Posted on 08/19/2006 7:37:01 AM PDT by WVNan
FALWELL CONFIDENTIAL
Insider weekly newsletter to The Moral Majority Coalition and
The Liberty Alliance http://www.moralmajority.com
From: Jerry Falwell
Date: August 18, 2006
UCLA, Cornell and Liberty
In 1971, I started Liberty University (then Lynchburg Baptist College) because of a dream I believe God planted in my heart. In our first year, we had 154 students and four faculty members, including me. Many people said my dream was an impossible one. But I continued to believe that God had directed me to initiate an institution of higher learning where academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level and Judeo-Christian values could co-exist.
And today, it does indeed exist.
As I write, we are preparing to open classes for just our thirty-sixth year on our campus, known as Liberty Mountain. More than $5 billion has been raised privately and invested in the creation and operation of Liberty. We now have a 5,000-acre campus with state-of-the-art facilities. This year, we will welcome about 10,000 resident students to campus, while another 15,000 students worldwide are studying through our external programs. We have recruited a faculty of 650 brilliant Christian men and women who see their profession as a calling, not just a job. And, in our first 35 years, we have produced more than 122,000 alumni who are today impacting their communities worldwide.
I don’t report this in order to boast. In fact, I continue to be in awe that God chose me to manage such a high calling.
But, if my readers will excuse me, I do wish to brag just a bit more about Liberty because of some very significant news.
On news stands this week, U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” highlights three universities: UCLA, Cornell and Liberty. It is truly an honor for Liberty to be featured in this manner, especially when one considers that Cornell (which started in 1865) and UCLA (which started in 1919) have been around for so long.
The USN&WR article, titled “They Pray as they Go,” is very complimentary. It underscores Liberty’s rules (no co-ed dorms, no drinking or smoking, etc.) and features interviews with some of our students and faculty, including Dr. Ergun Caner who calls an education at Liberty “Green Beret training for Christians.”
The article also focuses on things that make Liberty unique: dorm prayer groups, a Christian environment (even in the classroom) and our university debate team (which is number-one in the nation in all three national debate tournament polls, which no other school has ever achieved).
Some may be amazed that, in just thirty-five years, Liberty has risen to such a prominent position in the world of higher education. But I’m not surprised. Yes, we’ve had our fair share of challenges and dilemmas, primarily financial ones. But God, in His sovereignty, has placed people in our midst who have endowed Liberty.
People like Art and Angela Williams, Drs. Tim and Beverly LaHaye, Hobby Lobby CEO David Green and others have played significant roles in helping to build this university and secure its future.
Another great feature of Liberty is its diversity. With no quotas or affirmative action in place, we will welcome this fall students reflecting many cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities. In fact, our student body includes young people from 83 nations. Our students are connected by one common goal: to impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As a result, Liberty continues to rapidly grow. This summer, we built five new apartment-style dorms which house 420 students. We will quickly begin more new dorms this fall and are mapping out designs to open more classroom space.
As you can see, like a proud papa, I like to crow about Liberty. In fact, those interested in learning more about Liberty can visit the school’s website (www.liberty.edu) or give us a call (800-424-9596). For Christian young people in America, Liberty is a great place to learn, grow and discover a vision for your future.
Readers who would like to see the article in full should purchase the 2007 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” now on news stands.
Hi. We lived in Lynchburg in the 80s. I loved it and still have friends there. I agree with you about Falwell. He was our neighbor, but like you, I didn't always agree with his methods. I did enjoy his Christmas spectaculars though. I'm happy about Liberty also. We need more "real" Christian Colleges. I went to Lynchburg College, which is a Christian College, but it was very liberal.
Okay, okay, wet noodles and all that. It's fixed now.
As you have probably seen, I goofed on the title. It's fixed now. The college was highlighted along with the other two.
Thanks for the ping - I'm always surprised I don't see other "Jerry's Kids" posting here...
The dorm comment cracked me up - although it has been nearly 20 years since I was there, they were big enough for four of us - In fact that dorm room was probably bigger than my apt in San Francisco :)
(and hey, if my bday is coming up, that means yours just passed iirc - happy belated bday!)
If you was at LU anytime between 86-89, we were in Lynchburg at the same time. I was at LC in that time frame.
If you was? If you were? I can never get that one right.
I was there in 88 and 89, from Southern California - it took quite a while to be able to understand all the accents there :)
Thx for the B-Day wish, it is coming up next week (8/30).
And Happy Birthday to you also!!!
"The college was "highlighted" along with the other two."Noted,but give em a few more years.I predict more "conservative" schools will be established in the future.I'll bet the demand is there.If i had a kid,i wouldn't pay $20k/yr to send him/her to Cornell,Yale,etc,etc.
I think you would be amazed to see how big LU has become since 1989. And the new dorms they built are great - not like dorms at all but more like small suites with bedrooms. They have relocated LCA (K-12) on campus, Thomas Road Baptist Church (where the old GE building was), have an ice skating rink, law school, a wonderful wellness center and more. They are in negotiations to sell off 100 acres to build an upper end outdoor mall on the Campbell County side of town.
I don't attend Falwell's church (I am Presbyterian, Rivermont) but can't deny that he has contributed quite a bit to the growth of Lynchburg. And the school really has come quite a long way since its inception. It's nice to have a place you can send your kids to where the atmosphere strives to be different than the average university (it's not perfect, but it is different).
We have lived in Lynchburg since 88 and love it here. It is a nice place to raise a family. BTW I lived for a time in Shepherdstown, WV which is a beautiful town. My husband was from Martinsburg.
Do you still live in Lynchburg? I lived there 1968-1970. In fact, only a couple of blocks from Liberty Baptist Church. I'm shocked to learn how much that institution has grown. Interestingly, when I left Lynchburg I moved to Tulsa, Oklahome, home to Oral Roberts University, which was then growing with breath taking speed.
What a great post, and reminder of how things were when I was a boy. Thanks.
You are very welcome, Sir.
I live in Richmond now, my mother still lives in Richland Hills, out Timberlake Road. If you haven't been back recently you won't recognize the town. The place has really really grown.
}:-)4
I wish that there were many places where young people could get a solid education without the influence of the looney left. I think those places should be available even to people who don't want all of the rules that come from the Christian association of colleges such as this one. I think it's great that LU is available to those who want that experience, but I think there should be other ways to get a non-leftist education.
Bill
When I was young I thought Jerry Falwell was an extremist nut case. I now believe he was prophetic, and was on the right track. God bless him for his efforts. (And I am a Catholic.)
Maybe there already are such schools. Have you looked into this?
What does your mom think of the Pedcor Housing Development proposed for the land between Schewels and Richland Hills?
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