Liberty Journal April/May 2009

Liberty alumna shines as FOX News Supreme Court reporter

Archery Club part of Ultimate LU’s expanding arsenal

Student uses talent to lead ice skating team

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Liberty Journal is an official bimonthly publication of Liberty University.

M

y father always loved engaging students on campus. He would stop to shake a hand, pat a back, give a hug or honk his horn and wave out the window of his Suburban. He always encouraged students in their activities in and out of the classroom and was known for being Liberty’s biggest sports fan.

I have learned from him to take a special interest in students’ desires and needs. I receive many emails each day from students who aren’t afraid to tell their school’s leaders what’s on their hearts — and we aim to take their requests to heart ourselves.

At convocation earlier this semester, I asked students to let us know about any financial difficulties their families may be experiencing that would cause them to consider discontinuing their education here at Liberty. Students did respond; some had parents who had lost their jobs or were just suffering the ill effects of a sagging economy. Liberty’s leaders immediately went to work, poring over budgets and reviewing the numbers to see how we could make tuition even more affordable.

With their perseverance — and the generosity of many Liberty donors in the past year — this became a reality. I announced a few weeks later that Liberty would be cutting back its tuition rate for 2009-10, from $16,532 to less than $16,000.

Liberty University Online followed suit, freezing tuition for distance learning students for the fall semester.

I was happy to announce this news to Liberty’s 37 Board of Trustees members, who visited campus for their annual meeting in March. I was also proud to inform them of many improvements and future projects happening here. They were among the first to hear about plans for a new theater to be built in the Campus North tower.

For years, the Theatre Arts department has worked under cramped conditions in their 250-seat, makeshift theater behind DeMoss Hall. Due to its size, seats are at a premium and shows are sold out on a regular basis. With a new theater, more students, faculty, staff and our neighbors throughout Central Virginia will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of LU theatre. Theatre students, in turn, will be better prepared for jobs on a full-sized stage, and be able to influence the entertainment world as Champions for Christ.

Engaging students, encouraging their talents — whether in the classroom, on stage or even on the racetrack (see Page 52 for more on my recent thrill ride at Lowe’s Motor Speedway) — is essential to the health of this university. Providing the proper environment where students can grow in their pursuits and in their relationship with God is like extending a big handshake or hug. It’s what my father did best.

Sincerely,

Jerry Falwell, Jr.

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P u b li s h e r Jerry Falwell, Jr. E X E C UT IVE E d ito r Ron Brown Manag i n g E d i to r Tara Maxwell C ON T RIBUT ING E d ito r Becki Falwell ART DIRECTOR Krista Freeman M ANAGING DESIGNER Laura Sipple D es i g n ER s Brittany La Barre Caleb Atkins Wr ite r s Mitzi Bible Eric Brown Teresa Dunham Carmen Fleischauer Sarah Funderburke Tara Maxwell Dominique McKay Todd Wetmore David Wheeler P h oto g r a p h e r s Jerome Sturm Jordan Crossingham Les Schofer C i r c u lati o n Sharon Gainer B us i n es s & ADVER TISING M ANAGER Steve Peterson June/July Advertising Deadline APRIL 10, 2009 (434) 582-2731 If you would like to subscribe to the Liberty Journal for one year, please send a donation of any amount to Liberty Journal, Subscription Department, 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, VA 24502, call (434) 592-3100 or e-mail lj@liberty.edu.

Copyright 2007 by Liberty University. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Liberty University. All pictorial material reproduced in this book, whether in a produced ad or by itself, has been accepted on the condition that it is with the knowledge and prior consent of the photographer or the artist concerned. As such, Liberty University is not responsible for any infringement of copyright or otherwise arising out of publication thereof. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, Liberty University makes no warrant to the accuracy or reliability of this information. Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ownership or management.

Clarification: In the December/January issue on Page 47, we wrote that the Center for Worship program kicked off in 2004. In 2004, the Center for Worship began educating students in its current facility in David’s Place, however the Center for Worship was established in 2001 in a different location.

