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Liberty University is a Christian liberal arts university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by conservative Christian Jerry Falwell, who is also the Senior Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Religious Foundation

Rev. Falwell's original vision was to build the university as large as Notre Dame and Brigham Young University, with 25,000 students on campus and another 25,000 in Distance Learning Program. The institution has faced a series of financial crises over the years, and the fulfillment of these original ambitions look increasingly unlikely. With aproximately 9,000 students on campus and 10,000 in the Distance Learning Program, Liberty is finding alternative ways to balance its budget.

Students who live on campus attend convocation three times per week where they learn from speakers in all walks of professional life. Past speakers have included Leonard Davidson, Sam Donaldson, George H. W. Bush, John R. Rice, Oliver North, Jesse Jackson, Skip Erickson, Freddie Gage, Billy Graham and Sean Hannity.

Current undergraduate enrollement is close to 8,000 . Liberty University continues to invest, with 19 new dormitory buildings and a tunnel connecting the east and west ends of the campus completed for the fall semester of 2004. Other projects include the completion of the new LaHaye Student Center, the moving of Thomas Road Church and Lynchburg Christian Academy to a property adjacent to the Main Campus, the expansion of student activity facilities, and a new Law School and Library. The University has official ties with Thomas Road Baptist Church, the church that founded the University. Rev. Falwell has repeatedly emphasized the important partnership between the two institutions.

The university has a very strict code of student behavior, including possible reprimands (and with the accumulation of reprimands, fines) for attending dances, viewing R-rated movies, kissing, drinking, and participating in unauthorized petitions. On several occasions Falwell has described it as 'Bible Boot Camp.' He still exhorts Liberty's students to burn it down if it 'ever turns liberal'. In the summer of 2005, the university announced that it was slightly relaxing its class dress code to allow flip-flops, capri pants, jeans, and other casual articles of clothing (but not shorts) to be worn in the classroom. Similar behavioral codes apply to faculty members, each of whom is working under a contract including terms that the faculty members in question agree to abide by those behavioral codes. Utilizing 'non-tenured teaching faculty' is a matter of pride to Falwell , as it allows the Administration to keep a firm grip on the behavior of the academic community. As Falwell once stated, 'When we ask a faculty member be dismissed when he's teaching something wrong, our president understands and it's good to do that - because your paycheck may not be coming along next week if you don't'.

Prospective students are strongly encouraged to read and comprehend "The Liberty Way", the university's code of conduct guide. "The Liberty Way" is a code of moral guidelines which Liberty has instituted to help keep students accountable for their actions.

Academics

Liberty University started a new graduate program in Communication Studies in 2004. The Master of Arts in Communication Studies accepted its first class in 2004 and was approved by the SACS accrediting body in November 2004.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Liberty University in the 4th tier of Southern Master's Universities. The magazine ranked its selectivity as "Less Selective." With tuition and annual fees of over $13,000, excluding room and board, it is the most expensive university in its class, costing over twice the average of other universities in its ranking.

Extracurricular Activities

Sports

The University is a member of the Division I level Big South Conference for 17 sports. The other eight members include Birmingham Southern College and Winthrop University. The University regularly competes for the Sasser Cup which is the Big South's trophy for the university which has the winningest sports program among the member institutions. Liberty has won the Sasser Cup five times, second only to Coastal Carolina, which has won it seven times.

The University gained some media attention in the winter of 2005 when the women's basketball team, the Lady Flames, made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and were labelled a "Cinderella Team". After defeating fourth-seeded Penn State and fifth-seeded DePaul, the Flames' winning streak was halted by top seeded Louisiana State University.

Debate

Liberty is also known for its Intercollegiate Debate program. Led by Dr. Brett O'Donnell, Liberty routinely takes top honors in the National Debate Association and American Debate Association points rankings.

Notable Alumni

External links

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