowing the space it has now,” Falwell said. “In addition to DLP, there are some other offices that could be relocated.”
 
The Plaza gift is the second major land contribution received by LU in Lynchburg in the past several years.
 
“It seems that Liberty always receives real estate gifts,” Falwell Jr. said.
 
In 2004, Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts firm, donated an 888,000-square-foot Lynchburg Ericsson plant to LU. That plant now serves as LU’s Campus North.
 
The Plaza deal began early this spring when a Sandor official contacted Rusty Smallwood of LU’s estate planning department.
 
“They told Rusty that they would like to donate the shopping center to Liberty University,” Falwell Jr. said.
 
After receiving the call, Smallwood contacted former LU Chancellor, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
 
“Dad indicated he was interested in accepting the gift, mainly because we need a place to house the distance learning program offices off campus and free up room here for classrooms.” Falwell Jr said.
 
The senior Falwell personally talked to Sandor officials for a couple of weeks before turning the negotiations over to Falwell Jr. to complete.
 
“He told me to work toward closing the transaction.” Falwell Jr. said.
 
The deal was on again and off again over the spring.
 
On May 14, the day before Falwell Sr. died, Falwell Jr. received an e-mail from Sandor saying it was ready to move forward with the shopping center donation.
 
“I forwarded that e-mail to Dad at about 8 p.m. and he was excited to hear that the deal was back on,” Falwell Jr. said. “We talked about two or three other positive things that were in the works. I told him, ‘You need to take care of yourself, so you’ll be around to see it.”
 
“I really do, don’t I?” Falwell Sr. replied.
 
The next morning, Falwell Sr. was found unresponsive in his office and was pronounced dead at Lynchburg General Hospital, just four days before LU’s spring graduation.
 
“We are just thrilled to see that (the gift) is taking place now,” Falwell Jr. said.]]> Extraordinary Women converge at LU http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=204 Sep 24, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
Over the weekend, Liberty University’s Vines Center was overflowing with women — extraordinary women that is.
 
The Extraordinary Women Conference played host to over 8,000 Christian women from all over the United States and featured authors, prominent Christian leaders, and nationally-known Christian music talent including Avalon, Charles Billingsley and Michael O’Brien.
 
Speakers including Gloria Gaither, Kay Arthur, Angela Thomas, Chonda Pierce and Jennifer Rothschild spoke on topics ranging from plastic surgery and Britney Spears to cheese crackers and living with blindness.
 
The speakers focused on an underlying message of trusting in the Lord and making the most of every day to serve Him.
 
The conference theme, Beautiful In His Eyes, was reflected throughout the speeches in stories of personal trials and the thorns and ashes every woman bears.
 
“It’s the way we live, not the way we look that makes us beautiful in the eyes of God,” Arthur said.]]> Drs. Tim and Beverly LaHaye honored for contributions http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=-1&newsid=200 Sep 10, 2007 Liberty Journal
 
As a spirited video montage illustrated at Monday’s convocation, student life at Liberty University has been greatly enriched by the generous gifts and commitment of Drs. Tim and Beverly LaHaye.
 
From a wide array of amenities at the LaHaye Student Center and the LaHaye Ice Center to the years of service on the Liberty University Board of Trustees, the LaHayes have made invaluable contributions to Liberty.
 
In honor of their contributions, the couple was awarded an engraved eagle as a token of appreciation from the Liberty University community Monday at the Vines Center.
 
In addition to being a best-selling world-renown author, Dr. Tim LaHaye founded the Moral Majority with Dr. Jerry Falwell, established many Christian schools and served at churches throughout the United States.
 
Dr. Tim LaHaye co-authored the ‘Left Behind’ series, the No. 1 selling Christian fiction series, and has written over 50 fiction and non-fiction books. Dr. Beverly LaHaye is the founder of Concerned Women for America and has written several books as well as co-authored works with her husband and others.
 
Dr. Tim LaHaye, who has two grandsons currently attending LU, said that he and his wife consider it an honor to be part of the university and that his goal is to give prospective students every reason to attend LU.
 
“We are convinced that Liberty University provides the best preparation for life,” he said.
 
According to Dr. Tim LaHaye, life is a series of decisions, whether good or bad and the most important decision is to trust in God to make these decisions and acknowledge the Lord to direct your path.
 
“When you acknowledge Him in the decisions of life, you can outperform your natural capabilities,” said LaHaye.
 
To cement his point, LaHaye told the story of meeting his wife by a chance seating arrangement in school and crafting a successful writing career in the face of mediocre academic achievement.
 
He ended his address with a message that he said has served him well, “God is no man’s debtor and you’ll never be sorry for committing yourself to Him.”]]>