CONTENT S A P R I L / M AY 2 0 0 9

F EATU R ES S U P R E M E D E D I CATI O N

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Liberty alumnus finds calling as FOX News Supreme Court reporter TAK I N G AI M

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Archery club combines outdoor recreation, ministry B O R N TO S KATE

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Student shares on-ice skills, helps lead LU Radiance team

S ECTI O N S 6

G E N E RAL N EWS

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Chancellor announces tuition rates reduction for 2009-10 — 15 STU D E NT LI F E

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Professor leads students on archaeological trip to Israel — 26 S P I R ITUAL LI F E

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Prayer Leaders provide personal spiritual guidance to peers — 28 ACAD E M I C LI F E 10

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School of Engineering sets its sights on new facility, first graduating class — 36 G IVI N G BAC K

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Donations increase with help from Planned Giving Department— 40 ALU M N I

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Stay connected to Liberty alumni across the country — 46 S P O RTS

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Senior softball player has heart for competition, missions — 50 12 Check out the Liberty Journal’s website with a fresh, reader-friendly look and compelling Web Exclusives at www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal.

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SUPREME DEDICATIO

BY TE R ESA D U N HAM P H OTO G R AP HY BY J O R DAN C R OS S I N G HAM

The FOX News Channel bureau in Washington, D.C., is filled with bursts of split-second, adrenaline-driven urgency. Reporters type quickly, keeping their tiny desktop news screens in their peripheral vision as they work.

Personalities hurry in and out of a small make-up room and rush away for live shots in different studios or at remote locations — and in the midst of it all is Liberty University Class of 1993 alumna Shannon Bream. “Liberty Journal” staff traveled to D.C. recently to meet Bream and learn about her high-profile job as a FOX News Supreme Court reporter.

FOX News reporter Shannon Bream is poised and articulate on camera. Every hair is in place; her wardrobe is professional, and her voice is steady — but the moments leading up to her live shots aren’t always peaceful.

“We may get a ruling from the Supreme Court where I’m running out on the [court] steps and having to digest a 100-page opinion in five minutes and be on the air explaining it in a way that makes sense to the viewers,” she said.

The final day of the court term in 2008 was one of those moments. Bream knew justices were going to deliver a controversial opinion on Second Amendment rights, so she laced up her running shoes and started sprinting the moment the case holding the court opinion was unlatched.

“Every camera from every network and every local station was lined up outside the Supreme Court, and it was my goal that I wanted to be the first reporter on with that information,” she said.

Breathless, she glanced at the document and hurriedly absorbed its contents. Seeing the name of the justice who authored the opinion, she immediately knew what the court had decided — and she was the first person to deliver the information on-air.

“You just go on adrenaline so much,” she said.

From Courtroom to Newsroom Bream, who earned a law degree from Florida State University after graduating from LU, spent several years practicing law before transitioning into the broadcast world. Some colleagues called her crazy for leaving a prestigious, high-paying job for the uncertainty, long hours and shrinking paychecks of broadcast news — but she took a leap of faith.

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“I’d always had a news bug. I just wasn’t sure how I would ever make a career out of it,” she said.

After graduating from law school, she started practicing law full time in Tampa. She also had a chance to work on a couple of stories for the ABC affiliate there — and her passion for broadcast news grew until she realized it might be time to make a career change.

“My husband, Sheldon, and I really spent a year in intense prayer and discussion about the move and sought counsel from people we trusted,” she said. “I’m a firm believer that the Lord gives us passions that He has equipped us to pursue and plants that seed in our hearts.”

By the time Bream made her decision to leave law, she said God had provided so much peace that she wasn’t afraid of the future.

“The first job I took — very unglamorous,” she recalled.

She made coffee, clipped newspapers, did entry-level tasks and took a huge pay cut — but she was just happy to be in the newsroom. Soon the news director there gave Bream her first big break when he told her she could do some on-air reporting as long as she continued performing her entry-level duties.

“I hadn’t even been there a year when the two bosses above me left the station, and the new guy who came in and took over told me I was terrible, that I would never make it in television and that I never should have quit being an attorney,” she said.

Bream found a private editing bay and cried, but she came to a conclusion: “I knew that I had a love and a passion for news, so I thought, ‘OK, I need to get better, and I need to not give up.’”

Even before the new boss offered his critique, she’d been told that PAG E 8 her voice was too high-pitched. She signed with an agent

TION

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to market her anyway, but she spent several months without a job.

“It is a competitive business, and there are a lot of ups and downs,” she said.

After a very bleak time, she got her first job anchoring the news for a CBS affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., and spent three years there.

Then she got a call from NBC asking if she’d be interested in joining one of their affiliates in D.C. She accepted and began a promising career at that channel.

