The 2020-21 academic year certainly presented us with challenges. We had to be creative and persistent to navigate a full year under the unprecedented limitations of COVID-19 mandates. But we rose above them, and I have good news: we plan to resume normal operations this fall.
At the end of this challenging but rewarding year, I was able to join our graduates and their families in the celebration of Commencement. When I looked out over Williams Stadium and across the Academic Lawn and saw the joyful smiles and bright eyes beside those tassels, I was reminded of God’s blessings on this university and His promises for our future. He is faithful through it all.
I told our graduates how proud I was of the many ways they have helped to distinguish both this university and themselves as the best of what Christian education can offer. I shared how we have reaffirmed our mission of Training Champions for Christ both inside and outside the classroom this year, and our students have been perfect examples. While they studied hard, enjoyed campus life, and grew in their own faith, they also shared the love of Christ. That is what makes me most proud, above any accomplishment. Early in the fall, when I asked students to volunteer to go to Washington, D.C., for a national prayer march to ask the Lord to heal our land, over 1,800 students signed up. In January, we held our own Life March on campus, praying for mothers in crisis and their unborn babies. Teams of students and faculty traveled to Louisiana and Georgia to help communities rebuild after devastating hurricanes and tornadoes. The list of outreach and acts of service goes on.
As we look ahead to our 50th anniversary this fall, we stand amazed at all that God has done on this mountain over the last five decades. In 1971, our founder and my friend, Dr. Jerry Falwell, had a vision that the world could be filled with doctors, lawyers, pilots, engineers, nurses, teachers, artists, and professionals from every walk of life who love the Lord and were the very best at what they’d been called to be. Today we see his vision realized on this campus and in our graduates. They are the answer to thousands of prayers and the hope for our future.
You will read more about our 48th Commencement in this issue as well as the many achievements of our faculty, staff, and students this year. I am so proud of all of them for meeting the challenges and feel so humbled to be a part of the Liberty family.
— Jerry Prevo
President
