Liberty Journal Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019

BEST

YEAR EVER

TURN THE TASSEL

> CELEBRATING THE LARGEST GRADUATING CLASS IN UNIVERSITY HISTORY > VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE’S REMARKS TO GRADUATES

NEW DIMENSIONS

VIRTUAL REALITY TOOLS ENHANCE TRAINING

SUMMER 2019

ON the COVER

PUBLISHER Jerry Falwell S E N I O R M A N AG I N G E D I TO R Mitzi Bible

The 2018-19 academic year was full of many picture-perfect moments leading up to Commencement. The Liberty Journal staff gathered some exciting snapshots from Liberty’s best year ever. Read more on Page 2.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Carrie Mitchell CO N T R I B U T I N G E D I TO R S Kristin Conrad Becki Falwell Ron Kennedy Wendy Kennedy Scott Lamb Amanda Stanley

Cover photos from the top, left to right: 1 | Liberty Law graduates prepare to turn their tassels.

2 | President Jerry Falwell and Head Football Coach Hugh Freeze race NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson during Convocation.

STA F F Ted Allen Rebecca Beem Ron Brown Ben Cornwell Paige Counts Rachel Dugan Kerry Hogan Leslie Keeney Tobi Walsh Laukaitis Drew Menard Dawn Neal Josh Rice Brian Shesko Jessica Short Kim Smith Len Stevens

For more information about the Liberty Journal, email news@liberty.edu, call (434) 592-4955, or write to: Liberty University External Communications Office, 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, Va. 24515 View a digital version and past issues at Liberty.edu/LibertyJournal.

For information on Liberty’s academic programs, the admission process, alumni, or athletics, call (434) 582-2000.

Liberty University is not affiliated with the Department of Defense or any military service.

Liberty University does not engage in unlawful discrimination or harassment because of race, color, ancestry, religion, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability, or military veteran status in its educational programs and activities. Liberty University maintains its Christian character and reserves its right to discriminate on the basis of religion to the extent that applicable law respects its right to act in furtherance of its religious objectives.

11 | Alan Dershowitz, a political commentator and law professor emeritus at Harvard, was one of Liberty’s distinguished Convocation guests.

12 | In December, Liberty announced the hiring of former University of Mississippi Head Coach Hugh Freeze as the ninth head football coach in program history.

13 | President Falwell arm wrestles “Superman” Dean Cain.

3 | A professor and student from the Department of Biology & Chemistry conduct research at the Center for Natural Sciences.

14 | Rising sophomore Caroline Falwell starred as an astronaut in a commercial for one of the largest K-12 schools in the country.

4 | More than 8,000 graduates participated in this year’s Commencement Exercises.

15 | Franklin Graham challenges students during Convocation.

5 | More than 2,200 students, faculty, and staff participated in this year’s Serve Lynchburg.

16 | Rising junior and LU cheerleader Ashley Singleton appeared on Fox & Friends with President Falwell to talk about the excitement over Liberty’s first-round win during March Madness.

6 | Judge Jeanine Pirro speaks at Convocation.

7 | President Falwell joins Donald Trump Jr. on stage during the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

8 | Vice President Mike Pence speaks at Liberty’s 46th Commencement.

LU K E BOBBE Y

P H OTO G R A P H E R S Luke Bobbey Gabrielle Calhoun Joel Coleman Joel Isimeme KJ Jugar Leah Stauffer Andrew Snyder Jessie Rogers

10 | Gospel recording artist Travis Greene leads worship during Convocation.

9 | Becki Falwell holds granddaughters Virginia and Reagan on stage at Convocation.

17 | Men’s Basketball Head Coach Ritchie McKay celebrates after the first ASUN Championship win and before heading to the NCAA tournament.

18 | President Falwell recognizes WWII veteran and longtime Liberty administrator George Rogers during CPAC. 19 | First Lady Melania Trump speaks at Convocation to raise awareness about America’s opioid crisis.

20 | Actor Gary Sinise honors veterans and service members during CPAC.

INSIDE this ISSUE 2 | BEST YEAR EVER

A look back at the hard-fought victories, miraculous milestones, and God’s blessings on Liberty University in 2018-19.

8 | 46th COMMENCEMENT

Liberty welcomes Vice President Mike Pence and the largest graduating class in university history.

16 |

SISTERS AND DOCTORS

After working as translators for the U.S. Army in their home country of Iraq, twin sisters Sarah and Noor Alnazal came to Liberty to study osteopathic medicine.

20 |

CYBER SWAT

Psychology professor Janet Brown helps develop youth training program on online dangers and earns recognition at the Vatican.

22 | NEW DIMENSIONS

Academic programs use cutting-edge technology in virtual and augmented reality to enhance the learning environment.

34 | PRESIDENT’S VIEWPOINT

On many of our nation’s college campuses, freedom of speech is a “mute” point. Liberty bucks the trend.

36 | STEPPING INTO THE PAST

History is all around Liberty’s campus; you don’t have to go far to see the traces of America’s forefathers.

50 | COACH OF THE YEAR

Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ritchie McKay helps the Flames rewrite the record books.

52 | SHINING IN THE ASUN

The Flames and Lady Flames fared well in their season debut in the Atlantic Sun Conference, capturing five conference titles. Read a wrap-up of all NCAA Division I teams.

Commencement at Williams Stadium Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the main ceremony on May 11, 2019.

Are we hitting the mark?

Let us know what kind of stories around Liberty interest you. Have a story idea of your own? Share it with us. Send your feedback to the Liberty Journal staff at news@liberty.edu.

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FROM ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO SPIRITUAL REVIVALS AND VISITS FROM SPECIAL GUESTS, LIBERTY CAN CALL THIS PAST YEAR ITS BEST EVER B Y D AV I D N A S S E R As the LU Stages team and I were looking back on the past year and preparing for a recap to share at our last Convocation before graduation, it dawned on us that the year we had experienced as a collective body had mounted up to not only be another fruitful season, but perhaps our finest year ever. I realize that this is an

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audacious and subjective claim. How do we measure good versus great? How do we not fall into a comparison game?

Well, the truth is that this was the opposite of comparison. We weren’t comparing to past years nearly as much as crediting them. This has been a year of great harvest in many ways because of the relentless seed-sowing

and intentional cultivating and nurturing of those who were here before us. We are simply reaping the fruit of years and years of faithfulness.

I pray that our alumni and donors will see how their early investment is paying off like never before in every area — athletics, academics, spiritual life, and service.

JOEL COLEM AN JO EL I S I M EM E

G AB R I ELLE CALH OU N JE SSI E R OGE R S

S C I T E L H AT Whether it was in our Club Sports or NCAA Division I programs, our student-athletes reached major milestones. This past year, we joined the ASUN Conference and immediately made our presence known with conference title runs in numerous sports (see the Athletics section).

Perhaps the most notable was our men’s basketball team, which won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, knocking off the Mississippi State Bulldogs in dramatic fashion. But what

made this team special wasn’t just the final score. The season kicked off with a charity game against Virginia Tech where Liberty raised over $36,000 to aid in relief efforts for Hurricane Michael in Florida. It was fitting to see our season begin in such a fashion against Virginia Tech and then come full circle when we played Virginia Tech again, but this time in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

Anyone who has spent time with our president, Jerry Falwell, knows that

our perceptive and intuitive leader has always been committed to the vision of seeing Liberty’s football team compete at the highest level of competition. This past year we saw that dream come to fulfillment as we participated in our first-ever season as a member of the FBS. People are starting to notice our team — and our school — more than ever, and the arrival of nationally recognized and much-heralded Head Coach Hugh Freeze promises a really bright future for our newly minted FBS squad. >>

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K J JUGAR

JESSI E R O G ER S K E VI N M ANGU I OB

ACADEMICS From the courtroom to the classroom, this past year we celebrated the largest graduating class in Liberty’s history (see Page 8). A wave of new leadership promises even greater success in the future. Take a peek at the leadership of our respective schools and you’ll see some of the brightest men and women in their field who have come here to train up a new generation of leaders.

Even with all the success in the

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classroom, I can tell you there’s been zero compromising of our values.

There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t meet with a professor who reminds me how our faculty see themselves as ministers first and educators second.

You simply don’t have to check your faith at the door of a university classroom.

Liberty is a testament to that truth every single day.

If you need further proof that faith and academic successes aren’t at odds

with one another, check out the recent bar passage rate for Liberty University School of Law graduates: Liberty ranked No. 7 in the nation, among the likes of Harvard and Yale.

The Rawlings Scriptorium opened at the Rawlings School of Divinity at the base of Freedom Tower. Open to the public, the space houses a collection of rare books and Bibles donated by the Rawlings Foundation and valued at over $1 million.

JOEL I SI M EM E

NATH AN SP ENCER

L A U T I R I P S None of this success makes a lot of sense if we’re not staying true to our mission of Training Champions for Christ, and this last year showed evidence of God’s work in the hearts and lives of so many people. Led by over 1,100 community group leaders in our residence halls, hundreds of students gave their lives to Christ. It wasn’t uncommon to see the lake behind the Vines Center become an impromptu site for baptisms!

because it was during those sermons that over 3,000 of us wrote notes to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo advocating for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was imprisoned in Turkey for sharing his faith in the same places that the early church had been sharing it so many years ago.

President Falwell and his wife, Becki, wrote their own personal letter and led the effort. Weeks later, we celebrated together when we heard news of Pastor Brunson’s release.

Our weekly Campus Community service saw record attendance from students. My favorite sermon series was our Seven series, where I had the privilege of preaching and walking our students through the famous seven letters to the seven churches of Revelation. Using footage shot on location in Turkey, God brought those letters to life in a new way for both myself and our students.

That series proved especially timely

SERVICE What God did in our hearts was evidenced by how it spilled over into the community around us. In the city, students volunteered close to 500,000 community service hours. The nowannual Serve Lynchburg hit record attendance with over 2,000 students

serving the city in one collective blitz, an event so big it even showed up on national news (see Page 26).

Internationally, a record number of LU students traveled abroad over Fall, Winter and Spring Breaks. One group even got the chance to distribute Operation Christmas

Child shoeboxes in Trinidad and Tobago.

It was an opportunity afforded to them by Samaritan’s Purse, thanks in part to our campus’ record-breaking effort that saw nearly 5,000 shoeboxes packaged here on campus to send abroad to children in need. >>

AND REW SNYD ER

JESSIE ROGERS

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TRAVIS GREENE

JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO

FRANCIS CHAN

FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP

TIM LEE

RICH WILKERSON JR.

KARI JOBE

CANDACE CAMERON BURE

N O I T A C O CONV Finally, I can’t talk about what God’s done without talking about the platform that occupies much of my time and attention: Convocation. This is the most unique and visible distinctive of our university. From global leaders in politics and Hollywood stars to pro athletes and best-selling authors, Liberty saw some of the most recognizable names in the world come its way.

We kicked off the year with a oneday revival featuring Kari Jobe, and that highlighted a year of visits from multiple recording artists, including Phil Wickham, Chris McClarney of Jesus Culture, TobyMac, Hillsong NYC, and Travis Greene.

Travis Greene’s visit represented one of the most memorable Convocations we had all year. He led worship for us in both the morning Convocation and in Campus Community that night, where an impromptu prayer service broke out and students stepped forward with courage to express their own needs, hurts, and fears in one of the most powerful displays of vulnerability we have ever witnessed.

Prompted by the Holy Spirit, God used students to minister to each other; an off-the-cuff offering raised over $19,000

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to minister to students in need.

God moved that night in the Vines Center, much like He had done a few weeks earlier when, led by our guest Francis Chan, we felt compelled to offer a third service (after Convocation and Campus Community) at midnight!

Dozens came to faith in Christ, and if you were in the room at midnight, watching thousands of students worshipping their Savior, that would be all you’d need to see if you had ever wondered whether God’s hand was still on this place.

Here’s the thing: we might be having more success these days, but we’re not any less hungry for God. Convocation saw athletes from multiple major sports, including Chicago Cubs World Series MVP Ben Zobrist as well as NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson and his teammate, race car driver and Liberty student William Byron. World leaders like John Maxwell also graced the stage, as well as entertainers and actors like Gary Sinise and Dean Cain.

Actress Candace Cameron Bure shared a short Gospel message in a clip that ended up generating over 3 million online views.

Political figures like Sean Spicer and

Dinesh D’Souza came our way, and Liberty even became one of the first college campuses to serve as a satellite location for CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. (see the News & Events section). Donald Trump Jr. joined the stage for that historic day, and that’s also when Vice President Mike Pence announced via satellite that he would be joining us for Commencement.

The most recognizable guest of the year was none other than First Lady of the United States Melania Trump. She came to Convocation in November to raise awareness about the ongoing opioid epidemic in the country. That day kicked off a series of nationwide events that saw President Falwell and Becki Falwell travel to other locations and colleges around the country to lend their own voices to this important fight (see the News & Events section).

As the Convocation stage proved itself a platform of ideas from leaders of all walks of life, it continued to field some of the most well-known pastors today, such as Franklin Graham, Ed Young, Rich Wilkerson Jr., Louie Giglio, Tim Lee, Nick Vujicic, and Chan.

K J JUGAR

GO TO LIBERTY’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO VIEW MANY OF THIS YEAR’S PAST CONVOCATIONS.

Judge Jeanine Pirro. Alan Dershowitz.

Karen Kingsbury. Bob Goff. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. They all were here on campus in the last year. It was during Dr. Peterson’s Convocation that a young man rushed the stage, pleading for help, and in a single moment, the world saw Liberty respond not in anger but in sympathy, praying collectively over him and helping him obtain the support and care he needed. It was a moment that showed no matter how far Liberty has come, we’ve still never forgotten the original purpose of this place — to raise up Champions for Christ.

All of the God-given blessings in the past academic year have been acknowledged and shared with the world

by President Falwell, whose tenacity and strong leadership skills have led this university to new heights. I appreciate how President Falwell has continued to leverage his recent elevation in influence as a national figure to promote and open doors for our university at a level that we have never experienced before.

These are just a few of the visible moments and movements of the past year, but obviously there were so many others that brought us to the conclusion

that the Lord has blessed us abundantly to experience our best year ever. But with God, there’s always a bigger plan and a bigger purpose beyond what we can see happening around us today. We’re just getting started.

David Nasser is the Senior Vice President for Spiritual Development.

He oversees several teams that advance the university’s mission, including LU Send, LU Serve, LU Stages, LU Shepherd, Worship Collective, and Online Engagement.

Financial success means more benefits for students Liberty University has experienced its best year ever for financial strength. As revenues continue to increase — from $860 million five years ago to a projected over $1 billion next year — the administration has been distributing more funds to help students pursue their dreams.

“The financial success that we’ve achieved allows us to keep our tuition in the lowest 25 percent of all private universities both online and in a residential program, and we want to make sure we’re able to do that for generations to come,” Liberty President Jerry Falwell told the crowd at Commencement. “We give $230 million in financial aid to our students every year, not from the government, but from Liberty University, and that’s our goal.”

Beginning this fall, Liberty is using university funds to fuel the Middle America Scholarship program, which focuses on assisting families whose income is typically between $35,000 and $95,000 per year. According to Robert

Ritz, executive vice president of finance, the program is the largest, need-based student aid program in the university’s history.

The program is for eligible new resident students and will provide nearly $18 million of aid per year. For the fall, 1,623 new students have already been awarded Middle America Scholarship funds totaling $7.1 million — an average of $4,380 per student for the year.

Falwell said that during the major rebuilding of campus, with new state-of-theart academic and athletics facilities, as well as new residence halls, the university has been able to plan for the future.

“Campus has been transformed as we built over $1.5 billion worth of facilities over the past 12 years. But even while we did it, we also increased our endowment to $2 billion — so we’re more financially sound than ever before.”

He also noted that the annual economic impact that Liberty has on the Lynchburg area

tops $1 billion, “so what we do here as a school affects the pocketbook of tens of thousands of families throughout the area.”

Earnings from a strong endowment will help to fund scholarships and provide financial support to maintain facilities and to weather the ups and downs of the national economy for decades to come.

In April, Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings re-affirmed Liberty University’s ‘AA’ rating with a stable outlook. The ‘AA’ rating means that the university has a very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments.

Keeping student costs low and maintaining fiscal discipline means that future generations of Liberty students will continue to benefit.

“The endowment is our future. It is going to help our children and even future grandchildren if they attend Liberty,” Ritz said.

“Realizing that Liberty’s financial legacy will reach that far forward in years is impressive and humbling.”

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VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE CHALLENGES L ARGEST GR ADUATING CL A SS TO BE THE MEN AND WOMEN AMERIC A NEEDS

“ If what you’ve seen

and heard and learned in this place has also taken hold in your hearts, go from here, live it, and share it — because America needs men and women of integrity and faith now

”

more than ever.

ISAAC A PON

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U. S . V I C E P R E S I D EN T MI K E P EN C E

Through the smiles and tears of joy shared across a crowd of more than 40,000 on hand for Liberty University’s 46th Commencement Ceremony on May 11 was a sturdy resolve, a sense that while it was the end of a journey, the university’s largest graduating class in history had much to look forward to.

As keynote speaker Vice President Mike Pence put it: “The world awaits.”

Pence brought with him the personal congratulations of the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump (who gave the first Commencement address of his presidency at Liberty in 2017) and encouraged the Class of 2019 to seize “a new era of opportunity and optimism” fueled by a growing American economy.

The Class of 2019 has an advantage entering the job market, Pence said, noting “the Liberty name carries great weight with employers all across the country” (there are four LU alumni

on his own staff ), but he also warned the graduates to be prepared to make a stand.

“If what you’ve seen and heard and learned in this place has also taken hold in your hearts, go from here, live it, and share it — because America needs men and women of integrity and faith now more than ever.”

The vice president spoke about the recent attacks on faith communities across the world, from harsh media assaults against religious education to horrific acts of terror at places of worship.

“You need to prepare your minds for action, men and women. You need to show that we can love God and love our neighbor at the same time through words and deeds,” Pence said. “And you need to be prepared to meet opposition.

As the founder of this university (the late Dr. Jerry Falwell) often said, ‘No one ever achieved greatness without experiencing opposition.’”

He challenged the graduates to “go forth for Liberty” and make their alma mater proud as their loved ones cheer them on.

“Decide here and now that you are going to stand firm, that you will put into practice all the things you learned here on Liberty Mountain, that you will never give up, that you will persevere, and that you will always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have.”

Pence, joined by his wife, Karen, was welcomed to the stage by Liberty President Jerry Falwell, who called him “one of the most engaged and influential vice presidents in my lifetime.”

As he addressed the graduates, President Falwell encouraged them to step forth into their careers as leaders and innovators.

“What we really want to do is to teach students how to think like entrepreneurs,” Falwell said, “not just >>

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>> to go out and get a job and wait for the end of the week for their paycheck, but to really look for ways to add value, to pursue ideas and problem-solve, and also not to be afraid to fail and try again.

Because that’s how this school started from scratch in 1971 and became the world-class university you see today.”

He shared an example in Anthony Nobles, a medical innovator and executive director of Liberty’s Center for Entrepreneurship, and in his own father, Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell.

“God built that entrepreneurial DNA into my father, who learned it from his father and his grandfather, and then dad mentored many of us with that same spirit,” Falwell said.

“Graduates, I hope that your time at Liberty has also placed that spirit, including a real love for people, in all of you. Liberty was built by entrepreneurs who took huge risks, and if you do that in your life and are not afraid of failing, you’ll be shocked at what you can accomplish.”

Nobles spoke briefly to the graduates

3,670

Earned their degrees residentially

6,145

Graduates with military ties

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GABRIEL LE CAL HO UN

CL A SS of 2019

16,531

Earned their degrees online

S ETH BI NGHAM

C HR I STOP HE R BR E E DLOVE

20,731

Total college graduates

S ETH BI NGHAM

Watch the full service at Liberty.edu/News, on the Liberty University Facebook page, and on Liberty’s YouTube channel.

about building his products from a vision, before his friend, Dr. Ben Carson, took the stage to encourage students to have courage to rise above conformity.