One day she met Brit Hume, who was managing editor of the FOX bureau in D.C. at the time — and she and her husband, Sheldon Bream (’93), both told Hume that working for FOX was her dream. Telling her not to get her hopes up, Hume explained that he received lots of tapes every day, but her law background caught his attention. She sent him a sample of her work — and since November 2007 she’s been in the FOX bureau.

“I came here and started what really is for me a dream job,” she said.

Spreading the News For Bream, no two days are ever the same at FOX News.

“I usually find out the day before or the night before what my assignment will be for the day,” she said.

When a significant case is before the court, she’s there observing the arguments of brilliant legal minds — but when court isn’t in session, she could be assigned to anything, and the hours tend to vary.

“Some days I’m at the White House. Some days I’m on Capitol Hill. It is literally so different every day that I can go days without ever being at this desk because I’m out on assignment somewhere,” she said, motioning toward her work area adorned only with a “Nacho Libre” poster. “It’s always a challenge, and you’re learning a new subject or a new topic every day.”

When the “Liberty Journal” visited Bream, she was working on several short studio reports that were nixed because a White House press conference took precedence — but Bream handled it in stride and used the extra moments to explain her job.

“I really am a stickler about writing my own product. … I think you get a better understanding of the story, and you can communicate it better when you’ve done all of that investigation yourself,” she said.

Though she gathers the news herself, each minute of broadcast requires the cooperation of dozens of people, from producers to make-up artists and people in New York City. The team at FOX has strengthened her professionally, she said, and she’s more at ease in front of the camera than ever before.

“After you’ve been through years of the prompter going down or the script disappearing or the story changing at the last minute, I think you gain confidence … that you’re going to be able to handle it,” she said.

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No matter what happens, faith gets her through the day.

“I think there are both bold and subtle ways of living out my faith in the world I work in. This job can be all-consuming, and finding balance is the toughest thing. It’s tough when you really want an assignment and it goes to someone else or you flub a live report.

My mantra all day long is, ‘It’s part of His plan.’ It’s a fight to keep my mind focused on the big picture, on eternity — but that’s the only thing that really matters at the end of the day,” she said.

A Liberty Success Story Bream started her freshman year at LU in 1988 at age 17.

“I remember being so excited when my mom dropped me off there. I couldn’t wait to experience college life and do my own thing, and I remember two weeks went by and I didn’t call home, and my mom was so upset,” she recalled.

LU automatically felt like home, Bream said, and she made many lifelong friends and strengthened her walk with Christ.

“My time at Liberty gave me intensely deep roots in my faith. It was a solid place to be when I had questions about the faith I’d grown up in, as I was making it personal for myself. I learned what a treasure spiritually-strong friends and mentors are as you navigate the secular world,” she said.

Though she considered broadcasting back then, Bream pursued a business degree because she felt that it was a more stable job market. LU didn’t have a law school at the time, but her business degree eventually prepared her for the type of law she would practice — employment and labor law.

“So my business degree was a perfect fit for that. I still turn to it so much. I find that it really sticks with you, even after all of these years,” said Bream.

Yet, she said, the best part about LU is that she met her husband on campus. She describes him as an amazingly supportive man, helping her accomplish her goals, and also a person who has achieved great feats by surviving a brain tumor and rising in his own career at the Washington Speakers Bureau.

When she returned to Liberty for Alumni Weekend in October 2008, Bream said wonderful memories flooded back to her and Sheldon.

“Every time I go back there’s a new building, a new program, a new major, a new sports team. It’s an amazing thing to see. I really was so emotional about it, seeing how far the school has come and knowing all the big dreams that are still ahead,” she said.

Visit www.liberty.edu/LibertyJournal for a web exclusive About Bream’s experiences on Inauguration Day 2009 And an article on another alumnus working at FOX News.

TAKING AIM

BY E R I C B R OWN P H OTO G R AP HY BY J E R O M E STU R M

The biblical account of David tells of a shepherd boy who conquered a mighty giant armed with just his sling and a few stones. At Liberty University, students are hoping to make a David-like impact with a compound bow and a quiver full of arrows.

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Thanks to the vision of two Liberty alumni, a group of on-campus archers are forming the LU Archery Club. With the aim of sharing the Gospel through this unique recreational sport, club members are targeting a group of people that are sometimes overlooked — outdoorsmen.

“Our main goal needs to be to reach people for Christ,” said the club’s student president Ben Stallard. “I want to reach out to people who don’t get reached out to very much at archery tournaments.”

