One of the national credit rating agencies recently released an article that detailed the difficulties many smaller Christian colleges in the United States are experiencing in recruiting new students.
The senior rating analyst quoted in the piece visited Liberty’s campus to rate Liberty University’s proposed bond issue the same week I read the article. In our meetings with the analyst, I explained how Liberty’s mission among Christian colleges and universities had always been unique. I explained how the colleges referenced in the article all were founded with the expectation that they would remain relatively small and would provide a very focused educational experience for their students. Liberty, on the other hand, was founded with the vision and goal of becoming just the opposite — a comprehensive world-class university for evangelical Christian young people.
By distinguishing itself as the only conservative evangelical Christian university that provides a wide variety of academic offerings, NCAA Division I athletics, a great number of student activities and world-class facilities, Liberty has avoided the recruiting challenges now being faced by many smaller Christian colleges that all offer very similar academic programs and student experiences. Liberty’s unique blend of diverse course studies, online and traditional education delivery methods, NCAA athletics and a strong Christian mission have even attracted students of other faiths who share similar values.
Many universities that were founded to promote and teach Christian principles as Liberty was (among them, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton) have strayed from their original mission statements over time for a myriad of reasons, including faculty tenure and a tendency to bow to the pressure of donors who did not share the founding Christian values of the institutions.
I believe that Liberty’s uniqueness among universities in that it is primarily funded by a sound business model instead of dependence on donor gifts and public subsidies will insulate it from undue pressures and will allow Liberty to retain its Christian foundation for generations to come. Liberty is blessed to be solidly positioned to avoid the path followed by so many American universities over the last few centuries.
Repeated surveys tell us that the two main reasons students choose Liberty University are its strong Christian mission and its affordability (Liberty’s tuition and fees rank it in the bottom 25 percent of all private colleges). Liberty’s Board of Trustees and administration are committed to doing whatever is necessary to keep the university true to these two defining characteristics.
Sincerely,
Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Chancellor and President