The traditional graduate charge was given by President Emeritus A. Pierre Guillerman, who was Liberty’s first president in 1971 and served until his retirement in 1996.

To all the members of the Class of 2019, congratulations and may God bless you as you leave Liberty as Champions for Christ.

I SAAC AP ON

GABR I ELLE CALH OUN

“We have been blessed with so much here at Liberty University. And when we consider all the accomplishments that have been made, we know that so many of them were accomplished by

C HR I STOP HE R BR E E DLOVE

staff. We thank you for working to make this a truly amazing school year.”

JOE L COL E M AN

our incredible students, faculty, and

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT JERRY FALWELL

HONORARY DOCTORATES ANTHONY NOBLES

CHARLIE KIRK

Medical Innovator and Executive Director of Liberty’s Center for Entrepreneurship

Founder and Executive Director of Turning Point USA

DOCTOR OF BUSINESS

DOCTOR OF HUMANITIES

BOB GOODLATTE

Longtime U.S. Congressman, Serving Virginia’s 6th District for 26 Years DOCTOR OF LAWS

DANIEL REBER AND JIMMY THOMAS

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE DOCTOR OF LAWS

Prolific Businessmen and Longtime Liberty Supporters (Namesakes of Liberty’s main dining facility) DOCTOR OF BUSINESS

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BACCALAUREATE TRADITION CONTINUES Dr. Jerry Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., delivered a powerful message at Baccalaureate, encouraging students with God’s Word to live their lives for Christ.

With references to the construction work so prevalent on Liberty’s rapidly growing campus, Vines told the students to use Luke 2:52 as the blueprint for growth in their own lives.

He related how Jesus increased not only in stature and wisdom, but also in favor with God and man.

“You may never become a star athlete,” he said. “ … But you can be a Champion for Christ wherever God chooses to place you. You were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.”

Vines has served on Liberty’s

Board of Trustees since 1988. This year marked Vines’ fifth time as Baccalaureate speaker and first since 2007. That year, he also spoke at the funeral for Liberty’s founder, Jerry Falwell Sr. A video clip from the service was shown during Baccalaureate.

Before Vines spoke, Liberty President Jerry Falwell unveiled two stained-glass windows that featured his father and Vines. The windows — part of a larger collection that honored the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence among Southern Baptist churches — were recently removed from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s chapel. Vines is a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Falwell said the windows were

“removed by the new regime” in the Convention and that, “unfortunately, a new generation has taken the Convention away from those (conservative) values in many ways.”

The window of Falwell Sr. was made possible by financial contributions from Liberty, and Falwell demanded that the money be returned. He sent a plane to Fort Worth, Texas, earlier in the week to retrieve the windows, and they will go on display in the Jerry Falwell Museum on campus.

“We will continue to honor the conservative leaders who reformed the Southern Baptist Convention, and we place our hope in your generation to be the ones to step up and provide better leadership for the future,” Falwell told the graduates.

K J JU GAR

K J JU GAR

KJ JU GAR

LUKE BO BB EY

Top: The Rev. Jerry Vines preaches at Baccalaureate on May 10.

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Above: Dr. Ben Carson participated in Liberty’s Commencement for the second year. He spoke to students at Baccalaureate and also during the main ceremony.

GRADUATION MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE FOR FAMILY AFTER SERIOUS CAR CRASH

LEAH STAUF F ER

Nursing graduate Paige Andrews celebrated Commencement with her mother and younger sister proudly cheering her on. It was a moment the family calls a milestone — not only for Paige but for all of them.

Nine years ago, the family from Rocky Mount, Va., was involved in a car accident. Another car heading in the opposite direction crossed the yellow line and hit them head-on. The father, Robert, was killed instantly. Paige was airlifted to the hospital along with her mother, Tanya, and sister, Cameron. It was a serious accident, serious enough to cause Tanya, already grieving an unimaginable loss, to pray fervently for her and her daughters’ health. She didn’t know what their futures held.

“In the immediacy of the accident, my only prayers were, ‘Lord, just let me see my daughters raised to adulthood,’” she said.

Sitting at the main Commencement Ceremony watching Paige turn her tassel was a much bigger answer to that prayer than she could have ever expected. Now seeing both of her daughters (Cameron is also pursuing a

Liberty degree) press on toward their life goals after such a tragic loss has been amazing, she said. Their faith is what has carried them through.

“I feel like God’s hand has been in this all along, guiding and directing and providing,” she said. “It was very poignant to see how God took something that was so tragic and, as He always promises, He’s working for His glory and our good. And those two things aren’t incompatible. So, it is a huge milestone.”

Paige was inspired to become a nurse by the nurses who cared for her and her family after the accident.

“I had some amazing nurses and afterward I just kept thinking, ‘I could do that,’” Paige said. “They were able to talk to me and help me during one of the hardest moments of my life, and I said, ‘I could do that. I could be that person.’ As I got older, into high school, I really couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do. I even tried to think of other things because certain aspects of nursing can be very difficult and scary — but I couldn’t.”

During her clinical rotations, she

had the chance to work on the same floor at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital where she stayed as a patient after the accident.

“It gave me some opportunities to share my story with some people, and it really helped to see where God has brought me and to tell patients, ‘You are going to be able to pull through this. God is going to bring you through this,’” Paige said.

Paige will soon be working full time in the cardiothoracic ICU at Centra Lynchburg General Hospital.

Recently, Tanya Andrews met Liberty President Jerry Falwell and shared her family’s story. They met by chance at a local pharmacy.

“I had always wanted to thank him for the role Liberty has played in my children’s lives, for the excellent education that they’ve received,” Tanya said. “When I walked in, he was sitting there eating his Cheetos, which I found out was one of his favorite snacks. It’s also one of my favorite snacks, and I just thought, ‘Well, what an opportunity.’”

Liberty President Jerry Falwell told the Andrews’ story during the Commencement Ceremony. Their picture was shown on the videoboard overhead.

“God has truly rewarded the Andrews family for never giving up in spite of circumstances that would have caused others to throw in the towel,” Falwell said.

At a time when graduates everywhere are celebrating where they’ve come from and are looking forward to their futures, Paige and her mother and sister agree with President Falwell’s remarks.

“God has been so faithful,” Paige said. “He’s just given me opportunity after opportunity to look back and be grateful, and I don’t want to take any of it for granted. I want to be able to recount all the opportunities He has given me and not waste them.”

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AT 87, LIBERTY’S OLDEST GRADUATE IS READY FOR HER NEXT ADVENTURE AND R EW SNYD ER

Pauline Wolcott, 87, isn’t slowing down. She walked across the stage to receive her B.S. in Religion at Liberty University’s 46th Commencement and celebrated earning her first college degree.

“I never set out to do this to prove that even at my age you can return to school,” Wolcott said. “But I have three daughters who are all mothers now and busy raising their families. I hope that it encourages them that it’s not over or too late to do something. I hope that this encourages anyone.”

After high school, Wolcott was enrolled at Texas Christian University.

But during her junior year, she dropped out to get married and start a family. She then began an extensive career path as a professional book reviewer.

When her husband died several years

ago, Wolcott’s family encouraged her to connect with others who were widowed and to meet new people.

“I didn’t mind being alone, but my daughters didn’t feel like I was doing the same things that I used to enjoy,” Wolcott said. “I wasn’t going to the opera or the symphony like I used to.”

She decided to join Match.com, where she met her current husband, Charles.

Wolcott said he was the first person who encouraged her to consider going back to school.

“He told me that I had ‘unfinished business,’” she said. “I began looking at online schools and picked the top five or six to look into.”

When she made a phone call to Liberty, Wolcott spoke to an advisor named Jeff who answered her questions and was an encouragement to her during the application process.

“He was so gracious and didn’t try to bend me in a certain direction,” Wolcott said.

Wolcott was unsure of what she wanted to study at Liberty, so Jeff asked her what she found interesting.

“I told him that I liked history, literature, and philosophy,” she said. “He

said, ‘Well, what about religious studies?’

So that’s what I decided on. Religion has always been a part of my life, and I loved taking classes through the School of Divinity. I loved learning about religious leaders, people, and philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.”

She joked that at her age she knew she wasn’t going to use her degree to start a new career. For her, it was about going back to school to strengthen her mind.

“I have been a lifelong learner and have loved learning,” she said. “I want to use my knowledge to not lecture people (about God), but indicate what God and the study of His Word has done for me.”

She said she is blessed to have a husband who encouraged her to continue her education. The couple traveled from Fort Worth, Texas, to make sure Wolcott could take part in the graduation festivities on campus.

“Now that we married later in life, we just want to enjoy things and travel more,” she said. “Being able to come to Lynchburg to participate in Commencement is just another adventure, and I’m happy we got to do it together.”

FAITH, FAMILY, MEDICINE: LUCOM GRADUATE SHARES ADOPTION STORY LU K E BOBBE Y

Studying to be a physician is difficult enough, not to mention the challenging endeavor of parenting. For Marvin Cuevas, a member of the Class of 2019 at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), those major life events intersected in an unexpected way.

Cuevas and his wife, Deborah, had been fostering a 2-year-old boy, Rhys, in Arkansas when Cuevas was accepted to Liberty. Fostering was very important to the couple, so Cuevas came to Lynchburg in Fall 2014 to start medical school while his wife continued to care for the child in Arkansas.

During Christmas Break his first year, Cuevas learned that Rhys was ready to be adopted, along with his younger twin

14

siblings, Khye and Laikyn, who were living about two hours away.

“Adoption has always been an important part of my life; I was adopted at the age of 13 by my aunt and uncle,” Cuevas said. “My wife and I always knew that we wanted to adopt, specifically through the foster care system.”

Cuevas knew he had to leave medical school.

“My responsibility to my family had to be the priority,” he said, receiving full support from LUCOM’s administration.

“They graciously granted me the leave of absence. For me, this just confirmed that LUCOM was the place where I wanted to train to be a physician. The character of the faculty and staff is what makes LUCOM such an amazing place to learn and grow.”

The Cuevases jumped into raising three children under the age of 3.

“It was one of the most challenging but rewarding seasons of our lives,” he said.

He recalls what Founding Dean Dr. Ronnie Martin told the Class of 2019 when they first started. “He told us that

to succeed in medicine you have to have your priorities straight. For him, and me, this meant to put my faith first, my family second, and medicine third. I cannot tell you how true I have found this to be over the past four years both at school and in the hospital.”

Cuevas returned to LUCOM in Fall 2015. Then, in September 2017, the couple celebrated the birth of their youngest daughter, Magnolia, just as Cuevas was starting his third year.

“For me, it’s all about my perspective, knowing that my identity is not found solely in medicine,” Cuevas said. “Keeping the perspective that God is with me through every challenge really allowed me to rest in the knowledge that I don’t control every aspect of my life. It allowed me to focus on the things that I could do and trust that God is capable of handling those things that are too big for me.”

Now, as a 2019 graduate and a father of four, Cuevas and his family are headed to Somerset, Ky., where he will work at Lake Cumberland Regional Medical Center for his internal medicine residency.

CAMPUS CONNECTION For thousands of graduates from Liberty’s online program, Commencement was a special time to unite with classmates and explore campus

Thousands of graduates who earned degrees from their homes across the country and around the world traveled to Liberty University — many for the first time — to experience an exciting 46th Commencement in person.

A total of 16,531 of the 20,731 members of the Class of 2019 accomplished their goal through Liberty’s online program.

Liberty was a pioneer in distance learning and remains one of the nation’s top online universities.

About 63 percent of the total graduates in attendance at Commencement studied online. Many were wowed by Liberty’s vibrant campus life and spectacular stateof-the-art facilities.

“I have never been here before and it is really neat to see what a great university it is and to see the people who are volunteering and helping out and their servant’s hearts,” said accounting graduate Melissa Luper, who traveled from Viera, Fla., with her husband, Caleb, and 12-year-old daughter, Selah.

“That is consistent throughout campus, even throughout the town. It has been enjoyable to be here.”

She was thrilled to walk in the ceremony with two of her classmates she met during her online studies — business administration graduates Charo Barry and Elaine Carty, who flew in from Anguilla, a small island near Saint Martin in the British West Indies. The three (pictured at top left) became friends while working together on a group project online.

Online graduates Lisa Cranford-Bess and Krystal Anderson-Jordan (pictured at top center) both received master’s degrees in human services counseling – family advocacy. They traveled from Dalton County, S.C., to celebrate.

“To see this huge, beautiful campus for the first time, it’s immaculate; a wonderful experience,” Cranford-Bess

said. “I’m glad she (Anderson-Jordan) encouraged me to sign up with her to start at Liberty; it’s been awesome.”

As a wife, mother, and grandmother with a career, Anderson-Jordan shares the same story as many of Liberty’s graduates who used the flexibility and affordability of the online program to advance their careers.

“I had to fight through adversity to be here,” she said. “But, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a significant accomplishment — words are inadequate to describe how I feel.”

Kevin Hubbard from Charlotte, N.C., completed his B.S. in Business Administration — Project Management online while serving in the Air Force. He attended the ceremonies with his wife and their 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.

“Between working and kids and coaching my son’s football team, it’s been doable, but very busy,” Hubbard said. “Everywhere I go when I travel, I just bring my laptop and hook up to the internet and just start working. When I get home, I do the same thing, late nights and early mornings.”

Hubbard was one of Liberty’s more than 6,000 graduates with military ties. Military graduates also had the opportunity to attend the Military Graduate Recognition Ceremony the night before Commencement. (This year, Liberty was ranked the No. 1 “Best for Vets” school by Military Times for 2019 and is designated a Top 10 Military Friendly School on the 2019-20 list of “Better for Veterans” institutions.)

Linda Fong, a flight attendant who traveled from Honolulu with her husband, Randy, received an M.A. in Christian Ministry 10 years after earning her B.S. in Psychology from Liberty.

Fong, who serves as a care ministry volunteer at her church in Hawaii, will

use her degree to share the Gospel with Chinese immigrants through a ministry at her church.

“These two years of study have helped me to understand the Bible better, and the courses I took will help me to serve Him better,” she said.

Keila Peña and her sister and brotherin-law, Cesia and Luis Laureano (pictured at top right), traveled from Orlando, Fla. Originally from the Dominican Republic, all three are the first in their families to earn a college degree.

Peña, who teaches at a private Christian school that trains students for the mission field, graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education. Cesia and Luis Laureano are mission pastors at New Birth in Kissimmee, Fla. Cesia will use her business administration degree to help manage the mission organizations they work with while Luis uses his psychology degree to help counsel area youth.

Peña considered taking time off from pursuing her degree as she battled late-stage breast cancer over the past year.

“After having a conversation with my advisor who encouraged me and prayed with me, I decided to keep going,” she said, noting that her professors were also understanding. “They sent personal emails with Bible verses and always stayed in constant communication.

I couldn’t have done it without that.

Every time I got an email from them, it gave me the strength to keep going.”

Peña said Liberty has had a profound spiritual impact on her family as she is continually reminded to live in a way that honors God. “I don’t think I could have accomplished this goal at any other university,” she said. “Liberty truly is a unique place.”

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FIGHTING FEARS,

TWIN SISTERS FROM IRAQ SURVIVE THE PERILS OF WAR TO START NEW LIFE IN U.S. AS DOCTORS BY

TO B I WA L S H L AU KA I T I S

NOOR ALNAZAL

JOEL COL EMAN

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SARAH ALNAZAL

During Match Day at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, twin sisters and recent graduates Noor and Sarah Alnazal held sealed envelopes containing the location of their residency placements. They took a deep breath, quickly ripped them open, and scanned the letters.

How appropriate, for twins, that the letters were identical; they would be serving together at the University of Texas San Antonio Hospital in the radiology department. They screamed in delight and hugged each other.

It was a moment nearly 15 years in the making.

At age 32, the sisters have come a long way since they first started their medical training in 2004 in their native country of Iraq.

“We were both very studious,” Noor said, noting that high-schoolers in Iraq were automatically placed in a college based on their grades. “If you get the highest grade marks, you get placed into medical school.

We both scored well, and we enjoyed it.”

But at the time, their country was in turmoil. The War on Terror was in full swing and the United States and coalition forces had entered into war with Iraq. Their environment quickly became violent.

“Things changed a lot (once the war started),” Sarah said. “There was no government in control, and there were a lot of extremist groups that started ruling over the region. The trouble started about a year into the war, and then it escalated fast. There was no military or police. It was just the militias.” >>

17

Noor said it was a dangerous time to be a nontraditional Muslim woman.

They were threatened by Islamic extremists because they did not cover their heads. Many women, including some of their classmates and professors, were killed for not following Islamic tradition.

“We were born Muslim, but we didn’t practice,” Noor said. “We didn’t pray or fast or anything like that. That was something they (the extremists) didn’t like.”

In 2007, as the oppression of women in Iraq became more severe, the twins were kicked out of school. Two days later, they decided to take a bold risk and assist the U.S. forces.

“We wanted to make a change, especially as women,” Sarah said.

“Women were very oppressed. We wanted to be part of the change and do what we could. When you don’t have your freedom, you realize that you have to do something about it.”

They left their family, who supported them even knowing that it could cost them their lives.

Because they spoke English well, the twins became translators for the U.S. Army and were stationed at Forward Operation Base Falcon in Baghdad.

They would follow troops into areas that had been cleared of extremists and talk to residents. Despite the chaos and destruction that comes from war, it was clear that the Iraqi people still had hope.

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" MAKE A CHANGE, WE WANTED TO

ESPECIALLY AS WOMEN. WOMEN WERE VERY

OPPRESSED. ... WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR FREEDOM, YOU REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE

"

TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. SARAH ALNAZAL

“Businesses and homes were burnt down,” Noor said. “(Residents) said when they saw U.S. troops, they felt safer. The American forces did a lot more than just go to war. After we would

clear an area from terrorists, we would go in and then help the businesses in the area and the schools and the hospitals.

These were things that the media didn’t talk about. The U.S. military really did help with the rebuilding (of Iraq), not just with the war.”

Though they experienced the danger together, the worry they had for each other made them wonder if it would have been easier to go through it alone.

“There were nights I would lie awake and listen for Sarah to come back from a mission,” Noor said. “When I heard her boots thump against the floor, then I knew she was safe.”

“It was scary, but we’re lucky,” Sarah added. “I didn’t want anything to happen to Noor. I kept thinking I

Sarah and Noor Alnazal served two years as translators for the U.S. Army at Forward Operation Base Falcon in Baghdad, Iraq.

would have felt better if it was just me (during the war).”

But finishing medical school was still a priority for the sisters. At night, they would continue to study in hopes of someday returning to medical school.

As translators, they even had the chance to learn from Army medical personnel.

“We would translate documents (at hospitals) because we had a medical background,” Noor said. “Sometimes, we’d even translate for the Iraqi medics when the American doctors would train them.”

“Sometimes, we would have American doctors or nurses go in to teach the Iraqi doctors about new technology,” Sarah added. “The Iraqi doctors didn’t know much about what

was going on around the world; they just took care of their critical cases at the hospital and moved them to

"

I THINK GOING THROUGH CHALLENGES IN MY

LIFE HAS TAUGHT ME TO

PERSEVERE

AND FACE DIFFICULTIES. THAT WILL HELP ME RELATE TO MY PATIENTS WHEN THEY ARE GOING THROUGH THE WORST TIMES IN THEIR LIVES.

"

NOOR ALNAZAL

LUCOM’S Class of 2019 is made up of 151 new doctors. They are now serving at their residencies in specialties such as internal medicine, family medicine, and emergency medicine, and in cities such as Chicago, Tulsa, Honolulu, San Antonio, Newport News (Va.), and Lynchburg.

JOE L CO LEMAN

Sarah (left) and Noor Alnazal react to receiving their top residency choice — the University of Texas San Antonio — during Match Day at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine on March 15.

the international base. People really appreciated the help of the American doctors, especially the patients who were injured during the war.”

The twins served two years with the U.S. military and said the experience gave them a glimpse into what freedom could mean for them, including the freedom to work, as women, in any profession without fear of repercussions. “They (American troops) didn’t have a problem working with women,” Sarah said.

The sisters decided it was time to move to the U.S. in 2009 and start a new life in San Antonio, Texas. The years of living in danger and fearing the future were over.

