President of Liberty University
Dondi E. Costin, Ph.D.
Major General, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
President, Liberty University
Dr. Dondi Costin began serving as Liberty University’s sixth president on July 1, 2023. He returned to Liberty, his alma mater, after five years as president of Charleston Southern University. He is a retired Major General with 36 years of service in a military career that culminated as a senior leader in the Pentagon, where he served as the eighteenth Air Force Chief of Chaplains.
Dr. Costin is a native of Wilmington, N.C., and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986. He then served successively as an industrial engineer evaluating air-to-ground precision guided munitions, chief of scientific analysis on a major command headquarters staff, and assistant professor of aerospace studies at Texas Christian University. After ten years as a line officer, he became an Air Force chaplain in 1996.
An ordained Southern Baptist minister, he was endorsed by the Liberty Baptist Fellowship during his 22 years as a chaplain. His chaplain assignments included service as Air Force Basic Military Training chaplain, senior flightline chaplain for both special operations and conventional forces in England, readiness instructor/evaluator preparing Chaplain Corps personnel for worldwide deployment, Air Staff branch chief, wing chaplain in Germany, senior chaplain for the air component mission in Southwest Asia, senior chaplain for Pacific Air Forces, and Air Force Chief of Chaplains.
As Chief of Chaplains, he established guidance and provided advice on all matters pertaining to the religious and moral welfare of Air Force personnel and their families. He led an Air Force Chaplain Corps of 2,000 chaplains and Religious Affairs Airmen and was the senior pastor for more than 664,000 personnel. As chairman of the Armed Forces Chaplain Board, he advised the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on religious, ethical, and quality-of-life concerns for the entire U.S. military.
He assumed the presidency of Charleston Southern University (CSU) immediately following his military career. CSU flourished as an unapologetically Christian university under Costin’s leadership, which featured an award-winning response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and recognition as the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Business of the Year. He also helped launch the university’s first two doctoral programs, the state’s only four-year aviation program, the Dewey Center for Chaplaincy, and the Strack Center for Global Leadership and Ministry. New student enrollment increased 20 percent during Dr. Costin’s tenure, and CSU Athletics enjoyed its best year in university history.
Shortly after stepping into his role as Liberty University’s president in 2023, Dr. Costin implemented a collaborative initiative to gather insights and feedback from the university community to help create a strategic plan for 2024-29. Using the feedback from surveys and environmental scans, he and his team assessed the school’s current status as a leading Christian institution of higher education and identified growth opportunities with an unremitting dependency on God’s divine guidance for the future of the university. As the “minder of the mission, keeper of the culture, and steward of the strategy,” his intention of making Liberty the best Christian workplace possible stems from his commitment to Liberty’s founding mission of Training Champions for Christ.
Since his first week, Dr. Costin has become a familiar face on campus and one of Liberty’s greatest fans. Whether it’s Move-In Week, the Block Party, or a normal day between classes, he and his wife, Vickey, are welcomed with enthusiasm wherever they go. He supports the students in their endeavors inside and outside the classroom, encouraging their ideas and passions at every opportunity. Leading by example, he has joined students, faculty, and staff in serving others by joining LU Serve projects, such as Serve Lynchburg and hurricane cleanup in Florida.
Not only is Dr. Costin a strong leader and advocate, but he also serves as a spiritual leader for the Liberty community. He has spoken at Convocation and Campus Community, where he has encouraged students to live for Christ, and introduced a quarterly Convocation for faculty and staff as an opportunity to worship the Lord together and be encouraged in their work for Him.
Dr. Costin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in operations research from the United States Air Force Academy and graduate degrees from Liberty University (M.A. in counseling), Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (M.A. in religion), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Air Command and Staff College (Master of Military Operational Art and Science), Air War College (Master of Strategic Studies), and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min in evangelism and church growth; Ph.D. in leadership).
Dr. Costin has received the U.S. Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award and the Military Chaplains Association Distinguished Service Award as Air Force Chaplain of the Year, led his chapel team to recognition as the Air Force Outstanding Large Chapel Organization of the Year, was twice named one of Charleston’s 50 Most Influential People, has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and was commissioned as a Colson Fellow in 2023.
His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Gallant Unit Citation, Kosovo Campaign Medal, three Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Korean Defense Service Medal, and NATO Medal.
He has been married to Vickey for more than 35 years. Vickey earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Education degree from Texas Christian University. Her career as a public elementary school music teacher spanned more than 23 years and included teaching assignments in six states.