LEADERSHIP HONOR
Liberty University President Dondi E. Costin was presented the 2024 Leadership Achievement Award by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates. The award exemplifies the Air Force core values of “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.” Costin 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 Air Force Chief of Chaplains.
TOP TEACHER
Professor of Psychology Dr. Brianne Friberg was honored in May with the Conference USA Faculty Achievement Award for outstanding teaching, research, service, and scholarly work. She has contributed to the area of developmental science with emphases on risk, resilience, and developmental disorders. Her research with students has included parenting, cumulative risk, and college student well-being.
PROFESSOR EMERITUS
After over 15 years of teaching at Liberty University School of Law, F. Philip Manns Jr. was named the school’s first professor emeritus. The title was awarded during the law school’s Commencement degree presentation ceremony on May 10.
FULBRIGHT SPECIALISTS
David Leffler (left), a discovery and access librarian at the Jerry Falwell Library, served as a Fulbright Specialist at the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology in Namangan, Uzbekistan, last fall, where he helped modernize the institute’s library. Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Christopher Rhoades (right) served as a Fulbright Specialist last spring at Metropolitan University in Budapest, Hungary, where he led a workshop on human behavior in cross-cultural engagement.
COURT TRAINING
Professor of Psychology Dr. Brian Kelley has helped inform practices for addressing substance use disorder and mental illness in Virginia’s judicial system by creating training curriculum for the specialty dockets, including the recovery court, family court, veterans court, and mental health court. He has traveled to the Supreme Court of Virginia in Richmond to work with judges and other administrators.
PRESERVING HISTORY
Angela Rice, dean of the Jerry Falwell Library, was appointed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to the State Historical Record Advisory Board to assist in the preservation, organization, and accessibility of historical state records.
FINANCE AWARD
School of Law Dean Dr. Timothy Todd received the 2024 Best Research Award from the Financial Planning Association in April for his contributions to advancing financial planning practitioners and the profession. He also received the award in 2023.
LITERARY REVIEW
An article by Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Dr. Song (Joseph) Cho titled “The Protoevangelium in John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’” was accepted for publication in the journal “Steinbeck Review” from Penn State University Press.
FOCUS ON SAFETY
Chief of Police Gerald Irwin (top) and Director of Emergency Management & Community Engagement Jeffrey Hurtak were keynote speakers at the University of Notre Dame’s Unified Response Symposium in June. They showcased Liberty’s innovative approach to public safety and emergency response during large-scale events and how it has positioned the university as a national leader among higher education institutions.