“When I arrived at the airport in Texas, I realized that I didn’t have to worry about explosions anymore,” Sarah said. “I was safe in America.”

Their family followed them three years later.

In Texas, they earned their bachelor’s degrees in biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio and then applied to multiple medical schools. LUCOM was the first to offer them an interview, and when they visited, they decided they liked the program so much that they didn’t need to consider any other schools. They were accepted in 2015.

“At LUCOM, they get to know you as a person,” Sarah said. “I feel almost everyone knows who we are and where we come from. They care about us as people.”

The sisters reached a special milestone in medical school; they both became U.S. citizens, officially making America their home.

As they prepare for their residencies, the sisters feel confident about where life has taken them and how they can use their past experiences to help their future patients.

“I think going through challenges in my life has taught me to persevere and face difficulties,” Noor said. “That will help me relate to my patients when they are going through the worst times in their lives. I can help them realize that things could get better even when it seems there is no light at the end of the tunnel.”

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P S YC H O L O G Y P R O F E S S O R H E L P S C R E AT E S C H O O L P R O G R A M T O P R O T E C T YO U T H F R O M O N L I N E P R E D AT O R S BY For Dr. Janet Brown, it was a long and painful road that led her to Liberty University and the job she now holds and cherishes as a psychology professor in the School of Behavioral Sciences. And she credits one person with saving her from a lifetime of sorrow: Liberty University’s founder, Jerry Falwell Sr. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that God picked me up and set me down

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LE N

ST E V E NS

outside Dr. Falwell’s office, and my life has not been the same since,” Brown said.

After tragedy left her depressed, listless, and barely able to get out of bed, it was Falwell who encouraged her to come work for him. A year earlier, on July 25, 1997, Matthew Brown, the only child of Janet and her husband, Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown, died in a car wreck two miles from their home. He was two

months shy of his 18th birthday.

“He was the love of our life,” she said.

The job Dr. Falwell offered her, assisting with office work mostly, helped in so many ways, she said. It gave her a routine, a reason to leave the house. Eventually, it led to a Liberty education, a doctorate in psychology, and a teaching role at the university. All under the watchful eye of Dr. Falwell.

FEATURES “He said, ‘Did you think you’d ever be a professor?’ and I said, ‘Doc, I never thought I’d go to college,’” Dr. Brown recalls.

Just as Brown began working at Liberty, her husband received a grant to start the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force — an effort to educate children and teens about the dangers associated with online technology. Awareness is crucial at a time when studies show that one in five children who regularly go online is approached by strangers for sex (Source: Crimes Against Children Research Center).

Brown, whose research interests include internet safety, cyberbullying, and social media behaviors, found that one of the most effective ways to reach young people is through their peers. She researched social cognitive theory (a means of education through which others observe and imitate peer behavior) and created the Cyber S.W.A.T. program, a joint initiative between the National White Collar Crime Center and the Safe Surfin’ Foundation (a community education

Network 2019 conference at the Vatican, attended by security agency leaders from around the world.

Now, the Browns are really thinking big.

“First, we were thinking that we’d like to see the Cyber S.W.A.T. program in

Janet and Mike Brown are welcomed to the Global Security Network 2019 conference by Monsignor Sanchez, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences for the Vatican.

every school in the United States. Now, we’re saying we’d like to see it in every school around the world, or as many as possible. Mike and I are convinced; we see God’s hand in this.”

C HANDL E R HOOD/SAF E SU R F I N’ FOU NDATION

Through a new partnership with the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), students taking approved courses at the center can translate those credits directly into undergraduate and graduate degrees in criminal justice, cybersecurity, and government with Liberty’s online programs.

NW3C provides a nationwide support system for law enforcement and regulatory agencies tasked with the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime.

program that operates out of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office). A pilot program for Cyber S.W.A.T. was launched at Jefferson Forest High School, a few miles from Liberty’s campus. There, team members receive training and design their own presentations to classmates about internet and social media threats. The group’s first project was a movie about the dangers of sexting.

“The principal told me the entire student body was riveted,” said Dr. Brown. “She told me that she thought it was so successful because it was kids talking to kids.”

Liberty’s Center for Research & Scholarship is supporting Brown as she takes time from the classroom to do her research and travel to more schools. As the project grows, Liberty students will have opportunities to join her in her research and implement programs at other locations.

Cyber S.W.A.T. is already well on its way to being recognized as a program that can save lives. In April, Brown had the amazing opportunity to promote it when she spoke at the Global Security

Dr. Janet Brown with Cyber SWAT students from Jefferson Forest High School

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JESSI E R OGE R S

VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY ENHANCE THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT B Y

D R E W

Technology is often a catalyst for progress and can dramatically change how we live our lives day to day. As Liberty University seeks to produce world-changers, it makes sense that the latest technology is embedded in its academic culture, including the cutting-edge tools of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

VR (think headsets that can transport us to an entirely different world) and AR (think Pokémon Go, where we can still see the world as it currently appears, but we add to or “augment” the view with a digital creation) are becoming useful tools in many fields. Throughout the university, academic programs are experimenting with, researching, and even implementing VR and AR into their coursework. Students are training on devices that allow them to test their skills in a virtual, simulated environment so

22

JOE L COL E M AN

NEW DIMENSIONS M E N A R D

they can understand the many different scenarios they may encounter on the job.

Some are using their artistic talents to create worlds that no one has seen before.

Incorporating this latest technology in the classroom is, in reality, preparing students to better take on the real world.

GETTING OFF THE GROUND When it comes to training students for careers with little margin for error, such as a pilot, VR technology has the ability to mitigate risk while offering realistic experiences even before students climb into a real cockpit. At Liberty University School of Aeronautics, students are already honing their skills in simulators, where they can practice instrumentation, prechecks, and maneuvers over and over as they build confidence for flying real

In Liberty’s 3D Innovation Lab, students can paint in 3D using Tilt Brush and Vive headsets.

FEATURES aircraft. Liberty is one of only a handful of institutions nationwide to have earned Federal Aviation Administration National Simulator Program certification. The school currently uses a number of high-fidelity simulation devices. Now, aviation students are supplementing that training with VR. “In sims, you always know you are not in an airplane,” explained Kevin Martin, simulation manager and associate director of flight training. “Virtual reality really takes flight simulation to the next level by fully immersing the individual into whatever they are working on.”

Wearing a Vive headset with X-Plane 11 VR software, students sit at the controls in a custom flight chair designed by Liberty’s simulator department and can constantly look around to keep their situational awareness, Martin said. “Being able

to move your head freely and still see everything is absolutely incredible.”

As VR flight simulation is further tested, Martin believes that students will soon be able to log the hours as qualified training hours, just as they can log simulator hours now.

“As a university whose vision is to impact the world for Christ as the preeminent aerospace education institution, we believe we should be leading the way in incorporating this VR technology into our training,” said Steven Brinly, aerospace technology chair. “As we’ve seen this technology continue to develop, we are seeing lots of potential applications in the areas of aviation administration, maintenance, and UAS (unmanned aerial systems).”

In aviation administration, students are using VR to learn their way around airports. Airports are complex ecosystems, and those managing them

need to understand their intricacies.

“Through virtual reality, the professor can walk the students through the layout of the airport and all of the different things they would be inspecting in airport operations,” Brinly said. “He can simulate what it looks like in all different kinds of conditions, such as at night with lots of fog.” He noted that with VR, students can explore areas that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to visit at a real airport, such as high-security sites. The VR training is also less costly than traveling to multiple airports; students even have a chance to explore international operations.

“The VR experience is exciting and engaging for the students,” added Aaron Wilson, associate professor of aviation.

“The technology allows them to have an interactive experience. If conducted in the real world, it would be costly and awkward with a medium to large >>

23

Dr. Leslie A. Hammer, assistant professor of anatomy, instructs student-doctors Timothy Eckert and Samantha Scarola on using the HoloLens to perform an ultrasound.

JE SSI E R OGE R S

>> class. With VR, students were able to see ramp operations, inspect runways, observe various airport facilities, and experience the airport environment in a variety of weather conditions.”

TA K I N G A D E E P E R LO O K Airplane passengers trust that their pilots have received all the training they need. Similarly, patients expect their physicians to step into an exam room with their skill sets fully calibrated.

That is why simulation is a vital part of the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine curriculum.

“We use a lot of manikins and task trainers to teach medicine, as well as simulated patients (trained actors) to immerse students in simulated clinical situations,” said Dr. Laura Potter, medical director for LUCOM’s Center for Standardized Patients & Simulation. “This is the time for them to learn how to be observant, how to make sense of a clinical scenario. It’s a safe place to learn so they don’t make an error when it is a person they are working with.”

A component of the training involves AR, using tools like the Microsoft

24

HoloLens headset.

“You can have an instructor and up to eight students, all wearing a HoloLens, and the instructor can hold a probe on the simulator showing where that ultrasound beam is and how it cuts through an organ or tissue,” explained LUCOM’s Tim Hodge, simulation specialist.

While ultrasound has been a useful tool for physicians, understanding how to read images, even with a deep understanding of anatomy, can be tricky. AR is advancing this method.

“It is difficult, especially at the beginning, to learn to interpret a two-dimensional scan in a threedimensional body,” Potter said. “But by wearing the HoloLens, the instructor can take an ultrasound image and separate out the musculoskeletal system from the organs, from the blood vessels, so that as students learn the anatomy, they also see how it actually looks in the body.”

“That ability to take systems, break them down individually or put it all together, superimposed above or within the body, allows for a discussion about anatomy or anything as widespread or granular as the instructor wants to be,” Hodge added.

“We can focus in on narrow skills or we can focus on the big picture, depending on what we are trying to teach. We are very blessed to have the technology and the facilities that we do, where we can really take our students into that immersive activity and truly try to hone their skills.”

Liberty’s investment in cuttingedge technology is ensuring its future osteopathic physicians stand out as they enter their careers.

“We’ve found that a lot of our third years are ahead of their attending physicians using ultrasound,” Potter said.

C R E AT I N G T H E F U T U R E Through virtual and augmented reality, artists are showcasing their creativity and designing new products.

“There are a lot of companies that create products in a virtual environment,” explained Todd Smith, chair of Liberty’s Department of Studio & Digital Arts.

“I can interact with somebody from anywhere in that environment. Literally, I can be in here and somebody else can be in the same environment with me across the country, and we can create together.

You can imagine what that could do for

FEATURES product development. Let’s say I design a car, or a computer, or a character, and I have a client in California — they can offer feedback or make tweaks with me here in Virginia.”

Not only do artists have opportunities to collaborate on design in virtual environments, but they also can directly design their own virtual spaces.

VR applications are also revolutionizing storytelling. Digital media students have had the opportunity to sit under a VR trailblazer, visiting professor Kam Diba, founder and president of the digital marketing company Reverge, to create immersive films using virtual reality.

In the arts department, students also utilize an innovation lab that includes 3D printers and body scanners that allow them to turn sculptures into digital characters, which become part of a virtual story. One MFA student took on a historical preservation project, creating 3D, digital designs

from photographs of an old house that had been destroyed. She printed 3D replicas of house features, like a vintage strike plate behind a doorknob, so people can feel the detailed artwork.

Students are also using VR tools in the lab, including Vive headsets and the Tilt Brush, to paint and sculpt in virtual reality.

“They can create on their own, or five to 10 people who are all in different places can go into a virtual world and create together,” Smith said. “It’s three dimensional; they are actually drawing in 3D.” SADA students and faculty are also experimenting with ways to use the technology to assist the physically or visually impaired.

By giving his students this “research sandbox” of cutting-edge tools, Smith said he is producing graduates who become “creators, but also innovators.”

“If we give our students this sandbox now, they are going into a world where

they will be leaders,” Smith said. “They are not only leaders in problem-solving but they are also leaders in their skill sets; they know the technology, they have the aesthetic background, and they know how to apply it.”

With a forward-thinking mindset, Liberty faculty and administrators are not only meeting students where they are now, but launching them toward where they aim to be.

“Students have grown up in the technology age,” Martin said. “They are looking for that experience; that is what excites them. We are able to really engage the student with the technology. They are immersed in the environment — whether you are teaching history and you want to be on the battlefield at Normandy or, in our case, we are teaching weather and we’re teaching how a thunderstorm forms and you are inside of it. …

Technology is the future. That’s where we’re taking our students.”

AND REW SNY DE R

Aeronautics student Michael Kopp flies an aircraft in virtual reality.

25

Read how Liberty made an impact 26

L EAH STAU FFER

Each April, thousands of Liberty University students, faculty, and staff gather to love on the City of Lynchburg through Serve Lynchburg, a two-day service blitz. The university assists local organizations, nonprofits, and businesses. Tasks include cleaning, gardening, painting, or even packing backpacks filled with food for students in need.

This year’s event took place on April 12-13 and saw 2,200 volunteers serving nearly 100 organizations, making it the biggest Serve Lynchburg yet.

Liberty also sent teams to Washington, D.C., for Serve D.C. on April 13. The service projects were led by Liberty students who are originally from the D.C. area. The event was open to students and alumni who live in Washington and study through Liberty’s online program.

Throughout the year, Liberty students, faculty, and staff volunteer over 500,000 service hours in the community.

“Those energetic young adults accomplished in three hours what our normal volunteers would have taken three days of work to complete. The work they accomplished was hard, back-breaking work (like digging), and they did so without complaining, and I believe they had a good time doing it.”

“I want my students to be the hands and feet of our Savior, and they are.

Their hearts are already driven by Christ, and now they get to put that into action. You have to put your Christianity to work.”

Falwell gets to symbolically put a

D R . LA R RY P R E S LE Y

an army of servants; where would

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

BILLY TAY LOR

phenomenal that President Jerry check in the hands of our mayor and city council that says, ‘I have you like them to go?’ It is such a blessing to see our faculty and

Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity

“We were really impressed with the friendly, hardworking young people from Liberty. When each team arrived, they were ready to work and wasted no time during their four-hour shifts. The quality of their work was absolutely perfect. I would be proud to call these young people family.”

“It is nothing short of

“I love Serve Lynchburg because it gives students the opportunity to encounter those people that they wouldn’t normally meet. There is a whole community on the doorsteps of Liberty’s campus that needs to be loved on and shown the love of Jesus.”

DA N I EL L E COR R I GA Site Leader and Liberty Alumna

staff roll up their sleeves with our students during Serve Lynchburg.

I saw people from every level of leadership with paint brushes, rakes, or towels in their hands, ready to serve.”

DAV I D N ASS E R

Senior Vice President for Spiritual Development

DO U G FRY Lynchburg First Church of the Nazarene

Boonsboro Elementary

Salvation Army

Lynchburg Grows

LU K E BOBBE Y

JE SSI E R OGE R S

LU K E BOBBE Y

Salvation Army

Food for Thought

JESSIE ROGERS

LUKE BOBBEY

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PASS I O N P E R F O R M A N C E S

28

FEATURES

M U S I C G R O U P S TA K E PA R T I N E A S T E R E V E N T S W I T H F R A N K L I N G R A H A M , M AC P OW E L L Members of the Liberty Worship Collective used their talents locally, nationally, and internationally at three different venues over Easter weekend.

Band members were invited by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to lead worship at the Festival of Hope in Cúcuta, Colombia, a two-night event that drew more than 94,000 people to the city’s soccer stadium. BGEA President Franklin Graham shared the message of God’s love and forgiveness with the crowd, which included many Venezuelan migrants facing a major economic crisis. The Venezuelans are part of the largest migration in Latin American history. Another 21,000 people across 34 countries watched the festival online. The 14-member band sang their entire set in Spanish.

Rising senior Sergio Quieroz said that his time in Colombia showed him how God “transcends all cultures and languages.”

“I could see how the Lord has been working all around the world, taking care of the very specific needs of each people group and showing compassion in each individual situation that people encounter,” he said. “It was also very impactful to see in practice the truth that ‘every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Phil 2:11), that the Gospel

is a message for all nations, tribes, and tongues.”

The Liberty students also joined Samaritan’s Purse workers in Colombia to hand out shoeboxes to local schoolchildren.

On Good Friday, 12 band members led worship alongside Third Day’s Mac Powell and the worship team from Church at the Beach at the Rosemary Beach Owners Pavilion in Seaside, Fla. The event also served as a benefit concert for those recovering from Hurricane Michael last year.

Locally, 12 members of the collective performed an acoustic set at the annual Easter sunrise service at one of Virginia’s top scenic destinations, Natural Bridge State Park in Lexington, Va. The 215-foot tall Natural Bridge, a limestone gorge carved out by Cedar Creek, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The collective also led a special Good Friday worship service on campus during Convocation as students walked through the 14 stations of the cross in observance of the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Members also led worship during Liberty Christian Academy’s Holy Week chapel service and served in local churches across the Lynchburg area.

“We’re not only going to the nations but into our neighborhoods,” said Kevin Huguley, executive director of the Worship Collective. “Our team effectively came together in one weekend to serve with one common purpose: to lift high the name of Jesus. What better week to do that than Holy Week.”

The collective is made up of more than 60 Liberty students and production staff. Members lead worship each week during Convocation and Campus Community.

They travel around the country and the globe for special events throughout the year.

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Members of the Liberty Worship Collective traveled to Cúcuta, Colombia, where they led worship for crowds of over 40,000 for two nights at the Festival of Hope. At left are more pictures from Colombia, where students also assisted Samaritan’s Purse with delivering shoebox gifts.

Left page, bottom row: Students lead worship at an annual Easter sunrise service at Natural Bridge State Park in Lexington, Va., as well as at a large Easter worship service in Seaside, Fla., with award-winning artist Mac Powell.

Drew & Ellie Holcomb

Apollo LTD

Jenny & Tyler

Tedashii

Tori Kelly

Campus concerts bring unique sounds, powerful messages The Student Activities department at Liberty University attracted a wide variety of entertainers to the stage this school year, from nationally known artists to promising up-and-comers.

L.A.-based gospel and R&B artist Tori Kelly, known for her passionate vocals and stirring acoustic sound, took the stage in the Vines Center in April.

Liberty alumna Jane “Nightbirde” Claudio opened for Kelly (see accompanying story).

Drew & Ellie Holcomb led off the spring semester lineup by captivating the crowd with romantic ballads at an intimate concert leading up to Valentine’s Day. Spring events also featured Bethel Music of the California-based Bethel Church, the art-pop husband/wife duo Gray Havens, folk and hip-hop musician Josh Garrels, and Tyson Motsenbocker, an alternative indie rock/pop rock artist from Southern California.

Christian hip-hop artist Tedashii joined Apollo LTD, rapper 1K Phew, and the folk duet of Jenny & Tyler to

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kick off the school year at the annual Block Party in September. Fall guests also included passionate worship leader Phil Wickham, heavy metal band RED, and comedian Michael Jr. The variety of musical genres and lyrical styles brought to the campus stages every year resonates in the hearts and minds of the audience members, uplifting their spirits while stirring deeper contemplation of their faith and encouraging them to worship in new ways.

Follow Student Activities on social media and visit Liberty.edu/Concerts for upcoming concerts to be announced this summer.

Student Activities — a department of Liberty’s Campus Recreation division — offers more than 100 events each year, including movie nights, art expos, a film fest, and the popular student talent show, Coffeehouse, which is held each semester. Student Activities concerts are open to students, faculty and staff, alumni, and the general public.

Tori Kelly

Above: Tori Kelly performs at the Vines Center on April 6.

Left: Students showcase their own talent at a late-night Coffeehouse on April 13.

Taking Flight A LU M N A M U S I C I A N JA N E “ N I G H T B I R D E ” C L AU D I O O N H E R R E B I R T H A F T E R B E AT I N G C A N C E R

BY DREW MENARD

Many musicians go through an evolution at some point, a natural change over time as they mature with their art. But 2013 Liberty University alumna Jane (Marczewski) Claudio, who performs as Nightbirde, describes her artistic shift as a resurrection.

The journey began after she left Lynchburg, where she led worship at her church and performed at local venues (she was a favorite at Liberty’s biannual Coffeehouse).

