Liberty University
Liberty University, abbreviated as LU, is a Baptist institution of higher learning that is privately held and located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is a part of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, which it belongs to (Southern Baptist Convention). Liberty University is one of the biggest Christian institutions in the world, and it is also the largest private non-profit university in the United States in terms of total student enrolment. The university was established in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns. The majority of its students are enrolled in online classes; for example, in the year 2020, the institution enrolled around 15,000 students in its residential program and 80,000 students in its online program.
There are a total of seventeen schools that make up Liberty University. These institutions include a school of osteopathic medicine, a school of law, and a seminary. The Liberty Flames are the collective moniker for the university's sporting programs, all of which participate in Division I of the NCAA. While the majority of its other athletic programs are members of the ASUN Conference, its college football team competes as an independent in NCAA Division I FBS. In the year 2023, its athletics department will become a full member of the Conference USA.
Undergraduate students at Liberty University are required to attend three Evangelical Bible studies seminars as part of the school's "training Champions for Christ" motto, which can be seen on the university's website and in official statements. The "Liberty Way" honor code at the institution forbids premarital sexual activity, cohabitation, and the use of alcoholic beverages.
The university, which has been called a "bastion of the Christian right," played a prominent role in Republican politics during Jerry Falwell Srtenure .'s as president and continued under his son and successor Jerry Falwell Jr. In 2021, Liberty University President Jerry Prevo stated that getting conservative candidates elected to office was "one of our main goals."