A current sophomore and biblical studies major at Liberty, Stallard began inquiring about starting an archery club during a resident prayer leader meeting last year. To his surprise, Dan Witt and John Allen, Liberty graduates who had fond memories of hunting on LU’s mountain property, had previously presented the same idea to the university. A short time later, LU Archery was born and has now blossomed into a group of about 30 archers, including men and women.

Determined to use its talents as a living testimony, the club is focused on establishing a competition team. This 10-member squad will travel to various collegiate and open archery tournaments, competing against other archers from around the country.

As the club forms the team, one local business has agreed to be its first corporate sponsor. Based out of Madison Heights, Va., Tomorrow’s Resources Unlimited, Inc. (T.R.U.), a manufacturer of archery accessories, is lending support to the team by providing products such as T.R.U Ball Releases and Axcel Sights.

The company also owns a 30-yard indoor range complete with eight shooting lanes in which club members can practice.

Brandon Reyes, T.R.U.’s shooting staff coordinator, will serve as LU Archery’s competition coach. Reyes, a professional archer for Mathews, Inc. and a 2004 International Bowhunting Organization World Champion, brings a wealth of knowledge to the team, having competed in numerous state, national and international tournaments for more than 15 years. The accomplished pro is also a level two instructor and is certified to train others on how to coach upand-coming archers.

LU professor Jonathan Geukgeuzian, the club’s faculty advisor, said Reyes is a great asset. “(Brandon) made the comment to me, ‘I get more satisfaction and fulfillment teaching someone how to shoot than shooting myself.’ This is the type of guy I want coaching the team because that’s the whole idea behind coaching.”

Reyes’ brother-in-law and Liberty alumnus Ben Summers is the director of marketing for T.R.U. and serves on the Archery Trade Association’s (ATA) board of directors, which consists of industry manufacturers, retailers and distributors nationwide. Summers said when talking with representatives from some of the industry’s leading companies about LU Archery, the reaction he received was very positive.

“There are a lot of potential opportunities for growth,” Summers said. “It is pretty well limitless.”

Each year the ATA hosts an annual trade show where thousands of enthusiasts visit booths set up by archery dealers, distributors and exhibitors. This past January, Stallard and LU Online student Kennon Snow accompanied Liberty alumnus Doug Gilmer to the 2009 Archery Trade Show in Indianapolis.

During the three-day event, Gilmer and the two students represented the Kicking Bear Foundation, an outdoor ministry dedicated to mentoring under-privileged youth through summer camps.

The foundation also offers internship opportunities in which Liberty students can spend a summer traveling around the country, mentoring youth during two-day Kicking Bear camps and events.

While in Indianapolis, Stallard also had the privilege of giving the invocation at the Christian Bowhunters of America prayer luncheon.

During this time, he shared the mission of LU Archery with the group.

“Ben used the opportunity God had given him to stand before many of the most prominent members of the industry to proclaim the number one priority of the club ... to share the Gospel as a ministry outreach of Liberty,” Gilmer said.

Recently, the university cleared 10 acres of land near LU’s paintball fields for the club’s archery range. Members can use the range to shoot at various 3D targets provided by alumnus Diane Crickenberger and husband, Rick, owners of Dusty Ducts, Inc. in Forest, Va. LU Archery members also have access to Liberty’s Jack Mountain property during spring and fall hunting seasons. Stallard noted that while the club offers great opportunities for sportsmen and women to perfect their craft, the most important aspect is sharing the name of Jesus Christ with fellow archers.

“Hunting is fun, but if we really want this to be a ministry, we have to get our team together, so we can spread the name of the university and the club,” Stallard said. “That’s really how we’re going to be able to reach out to people.”

For more information contact Jonathan Geukgeuzian at jgeukgeuzian@liberty.edu.

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By D o m i n i q u e M c Kay

Growing up within walking distance of the local ice rink in Dannemora, N.Y., Tatiana Gomez began taking ice skating lessons at age 6.

“My older brother Nick played hockey there so I wanted to play hockey, but my dad and mom insisted that hockey wasn’t a sport for feminine little girls like me,” Gomez said.

Her parents instead enrolled her in a learn-to-skate program and within six months Gomez had pushed through all of the program’s levels. It was then that her instructor approached her parents with the

idea of privately coaching Gomez in figure skating. They agreed.

Practicing five days a week and four to five hours a day, Gomez’s rigorous training schedule caused her parents to begin homeschooling her, and she soon grew weary of the sport.

“I was burnt out and I really wanted to start living a normal teenager’s life, meaning going to school and socializing with kids my own age.”