“I had spent so much of my energy being liked and known by everyone as an artist, but I kind of had a breaking point where I realized I didn’t know myself and didn’t like myself,” Claudio said. “I had to lay down music for a while, and I didn’t know that I would ever pick it back up because I didn’t know that it was healthy (mentally) for me to pursue.”

She committed to the Lord that she would take three years off from music, even as she moved to “Music City” — Nashville, Tenn. — after marrying her husband, Jeremy. As Claudio found herself thriving emotionally and spiritually at the three-year mark, she suffered another blow, this time to her physical health.

“The month and the year (September 2017) that I was supposed to start music was when I got diagnosed with stage 3 cancer,” she said. “There’s a lot of emotions that come with that — a cycle of grief. But going through that, being dangled over a cliff in that way, gives you a lot of perspective on how important it is to do the thing that you love and feel like you were made to do here on the planet. It gives you a lot more courage to take risks.”

Claudio immediately underwent chemotherapy, a process which wore her body down as it sought to destroy the breast cancer. But as she suffered, God constantly reminded her that He was remaking her.

“In the past, I was afraid of disappointing myself and others,”

she recalled. “Having gone through something that really made me aware of how limited our time is, I just stopped caring as much about making something perfect, and I just wanted to make something for the joy of making it.”

In July 2018, Claudio was declared cancer-free.

With a renewed perspective, she went back to writing music. In March, she dropped her first single as Nightbirde, “Girl in a Bubble.”

“I wrote this song about this emotion, this sense of otherness,” she said. “It describes my experience with cancer, but other people feel this way all the time — being present in a moment but being completely disconnected at the same time. Everyone can see you, and you can see everyone else, but there is no connection. Nobody can reach you or speak to you.”

Claudio chose her stage name from an experience she had before the diagnosis. For three straight nights, she had dreamed about birds singing in the darkness. On the third night, she awoke and looked out the window, where she could see and hear birds singing. It gave her hope.

“I want to be that way, even when I am in the middle of a dark time and there are no signs that it will end,” Claudio said. “I want to be the bird that sings in anticipation of the good things that I trust are coming.”

On April 6, Claudio returned to the stage for the first time in years. Her comeback was in a crowded sports arena when she opened for A-list celebrity Tori Kelly, fresh off two Grammy Award wins. It was something many artists dream of their entire careers. The milestone was even more fitting for Claudio — the concert was at her alma mater.

“For me to come full circle, to pick up music again and then get invited to play my first show back at Liberty,” Claudio said, “was like redeeming the thing that I kind of misused before.”

It was during her time as an advertising and public relations student that she was first encouraged to pursue music as a career.

“At Liberty, I was constantly challenged with the question ‘If you could do anything for this world and you knew that you would succeed, what would you do?’” she said. “For me, the answer to that question was always music, but music was never on the radar for me as a career path. If I had not come to Liberty, I don’t think that I would be doing this. It was pounded into my head that I needed to pursue what I was passionate about.”

Follow Claudio at Nightbirde.com or on Instagram @_nightbirde for upcoming concert dates and music releases.

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THE COLLEGE YEARS:

Challenging the Mind and the Spirit BY Critical thinking is essential to a wellrounded college education. Students must be challenged to not only know what they believe but also why they believe it and why it is important. They must be challenged to question stereotypes and to evaluate everything they hear, read, and observe without becoming a cynic.

Reason and investigation are not enemies of faith. In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul was preaching and teaching, and the people of Berea were open-minded about what he had to say. But they didn’t just accept everything they heard as fact. They “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

Critical thinkers understand that having a right to an opinion does not mean that every opinion is right, including their

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WEIDER

own. It’s good to have passionate beliefs, while humbly considering the validity of those beliefs and engaging with the opinions of others. One must have a willingness to not just blindly adhere to traditions or accepted norms but to also seek truth. At Liberty, students are encouraged to develop a clear defense for their faith, but to do so “with gentleness and respect” (I Peter 3:15).

While students are pursuing a degree, they are also learning to take ownership of the beliefs that they will carry with them inside and outside the classroom.

Many students enter college with beliefs that have been instilled by their parents, family, and the communities in which they have grown up. They must examine the “truth claims” they were taught, whether

religious or nonreligious. The challenge in modern culture is for students to avoid looking internally for truth but to look to God as the source of all truth.

As an evangelical institution, Liberty University provides an environment where students not only experience their faith but also think through their faith to prepare for the world in which they will enter. Did Jesus rise from the dead? The Apostle Paul provided this litmus test for Christianity: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (I Corinthians 15:14). When a student takes ownership of their beliefs, they won’t be as vulnerable to leave their faith and rely upon the “truth claims” of others.

Going away to college, getting out of

JOEL COL EMAN

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FAITH IN FOCUS one’s comfort zone, and experiencing new things can be both exhilarating and challenging. Navigating through these new life experiences should not be done in isolation. Jesus established the Church, the body of Christ, to be a community of support (I Corinthians 12:12-27). Finding a community of like-minded people to encourage and support one another is essential in the college years. The writer of Hebrews admonished believers to “not give up meeting together,” to “spur one another to love and good deeds,” and to be holy and persevere (10:23-39). At Liberty, the student body has multiple opportunities to meet together, worship together, and grow in faith together.

In addition to weekly Convocations, Liberty holds Campus Community on Wednesday evenings, where over 5,000 students worship and hear biblical teaching, primarily from Senior Campus Pastor David Nasser. Later that evening, students meet in small groups with their community group leader to discuss and delve deeper into the message that was delivered. On Sundays, students are encouraged to find community in a local church to grow in their faith and service.

Finding community, being actively engaged, and using one’s talents and gifts to serve others can be the catalyst for a more vibrant, meaningful life.

At some point in their college journey, however, most students will ask themselves this question: How do I find my purpose in life? This is an important question to answer. College can be a great place to discover one’s purpose.

Through classes and educational pursuits, students can learn what they are passionate about and how they can make a positive difference in the world.

At Liberty, learning doesn’t take place in a vacuum but with engaged faculty members who truly care about their students. They see their work not as a job but as a calling. They are passionate about providing a quality education, but they also understand that their students are going through one of the most pivotal times in their lives. The faculty may use curriculum for instruction, but they are there for their students, teaching them important life lessons and providing spiritual encouragement along the way. At Liberty, students can discover what they love to do and enhance their

Dr. Lew Weider teaches Biblical Worldview and Contemporary Moral Issues in the Rawlings School of Divinity and is the executive director of LU Serve. He has served at Liberty for 34 years.

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C OME SEE FOR YO UR SELF

education with community engagement through LU Serve. Group travel through LU Send provides students with additional experiential learning opportunities, which can be lifechanging. But as the founder of Liberty, Jerry Falwell Sr., often said, “Nothing of eternal significance is ever accomplished apart from prayer.” Students are encouraged to pray about everything, including their purpose.

Where a student attends college can alter the trajectory of their lives.

They will undoubtedly thrive in an environment where critical thinking, ownership of one’s beliefs, a sense of community, and a focus on finding their purpose can occur. At Liberty University, we call all of that Training Champions for Christ. But the phrase isn’t just our slogan — it’s our mission.

According to U.S. News & World Report, summer is a great time to visit colleges. You can get personalized tours, face time with faculty, and one-on-one conversations with financial aid experts.

Well, we want to give you opportunities to get answers to all of your college questions, and there are a variety of ways to visit our campus this summer.

For example,

gives you a taste of what Liberty’s all about. You can try campus dining favorites, get personalized admission and financial aid help, or explore campus.

In fact, you can experience Liberty for an afternoon, a day, or an entire weekend — whatever fits your schedule!

Text “VISIT” to 839-858 to explore your options and schedule your visit today.

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FREE SPEECH: A WELCOMING CAMPUS HAS SPOKEN

BY P RESI DEN T J ERRY FA LW ELL

The Constitution’s First Amendment protects all Americans against government efforts to restrict free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. It’s been part of the Constitution since 1791 and is fundamental to guaranteeing our liberty.

President Trump acted boldly in defense of these rights in March when he announced an executive order requiring colleges and universities to protect free speech on their campuses in order to qualify for federal research dollars.

He made his announcement alongside Hayden Williams, who was assaulted in February at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley while he was recruiting students to join the conservative group Turning Point USA. Williams was repeatedly punched in the face in the unprovoked attack, leaving him with multiple bruises and a black eye.

“College campuses have become increasingly unsafe for conservatives,” Charlie Kirk, the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, said. “If the attacker was wearing a MAGA hat, this would be classified as a hate crime and all over every news channel.”

Ironically, some of the most intolerant people in our society are the very ones who preach “tolerance” to advance a radical “social justice” agenda that demands ideological conformity and scorns independent thinking. Liberal tolerance is a one-way street.

Even though Liberty University is a private institution that cherishes its Christian values, we’re not afraid to expose our students to the views of those on the left — even the far left. For example, after getting into a fiery Twitter exchange with “AOC” (Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, D-N.Y.), I tweeted a sincere invitation for her to come and explain her

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socialist positions to our student body. As of yet, she hasn’t accepted the invitation.

But I can guarantee you that if she comes, she will find Liberty to be one of the most hospitable campuses in our nation.

Liberty University invites a wide variety of nationally known leaders to our thrice-weekly Convocation. We offer them a public forum in front of our student body where they are free to express their views on faith, justice, ethics, and politics. Some on the political left accept our invitation. Most do not, but we continue to make the offer.

In March, we hosted Alan Dershowitz (pictured at top right), Harvard law professor emeritus and a veteran public intellectual on the left. When he arrived on campus, there were no protests, no public demonstrations, no obscene signs, etc. Our students welcomed him with the charity, common decency, and dignity that he deserved, recognizing the importance of civil discourse that is indispensable to the mission of education. By contrast, this

“Even though Liberty University is a private institution that cherishes its Christian values, we’re not afraid to expose our students to the views of those on the left — even the far left.” was not the same treatment he received at Colgate University just a few months prior in November 2018. Dershowitz told our students gathered for Convocation: “I think many people would be shocked to know that Liberty University is more diverse in its opinions than Harvard University. ... Today, unless you speak on behalf of identity politics, on groupthink, radical left views, you’re not

really encouraged to come on campus. I’m a liberal, and I have been banned and shut down on university campuses because I support Israel. … I think every American should know this, that you have invited me to speak here today even though we have some fundamental disagreements about some social issues, about some political issues, about some religious issues — but you welcome me with open arms. The obverse is not true. Somebody with your views would not be welcome to speak today at major Ivy League universities.

I’d be there defending you. I’d be there introducing you. I’d be proud to have you as a speaker on my campus. But you would be shut down. There would be efforts to what’s called ‘de-platform’ you, which is a fancy word of saying, censoring you, not letting you speak.”

Likewise, when Jordan Peterson (pictured at top left), University of Toronto professor of clinical psychology and a world-renowned author, came this spring, our student body again behaved admirably. Contrast that with Harvard University students who jeered and protested Peterson during their “Open Campus Initiative” in 2017, stating opposition to his views on gender diversity and transgenderism. Keep in mind that Peterson is a secularist — not a professing Christian or a conservative, right-wing politician. Harvard preaches but doesn’t practice tolerance.

In 2015, we hosted democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who spoke about a vast array of political and economic topics. And in 2018, former President Jimmy Carter delivered the keynote speech for our 45th Commencement. Some alumni wrote to me to protest those invites. But we don’t think our students are delicate snowflakes who must be sheltered from free speech and the open exchange of competing ideas.

PRESIDENT’S VIEWPOINT There have been sensational stories written about Liberty and censorship, rumors that we do not allow opposing views or First Amendment rights. But that is far from true. We uphold freedom and put its ideals into practice.

Earlier this year, a small group of Liberty students gathered to hold a demonstration in support of the #MeToo movement and against comments made at CPAC that they deemed were “transphobic.” The comments in question were made by my wife, Becki Falwell. I support entirely what she said and her right to say it. And I also supported Liberty students’ right to protest on campus grounds.

Note that I said “Liberty students” — not activists-for-hire who go on social media and announce that they’re driving across the country to organize a protest on our campus. (Some outof-town protestors even pretend to be students.) We’re a private university and have the right to control who shows up on our property. Annually, we are ranked as one of the safest campuses in the nation, and we don’t achieve that status by turning over control of our grounds to outside groups who know the easy publicity they’ll get from media if they come here.

While some of our friends were angry that Liberty “allowed” the #MeToo student demonstration to take place, I believe their arguments for stricter speech regulation on campus are misguided. Beliefs cannot be reinforced unless they are challenged, and that happens when one engages with those who hold dissenting views.

That’s what college is supposed to be about. Free speech and intellectual diversity are two of the most important pillars of a college education. That’s why I urge every college and university in the country to encourage open political discourse on their own campuses — just as we do at Liberty University.

If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that there will be a strong and critical response to this article by a few former students and a handful of national media determined to paint Liberty in a completely different light on these issues.

In the past few years, some students screamed “censorship” when they

didn’t get their every word published in our campus newspaper, the Liberty Champion. Insisting on their inviolable right to publish, the students took to social media or alerted national journalists of the alleged suppression of the First Amendment taking place.

And there’s no story that journalists love to pursue more than the tired trope: “I’m a Liberty student who doesn’t like everything here.”

Of course, if we gave our side of the story — a detailed, public, refutation to specific facts of these complaints — we would border on violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Instead, we choose to let our actions

“I urge every college and university in the country to encourage open political discourse on their own campuses – just as we do at Liberty University.” speak for themselves — especially when it comes to freedom of the press. Among evangelical colleges and universities, I challenge you to find a campus newspaper better funded or institutionally supported than ours.

In a day where universities need to pinch every penny they can, student journalism is often an easy place for budget cuts. But we fund the production and publishing of over 15,000 copies of the Champion with each issue — over 20 issues per year. Distributed throughout the community, the paper has one of the largest circulations for newspapers in Central Virginia.

When you factor in the annual costs for salaries and scholarships for Champion faculty and student staff, printing and distribution, facilities, and equipment, each year Liberty spends about $450,000. This newspaper represents a significant investment in our students, an opportunity (as advertised to prospective staff ) to: “Build your portfolio with hands-on newspaper experience. Enjoy interview opportunities with high-profile leaders. Learn how to meet real-story deadlines in news, sports, feature, and editorial writing. And gain the print

and web writing skills you’ll need as a professional journalist.”

This year’s Champion students published over 650 stories and nearly 500,000 words. How many did I see before they went to print? I can count them on the fingers on one of my hands.

Of course, I didn’t relinquish my right to read an advance copy, but I’ve got enough work to keep me busy and nobody brought anything of concern for me to see. If they had, I would have weighed in on the matter. I have a fiduciary responsibility to the Board of Trustees to provide leadership to this university, and I make no apology for taking my duties seriously. I’m incredibly proud of the job our students are doing. They are gaining real-world experience and learning to engage politically.

The question people ask about newspapers funded by private colleges is this: Do the students have complete autonomy to print anything they want?

Of course not. Let’s give you a little insider baseball. There’s not a single university-funded campus newspaper published by a Christian institution of higher education in North America that publishes every word of news and opinion that the students draft.

But that standard isn’t even attained within the newsroom of commercial newspapers and magazines. Do you recall reading pieces in The New York Times or Sojourners that gave a positive portrayal of the current White House Administration? Does The Chronicle of Higher Education print articles proving the prudence of not offering tenure to faculty? Does World, an evangelical magazine, publish pro-Planned Parenthood opinion pieces? Have you ever read a Cosmopolitan story urging chastity before marriage? In every case, the answer is no. Somebody named “editor” or “publisher” makes decisions every day in newsrooms — and those decisions shape the reputation of the paper and determine who spends money to read it.

Not all news is #FakeNews. But the idea of complete journalistic objectivity is utter nonsense. And so is the idea that a university is guilty of censorship simply because every single story or opinion piece that a student types on their keyboards doesn’t get sent to the printers.

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Stepping into America’s Past L I B E RT Y U N I V E R S I T Y I S I N A P R I M E L O C AT I O N T O L E A R N A B O U T T H E H I S T O R Y O F O U R G R E AT N AT I O N

By Mitzi Bible At his job, Liberty University graduate Lucas Peed gets to experience the thrill of traveling back in time — to 1865 in nearby Appomattox, Va. The American Civil War is about to end. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will soon be preparing to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and conclude the massive bloodshed of a conflict that shook the nation to its core. Peed laces up his military-issued, wooden-sole shoes, dons his wide-brimmed hat, and grabs his whittling tools and harmonica to instantly become 19-year-old soldier and Appomattox native Robert Caldwell.

In a thick Southern accent, he tells modern-day guests at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park about the economic hardship his family endures when he joins the 46th Virginia Infantry and can no longer help out on the farm.

He shares about the struggles of wartime,

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|

Illustrations by Bethany McDonald

about being wounded at Petersburg, and about seeing his fellow soldiers lose their lives; he was one of the nine men left in his company at the time of the surrender.

As a living historian, Peed, who graduated in May with his M.A. in History and now works at the park (about 20 miles from campus) as a park ranger, says that going to college in Central Virginia provided him with many opportunities to learn about pivotal moments in our country’s history. Liberty is located in a region rich with the tales of Virginians who made significant contributions to America and helped the nation grow to become the leading example of democracy to the entire world.

“You can’t drive 5 miles down the road without seeing a historical marker,” he said. “This area encompasses all the areas of American history, from Native American history to the Revolutionary

War, the Civil War, our founding fathers, World War II, and more. It’s everywhere — you can’t escape it even if you wanted to.”

A few years ago, Peed was part of Liberty’s first public history course, which is open to all majors. Classes take field trips to historical sites, study archaeology and architecture, and learn how to bring history to life today. Donna Davis Donald is the professor.

“Virginia is the first in so many things, so this is just an incredibly rich location for American history in particular. It’s almost as if American history is local here,” Donald said. “Liberty’s campus is unique because we are right in the center of it. We are within easy driving distance of many sites, and several are just an afternoon excursion. There are about a dozen places between 30 minutes to 1 hour away, and we aren’t far

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THOMAS JEFFERSON’S POPLAR FOREST

from Washington, D.C., Williamsburg, Richmond, and Charlottesville.”

At the National D-Day Memorial in nearby Bedford, Va., her students learn about the brave men who fought and lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy.

At Poplar Forest, students walk where our third president and founding father Thomas Jefferson walked, exploring

his retreat home located about five miles from campus. Students have also visited other presidents’ homes and birthplaces (Virginia has produced more U.S. presidents than any other state; in addition to Jefferson, Presidents George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson were born here).

History classes have also ventured to Red Hill, the home of American patriot and first governor of Virginia Patrick Henry (about 35 miles southwest of campus).

Caitlin Pieper (’17, ’19), works full time as director of education for Red Hill – The Patrick Henry National Memorial.

Like Peed, Pieper studied history at Liberty and enjoys sharing a part of the region’s past that had a lasting influence on the nation.

Henry, who practiced law throughout Central Virginia, is perhaps most famous for his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech delivered in spring 1775 in Richmond, Va., just as the Virginia House faced a decision to mobilize the military against a fast-approaching British army.

He defended colonials in America and was considered a founding father by many for his work on Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, a document that greatly influenced the authors of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

He, like the other founding fathers, >>

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Lucas Peed

>> believed that the nation could become stronger if the rights to life, liberty, and property could be secured without fear of government infringement.

Pieper said she loves to share Henry’s legacy with Red Hill guests, focusing not only on his statesmanship but also his Christian faith. On Henry’s deathbed, he witnessed to his doctor, Dr. George Cabell (whose Lynchburg home Point of Honor is also a city museum open for tours).

“Instead of talking about his life’s

Caitlin Pieper

accomplishments, he was very big on telling Cabell to ‘observe the joy and security it is for a Christian man who is about to die,’ implying that he was at complete peace and was concerned about eternal life for his doctor,” Pieper said. “It’s an incredible testimony — I’m helping that live on by my work at Red Hill. I have to attribute that to Liberty, how I learned to see God through history, and now talking to people about God’s hand through history is so

Students tour Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

important to me.”

Many of our early American leaders, like Henry, supported the Christian values and biblical principles upon which our country and its laws were founded.

