Candidates to visit Liberty

Perry, Bachmann will speak in convocation

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will speak at Liberty University in convocation Wednesday, Sept. 14. The presidential candidate will be followed by rival candidate Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who is scheduled to address students on Sept. 28.

School of Law Dean Mat Staver said Liberty has always encouraged students to get involved in political and cultural issues and that both candidates had actually been invited prior to the current presidential campaign.

“The fact that both of these national leaders are speaking at Liberty indicates the importance of Liberty and the impact of our students, faculty and staff on the things that matter in America,” Staver said.

The school administration is attempting to schedule each candidate to speak at the School of Law or Helms School of Government in addition to their convocation appearances. Many presidential candidates have visited Liberty in the past, the most recent being Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (sent as a surrogate by President Obama) and Mike Huckabee, and Sarah Palin will be speaking at this fall’s Extraordinary Women’s Conference.

“One of the advantages of attending Liberty is that, because of our size and status as the world’s largest Christian university, we have the ability to attract national candidates to campus,” Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said.

Falwell said he had been planning to invite Governor Perry for a couple of years and did so last Spring when the governor had no plans to run for president in 2012.

“We had a pretty good idea that Rep. Bachmann would become a candidate when we invited her to speak this Summer but really did not expect Gov. Perry to enter the race at all,” Falwell said. “We are fortunate to now be hosting two of the leading candidates in the race for the Republican nomination. The timing was perfect for Liberty University!”

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