And in higher education, Liberty remains a pillar of those values today, sending forth tomorrow’s leaders who will take cues from our nation’s beginnings and, through an appreciation for this area’s past, continue to uphold true American ideals.

A sample of the public historical sites within about an hour’s drive of campus: Lynchburg’s Old City Cemetery (noted for the Pest House Museum and the Confederate Cemetery) Anne Spencer House (Harlem Renaissance poet) Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Avoca Museum Bedford Museum Booker T. Washington National Monument

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Brightwell’s Mill Historic Sandusky (Union headquarters during the Battle of Lynchburg) James Monroe’s Highland Legacy Museum Lynchburg Museum

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National D-Day Memorial Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson Point of Honor Red Hill - The Patrick Henry Memorial Robert Russa Moton Museum, Farmville Stonewall Jackson House, Lexington Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest (his retreat home) Virginia Museum of Transportation

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DOWNTOWN TRE A SURES RESTORED Two historical landmarks in downtown Lynchburg have undergone major renovations recently: the Academy Center of the Arts Historic Theatre and The Virginian Hotel.

HANDS- ON WITH ARE A HISTORY Liberty students are not only touring local sites to learn about the area’s rich history, they’re also getting to touch pieces of the past. Nearby sites — some owned by the university — have become their laboratories as they uncover clues to how people lived in a bygone era.

“It’s different than reading a scanned image of a document; you’re actually touching the brick or the wall, or you’re sifting through the dirt to find the pieces that are connected to the past,” said Donna Davis Donald, who teaches public history and historic preservation.

Students have been doing just that this past year at nearby Mead’s Tavern.

Built in 1763, the building (purchased

by Liberty in 2015) is the oldest standing structure in Central Virginia.

Last semester, archaeologists excavated under the tavern’s front porch for the first time. With the help of students, they recovered a large assemblage of 18th- and 19th-century artifacts, including several coins, three of which date from the 1790s. They also recovered a uniform button from Wayne’s Legion, the first United States army organized by George Washington and placed under the leadership of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne from 1792 to 1798. Archaeologists also discovered the outline of a pre-1803 porch and various items such as homemade gaming pieces fashioned from broken ceramic plates, smoking pipes, decorated stemware, two gun flints, brass buttons, wine bottle glass, a stone marble, a brass thimble, and a

large number of ceramic sherds.

“Mead’s Tavern is one of the few structures from the 18th century still standing in this part of Virginia,” said Randy Lichtenberger, director of cultural resources for Hurt & Proffitt, the firm conducting the excavation. “Though it’s been altered, the core of this building dates back to 1763. … It’s the last very early building left in New London, and there’s a lot we can learn from it.”

The tavern is located about 15 minutes from campus in the historic community of New London, a major trade center in the mid-18th century. Liberty has worked with the nonprofit Friends of New London, Virginia Inc., a local preservation group, to restore properties in the former colonial town. New London actually predates the Revolutionary War and, situated on the edge of the frontier, was the westernmost center on a major trade route. The university also owns the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, a large health resort in New London in the late 19th century, and has begun research into its history. Evidence indicates that a Revolutionary-era arsenal was located on the site.

Junior Lindsay Vanderwey was one of the student volunteers who participated in the archaeology at Mead’s Tavern.

“It’s really cool to go to school in Virginia because there is so much history here,” she said. “Mead’s Tavern and New London was this forgotten area of Virginia. Now, Liberty is going there and exposing it to the general public, and it’s been a great opportunity.”

The public is invited to view the progress at Liberty’s properties during New London Day on Oct. 26.

The Academy Center of the Arts Historic Theatre first opened in 1905, drawing nationally acclaimed artists to the stage, such as Will Rogers and actress Ethel Barrymore. It was one of nine popular theaters in downtown Lynchburg (and is the only one still standing).

The theater closed its doors in 1958 (like many theaters across the country as television became a main form of entertainment), and the space was abandoned for four decades.

With help from the nonprofit Academy Center of the Arts and many generous community members, including Liberty University, it was restored and reopened on Dec. 6, 2018. The first full-stage production to be held in the renovated theater was Liberty’s Alluvion Stage Company show, “The Will Rogers Follies: A Life in Revue,” on the same stage where Rogers had performed almost 100 years ago.

The Virginian Hotel opened in 1913 and served for 50 years as the city’s luxury hotel.

It has served other purposes through the years, though, including as a dormitory for the then-Lynchburg Baptist College (now Liberty University) in the 1970s. It opened as a premier hotel last May, complete with the grandiose features that greeted its first guests, such as marble floors in the lobby, a classic staircase, and a grand ballroom. Its retail gift shop, library, and artwork throughout pay tribute to figures from Virginia’s past. The special event rooms are named for mothers of Virginian presidents.

The facility features more than 7,000 square feet of event space for conferences, meetings, and receptions.

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ABORTION IN AMERICA A JURISPRUDENCE OF CONTRADICTION

BY JOSEPH J. MARTINS “Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt.” These words opened the Supreme Court’s 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinion, in which the court sought to clarify, and ultimately settle, the controversy surrounding its landmark abortionrights decision, Roe v. Wade. However, a brief assessment of the legal state of abortion rights in America reveals that the Court has failed to settle much of anything.

In Roe, the Supreme Court first recognized the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy. The Court explained there, and in other cases, that the “liberty” protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution includes a “right of personal privacy” and that this right is “broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether to terminate her pregnancy.” However, the Court also held that this right is not absolute because the state has legitimate interests in “protecting the potentiality of human life.” To justify its holding, the Court arrived

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at two critical conclusions. First, the Court asserted that the unborn fetus is not legally a “person” entitled to constitutional protection. Second, the Court determined that viability, or the fetus’s ability to survive outside the womb, was the central balancing point between the woman’s abortion right and the state’s interest in protecting life. So, before fetal viability, a state may not place an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to seek an abortion.

After viability, the state may regulate or even ban abortion, except where it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.

Under this undue burden test, the Court has invalidated some abortion restrictions while upholding others.

For example, the Court struck down a state law banning abortion except to save the life of the mother, a spousalnotification law, and a law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The Court has sustained a parentalnotification law, an informed-consent law, and a law requiring a 24-hour

waiting period prior to obtaining an abortion.

Ultimately, however, the recognition of the abortion right and its viability standard are unsound and arbitrary. The Bible teaches the sanctity of human life at all stages, and even affirms this principle specifically in the womb. In Psalm 139:13-14, David reveals the mysteries of God’s handiwork in the inception of life: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

God’s Word further clarifies that the unborn child should be treated as a person under Hebrew law: If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.

SCHOLAR’S VIEWPOINT But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. — Exodus 21:22–25.

Notice first that this Hebrew law does not vary based on fetal viability.

The passage provides blanket protection for the unborn child once its injury is manifest. Additionally, the penalty that Hebrew law prescribes for wounding an unborn child — the “eye-for-an-eye” standard — is the exact same standard Leviticus 24:17–20 prescribes when adults kill or injure each other.

If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. … If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.

God uses these passages, and others, to affirm that human life is precious at all stages in the womb. And medical technology confirms what the Bible has stated for generations: that the unborn child is a separate human being from the mother. We now know that the fetus has its own DNA, a separate heartbeat, distinct brain waves, and unique fingerprints.

The Creator of the universe has

declared the humanity of the unborn child, and Roe is inconsistent with His supreme declaration.

Naturally, Roe’s inconsistency with God’s created order has led to patently inconsistent results in the courts. For example, the Supreme Court invalidated a state law banning two “gruesome” late-term abortion procedures, but it upheld a federal law banning only one of those same procedures. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg correctly noted that the Court’s reasoning between the two decisions is “irrational.” For if the unborn child is not a person, but merely tissue, then why should our legal system prohibit any particular procedure simply because it is visually unpleasant?

On the other hand, if the unborn child is a person, then our legal system should not permit any such late-term abortion procedures because they would constitute torture and infanticide. The unborn child is either a person, or it is not. The Supreme Court cannot have it both ways.

Similarly, this constitutional inconsistency has spilled over into the legislative arena. GOP-led states seeking to protect human life are restricting abortion by passing fetalheartbeat laws, 20-week abortion bans, and pre-abortion sonogram requirements. Alabama recently passed a law making most abortions illegal, except those where the mother's life is at serious risk. Democrat-controlled

states, however, are aiming to shore up abortion rights by codifying abortion access into state law, repealing abortion restrictions, and permitting abortion up to the moment of birth. Such states are wrestling with Roe’s internally contradictory call for states to permit abortion while simultaneously protecting life.

In the aftermath of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, the calls for the Supreme Court to resolve this abortion debate will only increase in intensity. However, until the Court recognizes the complete personhood of the unborn child at all stages of fetal development — as the Bible does — its abortion jurisprudence will be plagued with paradox.

Joseph Martins is a professor at Liberty University School of Law. He has lectured extensively on a wide variety of constitutional issues as well as the jurisprudential foundations of law and of America’s legal system. Before entering teaching, Martins practiced public interest law with the Alliance Defending Freedom and the National Legal Foundation, working on cases related to religious liberty, the traditional family, and the sanctity of human life. Several of the cases he litigated yielded published decisions in federal courts around the country.

ART BY BETHANY MCDONALD

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NEWS & EVENTS War on Opioids: Televised events raise awareness Since last fall, Liberty University has been directly involved in combatting the opioid crisis that has affected millions. The university kicked its efforts into full gear when First Lady Melania Trump visited Convocation last November for the first broadcast in the television series “Your Voice. Your Future. Opioids: A National Crisis with Eric Bolling.”

The program was followed by 13 more town hall-style events held in different cities across the country. The shows were aired by Sinclair Broadcast Group and featured local and national government leaders, representatives from law enforcement, and those who work in treatment and recovery.

Liberty was the main sponsor for four of the events, and members of the university’s administration and faculty served as panelists for several of the live broadcasts.

Bolling, a former Fox News host, lost his 19-year-old son, Eric Chase, to an accidental opioid overdose in 2017 and has used his media platform to join forces to battle the crisis.

Liberty President Jerry Falwell and his wife, Becki, joined Bolling in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 19. They also participated in the Las Vegas event on March 5, which featured the First

Lady, Wayne Newton, David Siegel (president and CEO of Westgate Resorts), and Siegel’s wife, Jackie.

In Las Vegas, President Falwell said that it was after Siegel spoke at Liberty’s Convocation in September 2015 — just a few months after Siegel’s daughter died from an opioid overdose — that he started taking a closer look at how to combat the epidemic, including creating an atmosphere on campus where students are encouraged to get help.

“We implemented a program where students with a problem can selfreport without fear of reprisal, without any repercussions at all,” President Falwell said.

Becki Falwell added that as a mother and grandmother, she can’t imagine the pain that families like the Bollings and Siegels have experienced. She said that removing the stigmas around drug problems can help save lives.

“Everybody just needs to know that it is nothing to be embarrassed about; it’s a medical condition,” she said. “The families and university staff and faculty members need to love on our children.

The children need to feel love; they don’t need to worry about going and telling their parents that they have a problem — their parents love them and KJ JU GAR

JOEL COLE MA N

Liberty President Jerry Falwell and Becki Falwell - Charleston, S.C.

would rather them be here than have a problem and pass away.”

School of Business Dean Dr. David Brat spoke at the town hall in Baltimore on March 14. Brat served two terms as the U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th District (2014-18) and worked on legislation to combat the crisis.

“It’s obvious the Church and the family are going to have to play a key role,” Brat said. “At Liberty University, that is what we do. We live in a faith community; we’re proud of that, and we believe in second chances.”

Dr. David Jenkins, Liberty’s director of the Master of Arts in Addiction Counseling program, traveled to the event in Little Rock, Ark., on April 16 to speak about the importance of the Church’s involvement in helping people with drug addiction.

“We need to treat the opioid epidemic like a natural disaster because there is long-term recovery involved,” Jenkins said. “(The Church) can be a safe place where the stigma is dealt with, shame is dealt with, guilt is dealt with. But it’s going to take everyone to be involved with this from the supplier side, the treatment side, to law enforcement, if we’re going to have a long-term outcome.”

Dr. David Jenkins - Little Rock, Ark. Dr. David Brat - Baltimore, Md. KJ JUGAR

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NEWS & EVENTS

Gary Sinise headlines national conference event honoring veterans and service members Liberty University dedicated a full day of events to saluting military veterans and active service members on March 1 as the university served as a satellite location for the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference.

The event was streamed live from the Vines Center. Segments were also streamed to CPAC’s main stage in Washington, D.C. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union.

Local veterans were invited to join students, faculty, and staff for inspiring messages from our nation’s heroes and from avid supporters of our men and women in uniform.

Actor Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan in “Forrest Gump”) was a keynote speaker and shared how he felt called to help the nation heal after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He began volunteering with the USO and visiting troops.

“I was fearful at this time that we would deploy our troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, and they would not feel appreciated,” said Sinise, who created the Gary Sinise Foundation to provide unique programs that strengthen and build the

ANDR E W SNYDE R

Matt Bevin

communities of defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. “It’s been a beautiful mission. It’s given my life great purpose and meaning to be able to use the success I’ve had in the movie and television business to do some good to help somebody else.”

Other inspiring speakers were WWII veteran Edgar Harrell, one of the few remaining survivors of the USS Indianapolis, and Col. Steve Chealander, who held the nuclear codes for President Ronald Reagan. Also in attendance was one of Liberty’s own, WWII POW George Rogers, a survivor of the Bataan Death March who later served for many years in Liberty’s administration.

David Jarrett, commander of the local Desmond T. Doss Memorial VFW Post 12179, said he enjoyed the event and is grateful for Liberty’s many efforts to support veterans.

“I think it’s imperative to have a voice in the community like Liberty,” he said.

“They do so much to help veterans, like hosting the Veterans Day Parade or giving us a place to meet at times. It was a wonderful time here today.”

Edgar Harrell

Other special CPAC guests included Donald Trump Jr., vice president of the Trump Organization; Kimberly Guilfoyle, vice chairwoman of America First Action; Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA; Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary; and Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. Guest panelists included Virginia Congressmen Ben Cline (R-6th) and Denver Riggleman (R-5th) and Liberty alumni who are active in supporting organizations that defend freedom.

Liberty President Jerry Falwell and his wife, Becki, also led a panel discussion on a wide range of issues, including the importance of defending the innocent and the unborn, protecting religious freedom, and providing equality and opportunity for all.

Vice President Mike Pence’s CPAC speech was broadcast to the Vines Center from Washington. It was during the speech that he announced he would be joining Liberty students in May as the Commencement speaker.

Watch segments from CPAC 2019 on Liberty’s YouTube channel.

Donald Trump Jr.

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K J JU GAR JOEL COLEMAN

Actor Gary Sinise and President Jerry Falwell with area veterans

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William Byron salutes military hero in Memorial Day Weekend race Racing on his hometown track of Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Liberty University junior and NASCAR driver William Byron honored the memory of U.S. Air Force Captain Mark Weber, a Liberty student, at the annual 600 Miles of Remembrance event on May 26.

Liberty was a primary sponsor for the race that honors United States military servicemen and women who

have given their lives in active duty defending their country. The race was preceded by a salute to American military heroes.

The Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sported a patriotic paint scheme, with Weber’s name on the windshield header. Byron was the polesitter and finished ninth, his fourth top-10 finish this year.

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Like Byron, Weber was a student enrolled in Liberty’s online program. He died at the age of 29 in a helicopter crash on March 15, 2018, while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. A 2011 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Weber went on to become a Combat Rescue Officer and Team Commander of the 308th rescue squadron in Cocoa Beach, Fla., where he was known for his Christian faith, courage, and humble leadership. He received an M.A. in Executive Leadership posthumously last May. Last year, Byron drove in memory of two former Liberty faculty members: U.S. Army Maj. Mike Donahue and retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charlie Davidson.

Professor’s cancer-screening prototype could save lives in third-world countries Dr. Ephraim Zegeye, associate professor of mechanical engineering in Liberty University’s School of Engineering, is working to create a low-cost breast cancer screening device that could provide readings via a mobile phone.

A team of students from both the electrical and mechanical engineering degree programs are helping Zegeye create a prototype. The project involves programming, circuitry, materials processing, 3D printing, and a lot of problem-solving.

The handheld device uses automated

palpitation (sensing by touch) with a synthetic “e-skin” covering that is applied to the body. Scans would be sent to a mobile app, so the user would only need to see a doctor to follow up if an abnormality is detected.

For Zegeye, the project is a perfect combination of his two passions: “helping those who are suffering in underdeveloped countries and my interest in developing products. I want to make things and see them work.”

Zegeye grew up in Ethiopia. After gaining engineering experience in the U.S., he continued to think about the LEA H STAUFFE R

struggles his people faced, especially limited access to healthcare. Zegeye even worked on a cancer detection project during his postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland but believed it was too complex to be accessible. He began to think about opportunities that could be smaller and cheaper, available to people whether they are in America and want to avoid the awkwardness of an exam room or in a third-world country where cancer screening is still rarely even considered.

He also noted that small voltages used are less harmful than MRI scans.

“There is a lack of skilled manpower, not enough doctors to treat (people), and it is very difficult to get access to mammography, CT scanning, and that leads to deaths,” Zegeye said of the third world. “If we make this thing work, it saves a lot of people.”

Future plans call for the device to be patented and manufactured. Zegeye and his students will also publish academic papers and give research presentations on the project.

AROUND LU

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ELITE: Liberty Law placed No. 7 in the nation out of 203 schools for the 2018 bar passage rate, joining several Ivy League schools and finishing No. 1 in Virginia by surpassing UVA and William & Mary.

Success continued as LU’s February 2019 pass rate was 100 percent.

RESEARCH SHOWCASE: LU was one of the eight most represented institutions out of more than 400 at the National Council on Undergraduate Research in Atlanta in April, the largest symposium of its kind in the world. Sixty-one LU students shared posters, art projects, and oral presentations.

NEWS & EVENTS

Engineering students hit the road with vehicle designs Three vehicle projects from the School of Engineering are providing students experience in every stage of the process, from drafting and computer modeling to electrical and mechanical engineering.

The Human-Powered Vehicle project was started in 2014 as a way to generate student excitement and engagement for the first year of the school’s mechanical engineering program. This year’s team — made up of 24 mostly mechanical but also electrical, industrial, and computer engineering students — placed fifth out of more than 50 colleges at an international competition sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and hosted by Michigan State University in early April.

The three-wheeled recumbent vehicle, weighing 68 pounds, finished fourth in the women’s drag race, fifth in the men’s drag race, and fourth in JOE L I SI M E M E

JOE L I SI M E M E

Baja Off-road Vehicle

the two-and-a-half-hour endurance race, in which it recorded the fastest single-lap time.

“We are really excited to see how far we have progressed,” said lead engineer Joel Lederfind. “We were giving the best engineering schools in the nation a run for their money.”

Senior Caleb Wakeley served as the lead manufacturing engineer and junior Dylan Hare was instrumental in the steering design and fabrication.

Wesley Falwell provided assistance in welding the frame, axle, and steering column in Liberty’s metal shop.

Next year, Liberty’s Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team hopes to add to the School of Engineering’s honors when it showcases its first electric race car. With support from Hendrick Motorsports, the team is gearing up to enter an international competition in June 2020 in California.

Electric Race Car

MOVIE MAGIC: LU cinematic arts students and alumni worked on the set of the Kendrick Brothers’ latest film “Overcomer,” projected to be one of 2019’s biggest faith films. LU talent worked in departments like camera, sound, wardrobe, and production design.

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Human-Powered Vehicle

Leading aerospace engineering companies SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as Waymo, developer of the self-driving Google car, have attended recent Formula SAE races and hired program graduates.

The Formula SAE team received a grant from Hendrick Motorsports that covers the cost of components of the car and the tools needed to assemble it.

This year’s team included 34 students. They started with a computer model and used it to construct a prototype at Liberty’s Center for Energy Research & Education facility in nearby Bedford County. The design is complete, and professionals at Hendrick Motorsports welded its steel frame in their body shop in Charlotte, N.C. In May, students began installing the car’s various components, including the battery-powered motor, electrical system, steering, suspension, tires, and brakes. They plan to test the vehicle by the start of the spring semester. The car is expected to reach top speeds of 60-70 mph.

Ten students have also designed and manufactured a gas-powered Baja off-road vehicle to be entered into a Baja SAE competition next spring.

That competition tests the vehicles’ endurance, speed, and mobility over rough terrain.

When the new School of Engineering building opens in Fall 2021, the vehicle teams will have larger bays for working on vehicles.

Dr. Mark Horstemeyer, Liberty’s new School of Engineering dean, who previously served in Mississippi State University’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (one of the world’s premier automotive research centers) expects big things to come from the school in the future.

“This is just the beginning of what we’re going to see at Liberty University,” he said.

FIXERS: A team from the Aviation Maintenance Technician Program took home three awards in the 2019 Aerospace Maintenance Competition in Atlanta, including third overall in the Schools Division. They also won the Competing with Professionalism Award.

Making Us Proud Everywhere they go, LU students are ambassadors, carrying the Liberty name near and far as they reflect their school’s mission. They’re starting early, too — they aren’t waiting until they graduate to spread the word about the many ways a quality education from the world’s premier Christian university is impacting their lives.

Read how students are making Liberty proud as they represent their school.

return to his home state, but he could be closer to his family, including a brother who is also a Liberty student.

“It’s just a very unique place,” Craft said of Liberty. “I love the fact that it’s an entire school of like-minded individuals who share the same values.

I love that they integrate that into the curriculum. Events like Convocation, with the speakers Liberty brings in and the experiences that are available to students, make it a special place.”

SOCCER AND STUDIES

ON THE NEWS

After playing professional soccer for several years, incoming residential student Coy Craft is ready to enjoy being what he calls “a normal college kid.”

Raised in Southwest Virginia, Craft began playing soccer at an early age and quickly fell in love with the sport.

“It was a long journey,” he said. “I started out with a system called ODP (Olympic Development Program) for young soccer players.”

At age 16, Craft made the national team and signed with FC Dallas.

While playing soccer, he finished his high school studies through Liberty University Online Academy (LUOA), a fully accredited online program for K-12 students.

“I immediately started doing LUOA dual enrollment; I could finish high school and work toward my college degree at Liberty,” Craft said. “Once I graduated from high school, I continued studying through Liberty’s online program and I’m pursuing a finance degree. I had a grant from the MLS (Major League Soccer) that I could use to pay for my school online while I played.”

Moving to Lynchburg seemed like a natural fit for Craft. Not only could he

Rising junior Ashley Singleton, a communication student and a Liberty cheerleader, did an impromptu interview on Fox & Friends with President Jerry Falwell on March 26. They responded to backlash from some media outlets after the men’s basketball team made history by winning the school’s first NCAA tournament game. SB Nation called out Liberty as one of two schools on an anti-LGBTQ “shame list,” and an NBC Sports writer tweeted about not celebrating Liberty because of an LGBT “history.”

But Singleton said Liberty is not the picture those outlets had painted.

“Unfortunately, I was not surprised by the backlash that we received because I feel like it’s almost a constant thing, but I do know we have a lot of people who support us and are here for us,” she said during the interview.

“And I think for the people who are constantly coming at Liberty, they

really just need to come and see what Liberty is all about. I think they get all these preconceived notions that aren’t true, such as how strict our rules are and stuff like that, but they haven’t experienced the love here and the incredible atmosphere at Liberty.”

S TA R R O L E

Rising sophomore Caroline Falwell recently made her acting debut starring in a new commercial for Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, Calif., one of the largest K-12 schools in the country and a popular choice among Hollywood’s elite.

Liberty parent Shelene Bryan, who serves on the board of the school, noticed Caroline during a visit to campus with Candace Cameron Bure.

Bryan decided that Caroline would be perfect for the role, noting that young people without prior acting training or experience are often more authentic in their roles.

After submitting a video and headshots, Caroline was chosen from a field of about 200 candidates and flew to Los Angeles to spend the day filming on set with a major

production company. The commercial was unveiled at a fundraising gala for Oaks Christian School, which was held at the Reagan Library and attended by George and Laura Bush.

AROUND LU

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GOOD RUCK: LU ROTC cadets organized a “Rucking for a Reason” food drive in April and marched the food from campus to Park View Community Mission to help those in need in the Lynchburg area. Rucking is a normal part of their training, but the cadets incorporated a way to give back to the community.

STANDING FOR FREEDOM: Alumnus Zach Radcliffe, a singer/songwriter, debuted his single “I’ll Stand” during Liberty’s hosted CPAC event. The song, produced by Liberty Music Group, was written to honor the sacrifices veterans made to protect our freedom.

NEWS & EVENTS

Michael W. Smith, Kevin Jonas Sr. to join Liberty’s new Center for Commercial Music

SMITH

Liberty President Jerry Falwell, with the help of one of Christian music’s most famous artists, Michael W. Smith, made a special announcement during Commencement. From backstage at a show with the Newsboys in Wisconsin, Smith appeared on the videoboard congratulating the graduates and telling them: “You might want to stick around for another couple years, because next year, I’m going to be hanging out on campus; Liberty and I have some big news on taking music to a whole other level, and it’s going to be awesome.”

Now, the news is out: The Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music will launch this fall at Liberty’s School of Music, with Smith as the director. Along with the new center will come a major recording label that will attract new and already successful artists from across the country. Artists will also come to Liberty to help train the next generation of music professionals.

Falwell announced that Kevin Jonas, father and original manager of the Jonas

JONAS

DENSON

Brothers who launched their music careers in 2005, will also play a pivotal role in working with Liberty students to publish records and introduce their talent to the world.

Former Christian recording artist and music industry executive Al Denson has been a key player in securing Smith, Jonas, and others in this unique partnership. As Liberty’s commercial music industry liaison, Denson will bring in artists who have the passion to work with budding musicians who were once in their place.

“These artists remember how hard it was starting out, working years and years to have the opportunity to record on a major label,” Denson said. “So when they have a chance to give back to those who are really wanting to seek what they did, and walk down the same path, they are more than willing and excited to invest in them. It’s magnetizing to get around students who are hungry when you know how it feels yourself.

The artists just need a place that has

NATHA N S PEN CER

SPEAKING UP: Recent graduate Rebekah Sharpe was awarded Top Student at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational this spring, taking first place in Varsity Dramatic Interpretation as well. The LU Readers Theatre team took second place.

integrity and supportive staff who care, and that’s why the match with Liberty makes it so good.”

He said Smith is the perfect choice to direct the center: “He’s had such a good legacy and reputation, and that all lines up with the legacy and reputation of Liberty.”

Jonas will bring another level to the program, Denson added, connecting with artists who want to sign with the new mainstream label out of Liberty.

“Kevin has the most integrity of anyone I know on the pop side of music,” Denson said, noting that Jonas will also be making trips to campus. “He’s going to give us depth into a market where we’ve never been; he has relationships with people who can be a Christian but still be on the pop side; he’s a liaison to the other side of the coin.”

Denson credits the new initiatives to Dean Vernon Whaley: “When you have a leader who gets it, that’s pretty cool; when you continue to change and seek better alternatives like he has, that’s what really makes it good.”

Denson has been serving with the School of Music’s advisory council for 14 years, and a songwriting lab is named for him.

Whaley said the School of Music has already established itself as the top training center for worship leaders, and now the goal is to also establish Liberty nationally as the “focal point for the training and equipping of commercial musicians for the industry.”

“We want to give all of our students — music majors or not — a conduit to the world stage,” he said. “Now, we’re moving toward commercial music so we can train Christian marketplace musicians ready to enter the industry when they graduate.”

Liberty is among the top 10 largest schools of music in the country. With the expansion into commercial music, Whaley said the school is expecting 27-percent growth in enrollment next year and up to 47 percent in the next two years.

BREAKING OUT: Over Spring Break, 500 Liberty University students, faculty, and staff embarked on 24 domestic and international trips to places like Jamaica, Costa Rica, India, England, Spain, Rwanda, Greece, and Israel. The week marked the highest-ever participation for LU trips.

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OLYMPIC TRACK STAR GETS SET FOR TOKYO 2020 AND FUTURE COACHING CAREER Senior Alejandro Perlaza Zapata, who is training to represent his native country of Colombia for a second time at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, brought a unique flair to Liberty University’s track program. From the way he dances to music in his headphones during warmups to his jubilant expressions as he crosses the finish line, Perlaza Zapata exhibits a true love for the sport.

“I’m always surrounded by happiness, in harmony with myself, but first and foremost, in harmony with God,” he said during a feature for “Game On,” the Liberty Flames Sports Network’s (LFSN) weekly sports show.

Perlaza Zapata is driven to win every race and to give God the glory.

“My focus is to set goals that are impossible for me, but nothing is impossible with God,” he said. “If I’m with God, I know that He will take me to things that I will never imagine to achieve.”

Competing at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Brazil, was one such experience.

“Being there with the best athletes in the world made a big impact in my life,” Perlaza Zapata said. “My next goal is to get an Olympic medal, to be on the podium.”

Perlaza Zapata holds the Colombian record in the 400 meters. He placed sixth at the NCAA Division I indoor national championships in March and qualified to compete in the men’s 400 on June 5 and 7 at the NCAA Division I outdoor national championships in Austin, Texas. Going into the outdoor national competition, Perlaza Zapata was tied for No. 9 on the NCAA men’s 400 national list for 2019 and tied for No. 18 in the world this year. He also has his sights set on the Sept. 27-Oct. 6 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Qatar.

He plans to complete his interdisciplinary studies degree, with specializations in health sciences and coaching, this summer.

“My goal is to be a high-performance coach and teach the future generations all that I am learning now,” Zapata said.

Visit GameOnLU.com for other senior student-athletes featured last semester, including men’s basketball guard Lovell Cabbil, who led the Flames to their first NCAA tournament victory; women’s volleyball outside hitter Victoria Baptista from Brazil; and men’s tennis player Eddie Gutierrez from Mexico.

S PO RTSCEN T ER TO P 10 Did you catch these spectacular moves

by Liberty student-athletes on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 this past year?

Watch them at Liberty.edu/LibertyJournal.

Alivia Klopp, Field Hockey, #9, game-winning goal against No. 7 Virginia (9/16/18) Kevin Mendoza, Men’s Soccer, #4, OT winning goal (10/20/18)

JOE L COLE M AN

Caleb Homesley, Men’s Basketball, #10, dunk (12/11/18) Keenan Gumbs, Men’s Basketball, #3, dunk (2/9/19) Ayden Karraker, Baseball, #1, catching foul ball over fence (2/24/19) Caleb Homesley, Men’s Basketball, #3, dunk (2/26/19) Eddie Gutierrez, Men’s Tennis, #3, volley point winner (4/6/19) Amber Bishop, Softball, #5, game-winning grand slam (4/23/19) Jaylen Guy, Baseball, #9, throw to home plate from outfield (5/8/19)

HIGHLIGHTS

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PITCHER PERFECT: Senior Julia DiMartino tossed the fourth perfect game in the program’s NCAA Division I era, striking out seven Tigers in a 12-0, five inning victory over Princeton University on Feb. 24 at Liberty Softball Stadium.

LACROSSE TRIFECTA: Junior midfielder Carly White is Liberty’s first player in program history to earn first team all-conference honors in each of her first three seasons. She was Liberty’s team leader in goals (33), points (57), and ground balls (60) and ranked third in the nation in ground balls per game (3.53).

ATHLETICS

SHOOTING SPORTS PROGRAM TAKES AIM ON NATIONAL COMPETITIONS The men’s and women’s shooting sports program started just two years ago, but has quickly established itself as a lead contender on the national scene.

Practicing on the university’s new rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting ranges and sporting clay fields at the Liberty Mountain Gun Club near campus, the Flames and Lady Flames have claimed individual titles and top-five regional and national team showings in the past year.

Carl Pongs won a national title in Sporting Clays at the ACUI Collegiate Shotgun National Championships in San Antonio.

Mitchell Feaga was an individual national champion at the NRA Intercollegiate Club Rifle Championships in Fort Benning, Ga. Feaga went on to place ninth out of

61 Small Bore competitors at the USA Rifle/Pistol National Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs.

The Action Team (3-gun pistol and rifle) earned a silver medal at the Scholastic Action Shooting Program Collegiate National Championships in Talladega, Ala. “We are enjoying great success and getting done early what we had only dreamed about as a first-year program a year ago,” Head Coach Dave Hartman said. “I have really good shooters, and they’re eager to go show the world what they can do.”

“We’re just trying to do our best, not just in shooting, but to honor God in that,” said senior shotgun team co-captain Josh Lancaster. “We want to really show people what Liberty’s all about, what God’s all about, while we are there.”

The program’s upward trajectory parallels the continued expansion of its facility. A lodge currently under construction behind the shotgun range is scheduled to open this summer.

The building will feature a great room with a fireplace, a team room, staff offices, and a pro shop area to purchase ammunition and accessories.

SPORTING EVENTS TO DRAW THOUSANDS TO LIBERTY THIS SUMMER

Later this summer, Liberty University’s campus will be on full display as 40,000 people are expected to head to Lynchburg for the State Games of America. The games will be held primarily in Liberty’s athletics facilities and will host 15,000 participants from 34 states.

In partnership with Virginia Amateur Sports, Liberty has hosted the Commonwealth Games for amateur athletes from Virginia for the past three summers. (Prior to that, the games were held in the Roanoke area.)

“The Commonwealth Games have

always been an exciting time for these athletes and an energizing time for our community,” said Liberty President Jerry Falwell. “This summer, we are excited to not only host Virginia’s athletes, but also athletes from all across the country as they come to compete in the State Games of America.”

Events will take place from July 31 through Aug. 4.

The State Games is a biennial event that started in 1999 and is open to athletes across the country who have medaled in their respective state’s games in the previous two years. Member states cover all parts of the country and run from New Hampshire to Florida and to California and Oregon. Events include archery, basketball, bowling, chess, disc golf, equestrian, figure skating, shooting sports, and many more.

Liberty’s campus will turn into an Olympic Village, with many of the athletes housed in dorms. Campus amenities, including dining, will be open to athletes and their families.

ACING THE GRADES: Ervin Chang was a three-time ASUN Men’s Golfer of the Week selection this spring and was named ASUN Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining senior Gabe Lench on the ASUN All-Conference First Team.

Dan Duffy, past president of the National Congress of State Games’ board said, “The board is excited with the selection of Liberty University and looks forward to the athletes and families having the opportunity to see the wonderful, world-class Division I facilities and the enriching culture that Liberty University and the City of Lynchburg have to offer. The people at Liberty and the City of Lynchburg are ready and willing to do everything in their power to make these the best games possible.”

The City of Lynchburg expects the State Games to have an economic impact of about $10 million. Mayor Treney Tweedy shared her excitement: “Not only will the games provide Central Virginia with the opportunity to see and participate in world-class amateur sports, it will also be a boon to our local economy. It certainly would not have been possible without the collaboration of Liberty University, Virginia Amateur Sports, and the City of Lynchburg.”

CCSA CHAMPIONS: The Women’s Swimming & Diving team captured its second Coastal Collegiate Sports Association swimming & diving conference championship on Feb. 23, ending FGCU’s four-year streak as conference champions.

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COACH OF THE YEAR M C K AY R E W A R D E D F O R H E L P I N G F L A M E S R E W R I T E R E C O R D B O O K S

A storybook season for Liberty University Men’s Basketball culminated in Head Coach Ritchie McKay receiving the 2019 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the top coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.

“I’m floored, very honored, humbled, and blessed that they would choose us, our program, as the recipient of that award,” McKay told Liberty’s “Game On” sports news television show. “I know some of the previous winners (including Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, and West Virginia’s Bob Huggins) and don’t consider myself in that class. So it just speaks to how many have worked hard and labored to build our program. And as a result of that, our guys had a special season.”

McKay is the first head coach from a non-Power 5 school to receive the honor since 2011.

The award was announced on April

5, the night before the Final Four in Minneapolis, Minn.

McKay led the Flames to their first NCAA Tournament win and first trip to the tournament’s Round of 32. He also helped the Flames shatter many records this year, winning 29 games, their most in school history. They eclipsed 20 wins for the third consecutive season.

The Flames finished 14-2 in the ASUN regular season and 16-1 at the Vines Center.

The record-setting year was highlighted by cutting the nets down in Nashville, Tenn., on March 10 after claiming the ASUN Men’s Basketball Championship in their first season in the conference. Liberty upset host Lipscomb University 74-68. That punched the Flames’ fourth ticket to the NCAA Tournament and gave them their highest seed to date at No. 12.

A career-high 30 points from junior guard Caleb Homesley helped Liberty upend No. 5-seeded Mississippi State, 80-76, in the first round in San Jose, Calif., for the team’s first NCAA Tournament triumph. In the second round, the Flames yielded a secondhalf lead to fourth-seeded Virginia Tech, losing 67-58 and ending their tournament run.

As Liberty continued its rise up the NCAA Division I ranks, McKay improved his record to 124-83 in two stints (200709, 2015-19) with the Flames. He was granted a six-year contract extension through the 2024-25 season.

AND RE W SNY DER

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LE AH STAU F F E R

Head Coach Ritchie McKay does a victory dance with the team in the locker room after beating Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

L E AH STAU F F E R KJ JU GAR

LEAH STAU FFER

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SHINING IN THE

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ATHLETICS

JE SSI E R OGE R S

It was a glorious first season for Liberty University’s 17 NCAA Division I athletics programs that competed in the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference in 2018-19. The newcomers established themselves as contenders, if not favorites, in nearly every sport, while reflecting the light of Christ on their respective playing fields and keeping their eyes on the prize for conference championships.

“Liberty teams and student-athletes have thrived during our inaugural year in the ASUN conference,” said Ian McCaw, Liberty’s director of athletics. “The ASUN competition is exceptional, and our programs were able to raise their level of performance to achieve considerable success.”

Liberty had a banner year in its ASUN debut, winning six championship titles. The year was highlighted by the men’s basketball team’s upset of defending champion Lipscomb in the ASUN Championship game. The Flames and Lady Flames track & field teams swept at both the indoor and the outdoor ASUN Championships. The baseball team rallied to beat defending tournament champion Stetson University.

The women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis, men’s golf, and men’s and women’s cross country teams finished as champion runners-up. The women’s tennis team also shared a regular season title with North Florida.

Liberty Athletics continued its run of success when it captured the Bill Bibb Trophy, which honors the ASUN program with the best overall showings in all of the conference’s sports.

READ HOW TEAMS PERFORMED IN THEIR INAUGURAL ASUN SEASON ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES.

MEN’S BASKETBALL The Flames won a program-record 29 games, headlined by the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history, a first-round triumph over Mississippi State.

Liberty captured the ASUN Tournament title after sharing the regular-season championship with Lipscomb at 14-2.

Ritchie McKay was honored as Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.

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BASEBALL The Flames beat defending champion Stetson University 4-3 for the ASUN championship and the conference’s automatic bid to a 2019 NCAA Regional. Catcher Jonathan Embry was named the 2019 ASUN Baseball Championship MVP and was joined by outfielder Gray Betts, pitcher Andrew McInvale, shortstop Cam Locklear, and outfielder Brandon Rohrer on the 2019 ASUN All-Tournament team.

MEN’S GOLF The No. 22-ranked Flames finished runner-up to No. 14 North Florida at the ASUN Championships. They earned their second NCAA National Championship bid in program history by placing fifth in regional competition. The team tied for 20th place with UNLV at nationals, with senior Gabe Lench advancing to the final round.

SOFTBALL The Lady Flames went 16-5 in conference play, placing runner-up to Lipscomb University in the ASUN regular season standings. They were ousted in the semifinals of the ASUN Tournament but went on to win the second National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) Regional tournament. The team advanced to the NISC Championship, where it fell to Iowa State. Seniors Jaclyn Amader and Julia DiMartino were named to the ASUN Softball Championship All-Tournament Team.

VOLLEYBALL

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

The Lady Flames posted a 10-6 ASUN record and reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals during their first season of conference play. Liberty was led by first team All-ASUN right-side hitter Casey Goodwin (309 kills, 40 aces), who was invited to try out for the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team.

Liberty won a program-record 14 games on its way to the ASUN Championship final during its first season in the conference. It marked the Lady Flames’ second conference tournament final appearance in program history, and they narrowly missed their first NCAA Division I tournament bid with a 20-18 loss to two-time defending ASUN Tournament champion Jacksonville.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Liberty won 12 of its final 16 games, advancing to the ASUN Tournament title game during its first season of conference play. The Lady Flames finished 10-6 in ASUN contests, recording 10 or more conference wins for the 20th straight year.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY Liberty placed second in its first ASUN Cross Country Championships appearance.

The Flames went on to record a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, marking their highest regional finish since 2008. Azaria Kirwa qualified to the NCAA national meet for the second straight year.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Lady Flames were the runners-up during their inaugural ASUN Cross Country Championships appearance. Their 13th-place effort at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships represented their best regional showing since 2010.

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ATHLETICS

MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

The Flames captured their 22nd straight conference title, halting Kennesaw State’s run of seven consecutive ASUN championships. Alejandro Perlaza Zapata earned All-America honors after placing sixth in the 400 final at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships and was named the ASUN Outstanding Men’s Track Performer for both the indoor and outdoor championships.

Liberty won the ASUN team title, handing Jacksonville only its second defeat in meet history and recording the Lady Flames’ fourth consecutive conference championship overall. Liberty also hoisted the team champion trophy at the ECAC Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships for the second straight year.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

MEN’S TENNIS

The Lady Flames crafted a 6-1 conference record, earning a share of the ASUN regular-season championship. Liberty, which went 15-7 overall, appeared in the conference tournament semifinals for the seventh consecutive season.

Led by the ASUN Player of the Year (nationallyranked Nicaise Muamba), Liberty went 6-1 in conference play. The Flames earned the ASUN Tournament’s No. 2 seed and appeared in the semifinal round of a conference tournament for the first time since 2016.

MEN’S SOCCER

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD

Liberty finished 7-7-1 during Jeff Alder’s 19th and final season as head coach, qualifying for the ASUN Tournament. The Flames ranked No. 10 nationally with 2.13 goals per game, and leading scorer Kevin Mendoza was selected by Los Angeles FC in the MLS SuperDraft.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Liberty tied for third place in the ASUN standings with a 5-3 conference record, and the Lady Flames were the only ASUN team to defeat conference champion Lipscomb. Liberty’s inaugural season of ASUN competition ended in the quarterfinals following five victories in the team’s final seven games.

The Lady Flames claimed their fifth consecutive outdoor conference championship after winning the past four in the Big South. The team won nine of 21 events to oust two-time defending ASUN champion Kennesaw State by a 260.5-170 margin. Eight Lady Flames qualified for the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round Meet where Chelsea Igberaese (discus) and the 4 x 400 relay team of Tanner Ealum, Ty’Asia Dansbury, Delaney McDowell, and Cortney Dowling advanced to the nationals in Austin.

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD The Flames won 11 of 21 events to pull away from six-time defending champion Kennesaw State by a 241-195 margin for their 13th straight outdoor conference crown. The team went on to compete in nine events at the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round Meet, with Azaria Kirwa (5K, 10K), Alejandro Perlaza Zapata (400), Denzel Pratt (javelin), and Felix Kandie (steeplechase) punching their tickets to the national championships in Austin, Texas, starting June 5.

JOE L COL EMAN

JO EL CO LEM AN

HEALTHY

COMPETITION KIRK HANDY ENRICHES THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE AS CLUB SPORTS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Entering his 20th season as a coach for Liberty University’s ACHA Division I men’s hockey team, Kirk Handy looks back in awe and wonder at the exponential growth he has witnessed since he was a hockey player for Liberty in the late 1990s.

“It is pretty incredible,” said Handy, who helped start Liberty’s Club Sports department in Fall 2008 and now serves as its athletic director.

The department started with just five teams and 82 student-athletes and has grown to 41 teams and more than 600 student-athletes. Club Sports teams travel all over the country, with some competing at the highest level of collegiate competition in their sport.

“I am blessed. God has been very good to us, and we’ve continued to refine and get better and grow day-in and day-out,” he said. “That’s a big, big part of it — not being satisfied with where we are and pushing to be the best that we can be.”

Handy gauges Club Sports’ success not only by the teams’ performances but by each student’s progression from the

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moment they arrive on campus to the time they graduate.

“To me, winning games and winning championships is one thing, but continuing to develop our student-athletes, continuing to make a difference in their lives, is a real big part of it,” Handy said. “We’re on a mission of Training Champions for Christ, and that’s what we’re trying to do through our Club Sports department.”

Handy leads by example, starting his day around 5 a.m. and balancing a tremendous range of responsibilities.

“A big part of the growth for me has been to ask myself the question, ‘Would I want to be led by me?’ and making sure that my life is one that people will be motivated through,” Handy said. “I want to make a difference, and I want to make sure that the people who work for me have a bigger vision than just a job, a bigger opportunity to make an impact than just the paycheck that they get. That’s real, real important for me.

Personally, I don’t want to stop growing and being all that God wants me to be.

Sometimes, if you get complacent, you stop growing. I don’t want to be in that spot in my life.”

After serving as a team captain and leading scorer on the men’s hockey team and graduating with a psychology degree in 1999, Handy became head coach in 2000. Besides coaching a team that had to commute to a rink over an hour away in Roanoke for late-night practices and games, Handy handled everything from ticket sales to advertising, recruiting, and game operations. He also worked in Liberty’s admissions department and oversaw recruitment events, such as College For A Weekend (CFAW).

The Huntsville, Ontario, native was put in charge of Canadian recruitment and eventually was named director of recruitment.

“I stand back sometimes and start thinking about all the things I’ve done to this point, and it’s overwhelming,” Handy said. “Liberty made a big difference in my life and really built a solid foundation for me when I was here as a student-athlete.

I had the opportunity to work with Dr.

FEATURES

Kirk Handy has been the head coach of Liberty’s ACHA men’s Division I hockey team since 2000. Here, he coaches players from the 2007 team.

Jerry Falwell (Liberty’s founder) from 2000 to 2007, and that really prepared me for what I am doing now. It’s been Liberty’s growth that has spurred a lot of it and also the confidence that Dr. Falwell and our current President Jerry Falwell had in me and what I was doing.”

If Handy is the “Captain Kirk” of Club Sports, the LaHaye Ice Center is his starship. Located across from the LaHaye Recreation and Fitness Center and a football’s throw from Williams Stadium, the center is home to Liberty’s five hockey teams and the figure skating and synchronized skating teams as well as the headquarters for the Club Sports department.

“Dr. Falwell had been talking about building a rink here on campus, and when we finally did (in January 2006) and then built the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre a couple years later, it was such an exciting time for us,” Handy said. “We realized that what we were doing with these venues was building a great foundation for our Club Sports program.”

Since the opening of those two facilities, the Club Sports department has added lacrosse fields and a clubhouse, two paintball fields, two disc golf courses, an equestrian center, a state-of-the-art

Thirty-three of the 41 Club Sports teams qualified for national competition in the 2018-19 school year, and 21 ended their seasons ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

The ACHA Division I women’s hockey team and NCWA Division I men’s wrestling team defended their national championships. The women’s crew team and the men’s disc golf team earned national honors. The men’s and women’s wrestling teams and the shooting sports teams also celebrated individual national titles.

shooting sports complex with archery ranges, a boat house for its crew teams at Smith Mountain Lake, a rock wall, the Liberty Mountain Intramural Complex with beach volleyball courts, and a Club Sports strength and conditioning/athletic training center. Triathletes and men’s swimmers and divers utilize the new Liberty Indoor Track & Field Complex and Liberty Natatorium as well as a triathlon/cycling studio.

Liberty’s robust Club Sports program broadens the college experience for students. In addition to the classroom, student-athletes also learn life lessons on the ice, on the court, and on the field. Coaches become mentors, and teammates become lifelong friends. The university has also seen rewarding results in improved graduation and retention rates as the Club Sports program gives students a chance to continue to compete in a sport that many of them have loved since they were children.

“You have to love what you’re doing and believe in what you’re doing, and

that’s made a tremendous difference in the rate at which we have been able to grow, the rate at which we are able to retain students, the rate at which we are able to bring new students in and, ultimately, the rate at which they graduate on time and go out and make a difference,” Handy said.

The success of the Club Sports program is “first and foremost part of God’s blessings on Liberty University,” he said. “Second, it’s due to the university leadership who have really allowed us to continue to grow and to have a big impact on our teams, our coaches, our student-athletes, and alumni who had such a great experience here because of the resources they were given. Third, we couldn’t have built the hockey program or a Club Sports department without people who sacrificed a lot along the way. We have a wonderful staff here who love their student-athletes and love Liberty. I am just blessed enough to stay here and be a part of something really special.”

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CLUB SPORTS

For more information, visit Liberty.edu/ClubSports MEN’S TEAMS Archery Beach Volleyball Crew Cycling Disc Golf

Equestrian Gymnastics D1 Hockey D2 Hockey D3 Hockey Lacrosse

Paintball Racquetball Rock Climbing Shooting Ski & Snowboard Swimming & Diving

TaeKwonDo Triathlon Ultimate Volleyball Wrestling

WOMEN’S TEAMS Archery Beach Volleyball Crew Cycling Disc Golf Equestrian

Figure Skating Gymnastics D1 Hockey D2 Hockey Racquetball Rock Climbing Shooting

Ski & Snowboard Synchronized Skating TaeKwonDo Triathlon Ultimate Wrestling

CLASS NOTES your

NEWS

You have news to share, and we want to hear it! Send us your news on the Class Notes website, an easy-to-use resource for sharing your exciting life updates.

VISIT

LIBERTY.EDU/CLASSNOTES Submissions will be published online and may be featured in the Liberty Journal.

1970s

’80, ’92 KEN WORRELL is a Flight Training Procedure Instructor at Delta Airlines in Atlanta, Ga.

’76, ’83 LAMAR KEENER is Executive Director at the Evangelical Press Association and President/CEO of Selah Media Group.

’81, ’08 RICK FLOWERS is Senior Pastor at Countryside Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga.

’79 STEVE DUNN is District Sales Manager in Altoona, Pa., for Wells Enterprises, maker of Blue Bunny ice cream and the largest familyowned, privately-held ice cream processor in the U.S.

’81 MARK KUHNS is Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations for World Team USA in Warrington, Pa. World Team is a global mission agency dedicated to church planting among unreached people groups.

’79 KEITH STEPHENS is Front of House Director at Chick-fil-A in Lynchburg, Va.

’81 TIMOTHY SCHIMKUS is Chief Financial Officer at Allen Corporation of America in Fairfax, Va., which provides information, technology, logistics, and training solutions to private and public sectors.

1980s ’80 RICHARD DEWITT is a real estate broker and investor in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Fla. area. His wife, Sally (Sistrunk), also graduated from Liberty in 1980.

’82 JOHN SCHLESINGER serves as Philanthropy Officer in Planned Giving for the Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, Pa.

Prison administrator sows seeds of redemption through gardening program

As Maine State Department of Corrections Commissioner, Randall Liberty (’11) manages all correctional facilities in the state, overseeing a total of 2,400 inmates, 1,120 staff members, and 6,000 probationers. But it’s not the everyday management details that matter the most to him. Much of his focus is on finding ways to empower inmates so they can feel like they have something positive to contribute to society.

“I believe in rehabilitation and redemption,” Liberty said. “About 95 percent of these men will be released back into the community at some point, and the question is whether they are better citizens, better fathers, and better sons than when they arrived. If the

58

answer is ‘yes,’ then I’ve done my job.”

He strives to make sure that the inmates wake up each day with a purpose. For that reason, he implemented numerous wellness programs that promote productivity and a strong work ethic. A master gardener himself, Liberty has been able to share his passion for gardening by creating a number of vegetable gardens at Maine State Prison where inmates learn gardening skills while supplying food for the prison. Last year, inmates helped to grow and harvest 12,000 pounds of produce and are on track to harvest another 25,000 pounds of food this year.

Liberty said programs like this have drastically changed the atmosphere of the prison.

“The inmates feel good about what they are doing,” he said. “For some of them, it’s the first time they ever thought they could be successful at something.”

Twenty-five inmates are now certified as master gardeners.

For the past few years, the prison has also partnered with a number of local greenhouses by taking discarded seedlings

that would otherwise be composted and giving them new life in the prison garden.

Last year, the prison grew 3,000 tomato plants and 2,500 pepper plants from seedlings. Composting has also been a big part of the prison program. To date, the Maine State Prison has composted 600,000 pounds of organics, saving $100,000 in disposal costs.

Liberty earned his master’s degree in leadership management through Liberty University’s online program in 2011 and said the degree helped motivate him to create unique programs that bring about change in the inmates.

“This degree made me a better writer, a much more critical thinker, and it prepared me with the marketing and business aspect of the operation,” he said. “I felt it improved me spiritually, getting my nose into the Book (the Bible). It made me feel as though there was a higher purpose for me other than administering a department of corrections.”

Liberty has led a career dedicated to service. In the last 30 years, he has served as command sergeant major in the U.S. Army and as Kennebec County (Maine) Sheriff.

ALUMNI ’83 DAVID BLACK is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at BWX Technologies Inc., in Lynchburg, Va. ’85 RUSS WOLFINGER is Director of Scientific Discovery and Genomics at SAS Institute, a multinational analytics software developer in Cary, N.C. He has authored more than 100 publications and is an adjunct professor at N.C. State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ’88 DENNIS FIELDS is Owner and President of Talon Medical Construction Services, LLC in Raleigh, N.C., which provides construction services to medical facilities. Dennis and his wife, Sonya, have a daughter, Reagan. He is also Chairman of the Board for Jamaica Link Ministries.

’89 KENNETH DEMBECK served as Youth Pastor for Calvary Baptist Church in Central Florida for 27 years and now serves as Senior Pastor.

Fla., with the goal of reaching children and youth worldwide with the Gospel through media such as film, books, storytelling, mobile apps, and audiobooks.

’89 ANGEL KNOWLES VOGGENREITER serves as Executive Director of Lon Solomon Ministries and is on the Board of Directors for Concerned Women for America. Voggenreiter and her husband, Kurt (also a Liberty alumnus), live in the Washington, D.C., area and have two children who both attend Liberty.

’94 MICHAEL J. LITTON is Forensic Accountant and Managing Partner at Litton CPA, LLC in Fredericksburg, Va.

1990s ’94 NICOLE (SPENCER) JOHANSSON is Vice President of Advancement at OneHope, a nonprofit organization in Pompano Beach,

’95 MATTHEW BRAUD, is Senior Manager of Customer Service at Genworth in Lynchburg, Va.

2000s ’01 CLAYTON JONES was promoted to Director of Domestic and International Recruiting at Samaritan’s Purse in Boone, N.C. >>

Serving up chocolate with a sweet purpose

After more than 20 years in the food industry, Steven Taylor (’17) wanted to make a difference in his local community using his hobby: chocolate making.

He and his wife, Kim, had already become actively involved with International Justice Mission, an organization that combats human trafficking. In the Richmond area, where the Taylors live, human trafficking is a growing problem.

“We started looking at what the needs were for survivors of human trafficking, and one of them was job training,” Taylor said.

After asking their friends to pray, the Taylors opened Taylor Made Chocolate, an artisan chocolate business dedicated to giving survivors a second chance. The company has begun selling their chocolate in gourmet food stores, chocolate shops,

and wineries all down the East Coast.

They also hold tours at their factory in Chesterfield, Va. “People are starting to make a more socially conscious decision in their purchasing,” Taylor said. “About 80 percent of all cocoa beans around the world are produced from slave labor. Our goal is to try and produce a chocolate made from fair trade-sourced cocoa beans and use our company as a training facility for people freed from human trafficking.”

Taylor left his job and took on the chocolate business full time in 2017.

He also earned his degree in executive leadership from LU that year. He said the degree helped him prepare for the new venture.

“I had to take an entrepreneurship class (at Liberty) and right when we were starting to consider opening this business, one of the things we had to do for the class was develop a business plan for a company we might want to start,” Taylor said. “I was able to get constant feedback on my business plan as I was writing it.”

Last summer, the Taylors trained and hired their first survivor after partnering with several organizations that combat human trafficking in the Richmond area.

“In this case, the girl went to the hospital with an injury, and the first responder asked her if she felt safe, and she said no,” Taylor said. “She unloaded

everything on them, and it turned out she had been kept as a slave in a domestic household. She was removed from that situation and brought to an organization in Richmond that helps people rescued from human trafficking. They set her up with housing and transportation and connected her with us. We brought her in and started training her in manufacturing and food preparation, which are very portable skills. She trained with us for about four months, and she has now moved on to her next destination.”

Taylor said he is grateful for his time at Liberty and was amazed at the different perspectives he was able to learn from.

“Being in the executive leadership online degree program, I was exposed to people in the military, police officers, and a bunch of other fields,” Taylor said.

“I really enjoyed getting perspectives from people all around the world. It was encouraging to see that there were so many different Christians in so many different areas in the corporate world and in the military and public sectors.

That was really exciting to see. It gives you a little hope in the world knowing that there are Christian leaders coming through Liberty’s online programs. I wasn’t expecting that experience, being able to get such a broad kind of perspective and experience.”

Read more about Taylor Made Chocolate at TMChocolate.com.

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>> ’01 MATT STEWART is a partner in the Corporate Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. Matt is a mergers & acquisitions and private equity attorney in the firm’s San Francisco Bay Area office. ’02 IVAN LEON is Chief Strategist for the Kerux Group in Bellingham, Wash. The Kerux Group is a full-service marketing agency, helping faith-based organizations develop a strategy to engage the Hispanic audience. ’05, ‘07’, ’13, ’19 TOM HINKLEY is Director of Solutions Architecture at McGraw-Hill Education. ’06 NEAL PHILLIPS serves as Worship Pastor at Redemption Church in Arnold, Md. ’08 MOLLIE YODER is Director of Membership at The Pocket Testament League based in Lititz, Pa.

’09 AARON LAWLER is Mid-Atlantic Region Account Executive for InSight Telepsychiatry. ’09, ’15 ANTHONY QUARANTA is Account Supervisor at RKD Group, a fundraising and marketing company in Richardson, Texas.

2010s ’10 LAUREN LAWLER is Senior Recruiter at Genworth in Lynchburg, Va. ’10 BEN WALTON is Assistant Attorney General for the General Litigation Division of the Office of the Attorney General, State of Texas, in Austin, Texas. ’11 JOSEPH HOUSE is Staff Manufacturing Engineer at the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nev.

’11, ’14 KACEY M. MARTIN is an Associate Attorney at Meagher & Meagher, P.C., a law firm in White Plains, N.Y., specializing in medical malpractice. ’11 RICHARD ROWLANDS was named the new Director of Financial Services for Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, N.Y. ’11 STEPHEN WILSON was recently hired to oversee the new Prison Ministry Department at Gateway Church in Fort Worth, Texas. ’13 HOLLY WEBER ARNOLD was selected by the U.S. Department of State for a three-week English Language Specialist project focusing on the TESOL-Ukraine National Conference, IATEFL Conference, and GOCamp training of teacher-trainers in Ukraine at O.M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy. Arnold

Raising a SHIELD for child victims

When Robert Peters (’15) chose a law school, he selected Liberty University because of its “missional emphasis.”

“That’s one of the rewarding aspects of Liberty Law; you meet people who are not just talented but really have a heart for people,” Peters said.

He became aware of the broader child abuse crisis through his work with Liberty Law Professor Basyle (Boz) Tchividjian, founder of GRACE — Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment.

“I didn’t realize how widespread it was,” Peters said. “On the one hand, it breaks your heart, and on the other hand, it inspires you to really attack it through your career.”

He knew that he wanted to reduce human trafficking and combat child abuse

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in his law career, beginning as a prosecutor in his home state of West Virginia.

“There are a lot of issues in West Virginia,” he said, “and I wanted to be a part of the solution.”

Peters set right to work after earning his juris doctor in 2015, starting with the Hampshire County prosecutor’s office, working on cases of civil abuse, neglect, and juvenile crime. Among his first cases was a successful conviction of a child pornography consumer.

When he moved on to work as a prosecutor in Marion County, Peters landed 143 sex crime convictions on one perpetrator.

Now, Peters is the co-founder and manager of SHIELD Task Force, a West Virginia nonprofit dedicated to ending child abuse. SHIELD stands for See, Hear, Intervene, Empower, Learn, Defend.

(It’s also a nod to one of Peters’ favorite Marvel superheroes, Captain America.)

Peters works full time as the senior cyber and economic crime attorney and general counsel at the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) in Fairmont, W.Va., where he develops prosecutor training for law enforcement and attorneys, particularly dealing with sex crimes and the “dark web” (a part of the internet that is hidden from search engines and where more illegal activity often takes place).

“I am hoping to really take some of the practical tips and tricks I’ve learned in practice and export those to a broader audience,” Peters said. “And I am thinking creatively about the resources that I wish I would have had when I was a prosecutor that could have made my work more effective, and I want to develop those for law enforcement and prosecution.”

The NW3C links criminal justice agencies across jurisdictional borders, providing support for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime through a combination of research, training, and investigative support services. NW3C has more than 5,000 member agencies in the U.S. and its territories as well as 15 other countries throughout the world.

Peters said his training at Liberty Law enabled him to succeed early in his prosecution career.

“What I learned, from utilizing courtroom accommodation motions to minimize the trauma of your victim and increase their ability to testify, to using 44B motions, where you can delve into prior bad acts of the defendant — these are things that don’t get an emphasis in the field and a lot of prosecutors are scared to do. I knew how to do those on day one because of the quality education and expertise that Professor Tchividjian and others had,” Peters said.

ALUMNI

SHOWCASE YOUR LIBERTY PRIDE WITH THIS KEEPSAKE OF YOUR ALMA MATER. G E T Y O U R B R A C E L E T T O D AY AT F I N K S .C O M

teaches undergraduate and graduate teacher education courses in the field of TESOL at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

’14 MARY CUMMINGS is Marketing Manager for Gray Line New York Sightseeing Tours in New York City.

’13 BRIAN BOSCHE is CEO of The Millennial Solution in Washington, D.C., an organization devoted to helping leaders keep top talent.

’15 HUGH JACKSON is a Deputy District Attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, Calif.

’13 DARYL COLLINS is Vice President for Strategic Accounts in Forest, Va., for Innovairre, an international marketing and advertising firm.

’15 DIANE LOMBRANA serves as the Women’s Ministry Director/Coordinator of First Baptist Church in Stockton, Calif.

’13 CANDICE DILAVORE is Development Coordinator for Crown Media Family Networks in New York City. Crown Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc., is the home of the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama.

’16 SUZANNE ALLEN HANDS works as Quality Control Chemist for C.B. Fleet Company in Lynchburg, Va. She and her husband, Jordan, married in February 2018 and have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels named Whooper and Barley. >>

Taking the Good News into the Great Outdoors

Alumnus Ron Vining has been working in youth ministry his entire adult life. A love for kids combined with a passion for the outdoors has allowed him to develop a unique outreach ministry sharing the Gospel with youth from across the nation.

When Vining moved to Powell, Wyo., 11 years ago to continue his work as a youth pastor, his primary goal was to reach kids who are unlikely to attend church regularly. He knew that the surrounding area was rich with outdoor opportunities such as hunting and fishing. Using that to his advantage, he started an outreach program called Polestar Outdoors, where youth have the opportunity to be trained and mentored in outdoor activities while learning about the Gospel.

“One of the ways God has revealed himself to us is through creation; I believe

that is a powerful tool,” he said. “Mentors at Polestar get to take kids outside and share with them how the creation of our world really came about, and the kids love spending one-on-one time with their mentor. They feel so loved and cared for and are so surprised that someone would take the time to invest in them personally. When I talk at churches now, I always say, ‘Never go fishing, hunting, or hiking alone. Grab a kid and take them with you.’”

The ministry currently has 14 chapters, located in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Texas, and Wyoming.

Another chapter will open soon in California.

Each chapter is tailored to the outdoor activities popular in that specific region.

“For the New York chapters, horseback riding is popular,” Vining said. “For the Texas chapters, it’s all about hog hunting.

It really just depends on what each location is passionate about.”

Recently, Polestar partnered with the Outdoor Dream Foundation, a nonprofit organization that grants terminally ill youth their outdoor dream adventures. Last year, Polestar flew seven children along with a family member to Wyoming to participate in a myriad of outdoor activities.

“Working with those kids has really

been something I have grown passionate about,” he said. “I love going on the trips with them. Those kids are very close to my heart.”

Vining came to Liberty from Upstate New York in 1975 and was on Liberty’s first soccer team. He studied missions with a minor in youth ministry.

“It was basically courses in crosscultural ministries,” he said. “Working with teenagers now is cross-cultural. So I learned how to cross those cultural lines here at Liberty.”

The way Vining found his way to Liberty (then Lynchburg Baptist College) is an interesting story in itself. When his older brother, Gil, was a senior in high school, his guidance counselor was trying to help him decide where to go to college.

One day, Gil saw Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell on television talking about starting a new college in Lynchburg, Va., and told the guidance counselor, who watched Falwell’s show, “The Old Time Gospel Hour,” that Sunday. Through the show, the guidance counselor gave his heart to Christ. According to Ron Vining, the guidance counselor soon felt God leading him to seminary and told Gil Vining, “We’re both going to Liberty.”

Ron Vining joined them two years later.

Learn more about Vining’s ministry at Polestar-Outdoors.org.

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>> ’17 MIKE CAMPBELL is founder of Iron Lot Heavy Equipment of Burlington, N.C., specializing in trench boxes and construction equipment. ’17 DIRK DEATON was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives and is the youngest member to serve in more than 100 years. ’17 DEREK GREEN is the Equal Opportunity and Title IX Complaint Investigator for East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.

’17 GREGORY MILLER is an Aerospace Engineer with NASA in Huntsville, Ala. ’17 SAMUEL PENDER is an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney at Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg, Va. ’17 TERI SIBENALLER will compete as Mrs. Vermont International at the international competition in Charleston, W.Va., this summer.

’17 JONATHAN TROTTER is an Assistant Attorney General for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve. ’18 DUSTIN KULLING was promoted to the rank of Captain at the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office in California. ’18 GILBERT SALINAS is the Chief Clinical Officer at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, Calif., the only neurological rehabilitation hospital in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Alumna’s research at National Institutes of Health could help treat addictions

The words psychoneuroendocrinology and neuropsychopharmacology aren’t everyday terms for most people. But for Liberty University alumna Brittney Browning (’18), they are a part of her daily vocabulary.

Browning graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and now works as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. “Our lab investigates different neuroendocrine pathways as potential pharmacological targets to treat addiction,” Browning said. “Basically, we study different parts of the brain to help create medications and treatments that may be used to help treat addiction.”

She is part of the NIH’s section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology (CPN).

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Currently, Browning’s team is seeking to identify new addiction treatments using various hormonal pathways. Browning processes and analyzes samples, works with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), is involved in studying conditioned response to drug stimuli, and even does work using virtual reality.

Browning said she finds it “extremely rewarding” to know that her work is making a difference.

“I love the environment of NIH,” Browning said. “At Liberty, I dreamed of working at NIH because I read numerous papers that were published from here.

Working in a place that is so researchfocused has given me a new appreciation for the hard work and time that goes into papers that are published from clinical trials.”

Browning said she felt well prepared for her position at the NIH after gaining extensive research experience as an undergraduate student. At Liberty, one of her main projects was investigating the effects of binge sugar consumption on adolescent and adult rats.

Browning spent the summer before her senior year interning at a cognitive neuroscience summer program in Amsterdam. When she returned to Liberty, she received a position as an undergraduate research assistant at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), where she participated in a number of research projects on nutrition, food science, and the influence of diet on health in mice. She

was given a travel award by the university’s Center for Research & Scholarship to present her findings at the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego, Calif.

The undergraduate research gave her invaluable skill sets that have helped her succeed at her job. She said the psychology department, as well as the biology & chemistry department, “did a phenomenal job teaching scientific writing, which has helped tremendously in preparing manuscripts for publication.”

Browning is also grateful for the support of Dr. Joseph C. Gigliotti, assistant professor of physiology in LUCOM’s Department of Integrative Physiology & Pharmacology.

“His support and direction played a huge role in my undergraduate experience,” Browning said. “In addition to teaching me key research skills, he went above and beyond to help me in any way that he could. Professors like Dr. Gigliotti are what set Liberty apart.

Because of Liberty, I now have lifelong friends and mentors.”

Dr. Gigliotti’s laboratory has focused on understanding kidney disease and how diet influences kidney and cardiovascular health. He is also involved in collaborative projects studying kidney health and disease with the University of Rochester Medical Center and the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Browning completed her senior research project in Dr. Gigliotti’s lab, where she studied the influence of different diets on alcohol consumption and gene expression in mice.

THE PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE 2019 The President’s Circle recognizes donors whose giving to Liberty University qualifies for one of the following categories.

This list recognizes donors from Jan. 1-April 30, 2019.

$1,000,000 - and above Organizations The Rawlings Foundation, Inc.

$100,000 - $499,999 Individuals Steve Brooks Dan Crockett Legacy of George Jenkins Dorris D. Williams Organizations BB&T Charitable Fund

$50,000 - $99,999

Individuals John & Eatha S. Gallagher* Gilbert & Mary Margaret Tinney Organizations ExxonMobil Foundation Educational Matching Gift Program

$25,000 - $49,999 Individuals Henry & Doris Bridges Ernest & Amber Carter Linda H. Handy* Organizations Permanens Capital

$10,000 - $24,999

Individuals Melvin W. Buster* Ralph & Joan Campbell Jasen & Brandi Cassady Barry & Pam Clarkson Beatrice L. Dickinson* Paul M. & Philene M. Ware-Dunn Mark & Michelle Hiepler Jon & Margie Lienemann Paul & Kelli Marten Organizations Boxley Mississippi Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, Inc. Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc. dba Peter & John Ministries

$5,000 - $9,999

Individuals Junessa A. DeBiasi Epperly Ron & Rachel Justice Dr. John & Mrs. Jennie Kim B. A. Langley Ingeborg Marcum* Ritchie & Julie McKay Gene & Joyce Myers Rachel Polley Jim & Patsy Sanders Jake & Lorin Shellenberger Todd & Rachelle Sorensen Faron & Linda Thompson

Roy Unsin* Barry & Robyn Woodard Organizations BB&T Blumenschein Living Trust Bob Goodlatte for Congress Committee Brookneal Poultry, Inc. Christian Leadership Alliance Dominion Foundation Franklin Heights Baptist Church Homestead Creamery, Inc. Houston Safari Club Foundation Hurt & Proffitt, Inc. Minnick Enterprises, LLC Patel & Dalrymple Attorneys at Law Runk & Pratt Health Care Enterprises, Inc.

$2,500 - $4,999

Individuals Dr. & Mrs. Gregg Albers Carla Allen Rob & Susan Andrews Tashaa C. Annas Jay & Mary Bachar Linda Beard David & Pam Bell David & Lori Benham Jason & Tori Benham Andy & Linda Bowling Elden & Dixie Brammer Constance E. Bredenberg David & Pamela Brown Tim & Julie Clinton Walter H. Crumling Chris & Cindy Cruz Carey & Denise Green Lee & Tonja Hall Joel & Theresa Hesch Dan & Amy Hodges Rick & Debbie Huff Trevor & Jane Johnson Linda F. Kay John Kenney Ronald & Bernice Kidd Paul Lokey Ian & Heather McCaw Jeff & Cindy McCaw Stephen & Tricia Mock Geraldine E. Moose Mallory Neff Scott & Kelli Overton Sean Owen Mike & Donalyn Parker Amy L. Peavley Craig & Cindy Petry Mike & Helga Pryor Jack Schewel Gary & Traci Schmincke Troy & Hollie Schultz

Tim & Martha Stoudnour Gene & Debbie Walker Duke & Carlene Westover Scott & Shelly Wolf Organizations Arkansas Youth Conference Bates Orthodontics Blue Ridge Chronic Pain Center C12 Virginia Blue Ridge Chesapeake RV Solutions Crossroads Family Dentistry, PLLC Delta Air Lines Foundation Fidelity Charitable First Bank & Trust Company First Baptist Church of Columbia, SC First Baptist Church of Woodbridge First Baptist Church-Perkasie First Baptist Cleveland G. F. Walls Agency, Inc. Holston Baptist Association HSC Wealth Advisors Ignite Men, LLC Impact Living Services Jones & Roberts Accounting & Financial Musser Lumber Company Neal Agency, Inc. Prime Events, LLC ResCare, Inc. Alex Richards-Richards Insurance SBC of Virginia Foundation Sonny Merryman, Inc. State Farm Companies Foundation Temple Baptist Church The Brook UBS WACH Marketing, Inc. YourCause, LLC Trustee for Pfizer Annual Giving Campaign

$1,000 - $2,499

Individuals Steve Andrews Anonymous Carter County OK* Barry & Linda Armstrong Dr. & Mrs. William R. Armstrong Phil & Lois Ayers Ray & Laura Baldwin Fred N. Beason Rodney & Marlee Beckom Timothy I. Bergstrom Al & Lisa Billingsly Dale & Tina Birdsall Jerome & Kathy Bogacz Jimmy R. Bowden Jr. Brad & Claudia Butler Erica Butler Joseph Copeland Johnny & Anne Crist Mark L. D’Arezzo Michael & Constance Davis

Dennis & Sharon Delisle Andrew C. Dickinson Doug & Sheila Diehl Thomas & Elizabeth DiPaolo Greg & Mary Dowell Olive M. Eckmann* Drew Ellenburg Robert Ellis Howard J. Embert H. Glenn & Rachael Esbenshade Linda L. Farver Sherry Ferello Chris & Pam Ficco Tina Friar Bryant & Riley Gaines Robert W. Garthwait Sr. Max Gasser Theresa H. Green Brittany Grissom Gene & Ann Hatcher Pete Horstman Dr. Michael G. Hueber Dominic & Alessandra Ingemi James Larry Ingram Leslie L. Jacoby Jr. Levi & Alison Johnston Marsha Justice Ira Stephen Kennedy Diane Kippes Dr. & Mrs. David Klink Louis & Joan LaMay Tom Lougheed Lance & Stephanie MacKenzie James & Megan Mason Herbert E. Maxey Jr. Perry & Laurie Maze Kathy McCavanagh Mark McClure Ronald R. McDaniel Denny & Jane McHaney Sam & Linda Metts Russell & Terry Millner Mark G. Minar Michael Misjuns William Morgan Dr. James Nalley, M.D. Arthur Nicholson* Mr. Bradley Owen & Dr. Pamela Zimmerman-Owen Gary G. Pearson Bob Pinto & Dot Richardson Todd Ramsey Chris & Lara Rayborn Edward & Karin Renner Lance Riggs Brandt Riley Gloria Roakes Jim Roller Mike & Kelli Rosas Wes & Robbin Ruiz Karl C. Salz

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Margot S. Sample Bob & Pam Schmidt Barry & Debbie Schmitt Sig & Gwen Seiler Ray Sellers Archie & Carlita Smith Dave & Kim Smith John A. Snider Paul & Sara Spinden Gary Swenson Gary & Jackie Tedder Glen & Teresa Thomas John & Anne Thompson Lori Watkins Sonny & Sharon White Paul & Andrea Williams Dr. Lian-Tuu & Mrs. Arlene Yeh

Organizations A.G. Jefferson Opticians American Association of Christian Counselors Blue Eagle Credit Union Blue Ridge Apothecary BWX Technologies, Inc. C12 Virginia, LLC C3 Church NC Centra Medical Group, LLC Charter Properties of Virginia, LLC Church of the Redeemer Come Alive International, Inc. Cornerstone Baptist Church East Pointe Baptist Church, Inc. Environmental Options, Inc. FBC Mt. Juliet

Fill the Gap Concerts Garber-Lowe Fence, Inc. Gentle Shepherd Hospice, Inc. Global Partners in Peace & Development Grace Community Church Grace Fellowship Berean Christian School Highmark Matching Funds His Generation Human Kind Johnson Health Center K & J Enterprises, Inc dba McDonalds Kelly Ayers, Inc. Lamb Exterminating Lynchburg R. Training, LLC Lynchburg Ready Mix Concrete Co, Inc. Media Partners, Inc. Merrill Lynch Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia Parker Dental, PC

Parkwood Baptist Church, Inc. Peace FWB Church, Inc. Samaritan’s Purse ServPro Of Lynchburg/Bedford & Campbell County Stephen W. Bennett T/A Bennboro Farm Tate Springs Baptist Church Temple Free Will Baptist Church The Woodsman Todd Builders, Inc. Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Verizon Foundation * Estate Gift If we have omitted, misspelled, or misplaced your name, please accept our apologies and notify our office by calling toll-free (866) 602-7983.

For more information on planned giving to Liberty University, visit Liberty.edu/Giving or call (800) 543-5309.

MAKING THE MIRACLE OF LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HAPPEN: Alumnus shares story of chance encounter with longtime Liberty supporter B Y R O D G L A D F E LT E R ( ’ 8 0 ) , Y O R K , PA .

In 1996, I flew to Bozeman, Mont., with the idea of regrouping for the next chapter of my life. In need of a mini-vacation, I chose Bozeman as my “getaway.” After I landed, I rented a bicycle and bought a cheap fly-fishing rod. For the next five days, I camped in a small tent along a stream just below the snow line of a mountain and rode my bike 60-80 miles each day. I fished for my food along the stream where I camped.

The idea for the trip was to rough it, to a degree. I must say I lost some weight between the very few trout I caught and riding my bike each day around the mountains.

The memories gained in those few short days would be etched forever in my mind. There were several miracles to speak of during the trip; however, I will only share the one that changed the way I looked at the gift I received from Liberty University in the form of financial aid.

Our family was blue-collar. No one in our family ever went to college as far back as we could remember. Somehow, the Lord blessed me with the finances to attend the greatest university in the world, Liberty University. It was just another miracle from God to place me under godly men who helped me in the course of my young Christian life — I

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was a diamond in the rough, as Liberty’s founder Dr. Jerry Falwell used to say.

On the third day in Montana, I was riding my bicycle approximately 40 miles north of Bozeman along a deserted dirt road 30 miles from any town when I came upon a lonesome house between the mountains. A 92-year-old lady was bent over cleaning up some trash left behind by the trash pickup. I offered to help, and as I was sweeping the glass from her short driveway, I learned her husband died a year earlier. Out of the blue, she mentioned that she had only one regret and that was that she and her husband never got to visit Dr. Jerry Falwell’s great college down in Lynchburg, Va. When I asked how she knew about Liberty University, she said she and her husband watched Falwell’s Old Time Gospel Hour on television every Sunday morning since they seldom were able to get to a church, being so far out of town. She went on to say how they gave $40 faithfully every month to help students gain an education at this new Christian college.

As tears started to roll down my face, she asked me what was wrong. I said, “Maybe you and your husband never did get to go to Liberty, but God brought a small part of Liberty to you.” She was

puzzled when I thanked her for their faithfulness to the Lord, but then I told her I was a product of their contributions.

If it weren’t for the scholarship gifted by people like them, I told her, I would never have had the greatest experience of my life. I thanked her, and we hugged each other and cried together all because she and her husband helped make the miracle of Liberty happen.

I thank our Heavenly Father for the many people like my friend from Montana who made the Miracle of Liberty Mountain happen — the miracle of many lives like mine. Dr. Falwell often said that Liberty is in the business of Training Champions for Christ. I would like those who give to the Lord through Liberty University to know that you are Champions for Christ and my heroes. My life and many, many others have been changed because of you.

Get your Liberty gear at Liberty.BNCollege.com and learn how your child can cheer on the Flames as part of the Flames Kids Club at  /FlamesKidsClub.

DO YOU HAVE A BABY FLAME? Send your photo to news@liberty.edu for a chance to have your little one’s photo included in the next Liberty Journal.