Competing up until the age of 14, Gomez tested up to the Olympic level of Senior Ladies and later began coaching.

She returned for a final competition at the 2004 Empire State Games, New York’s state competition, where she received third place overall.

Gomez first set foot on Liberty University’s campus in late 2002 with her brother as they were scouting colleges to

attend. At that time the campus did not have an ice rink, but Kirk Handy, now the director of Liberty’s LaHaye Ice Center, told them about plans to build one. Gomez said she saw the potential for a skating team at Liberty and made the decision to enroll in fall 2004 and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

“I knew I really wanted to go to a Christian university that was growing, and I knew I wanted to work in a Christian ice rink someday,” she said.

In 2006, the LaHaye Ice Center opened, and in April 2007, Gomez became the rink’s Assistant Director and was later named the Assistant Director of Club Sports.

“I had lots of different goals. I really love synchronized skating, and I wanted to see that become a possibility,” she said. “And also with the university being about spreading the Gospel, I wanted to pag e 14

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j o r dan c r o s s i n g h am

The LaHaye Ice Center is located on Campus North and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The center currently offers skating to Liberty students as well as the general public and provides a variety of learn-toskate, figure skate and play hockey programs. The center may also be rented out for birthday parties, special events and broomball. For more details call (434) 592-3953. li b e rty j o u r nal

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Members of LU Radiance (from left), Stacy Detweiler, Lindsay Phelps and Kristen Riordan pause during practice at the LaHaye Ice Center.

incorporate the two things together.”

While working at the LaHaye Ice Center in fall 2007, Gomez met Kristen Riordan, a junior at Liberty.

“Kristen had shared that she had a strong passion for starting a synchro team,” Gomez said.

Riordan participated in synchronized ice skating throughout high school and competed in the national competition.

“I almost went to the University of Delaware because they had a synchronized skating team,” Riordan said. “I ended up not going, because I wanted to go to a Christian school.”

In summer 2008, Riordan put together a proposal to begin an official team registered under the United States Figure Skating Association. The proposal included information about synchronized skating as a sport and also a sample budget. Riordan began recruiting potential members through the online social network Facebook.com.

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“I would go on ‘interests’ and type in anyone who was interested in figure skating, and I’d message each person,” Riordan said. “We needed a minimum of eight skaters to go to the regional competition. I only knew a few that were here already, but there were a few freshmen who came in [through recruiting].”

Senior Jenny Presson took ice skating lessons at Liberty off and on since her freshman year.

“I was kind of hesitant when I heard practice was at 6:30 in the morning. I am not a morning person,” Presson said. “But I decided to try it out. I went, liked it, and joined the team.”

Since then, the team — now known as LU Radiance — has grown to include 12 female members from a variety of skating backgrounds. The team practices three times a week, with Gomez as the instructor and Riordan as the team captain.

“We’re not looking for advanced skaters,”

Gomez said. “We want people to know that even if you only have a couple years of experience you should come out. It’s a lot of fun and a really good time of fellowship. It’s also a good way to stay active.”

“I love it,” Presson said. “There are very few things that would motivate me enough to get out of bed that early, but skating does it.”

LU Radiance has performed their show throughout the hockey season at several games and Liberty’s Christmas on Ice, where they performed a special ministry skit.

“We like that we can utilize the fact that we are a Christian rink,” Gomez said. “With all of us being Christians on a skating team — it’s so huge. It’s who we are, and you can’t do that anywhere else.”

LU Radiance competed in the regional competition in New Jersey at the end of January and is hoping to gain sponsors throughout the year.

g e n e r al n ews

Liberty cuts tuition rates Online program sees freeze for fall J o r dan C r o s s i n g ham

Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. announces a tuition cut for 2009-10 during a February convocation in the Vines Center.

BY M iTz i B i b le

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. announced earlier this semester that Liberty University will be cutting tuition for the 2009-10 academic year by nearly $6 million in an effort to make college more affordable for its new and existing students.

“In convocation I told the students to let us know if their families were experiencing financial difficulties,” Falwell said. “A number of them did so. In response to that feedback and, because of the general condition of the national economy, we decided to decrease next fall’s tuition rates.”

Already published tuition rates for the 2009-10 academic year were reduced from $16,532 to less than $16,000 for up to 36 credit hours.

The tuition cut is being offered to students who complete Financial Check-In prior to May 1.

To offset the cut, the university may defer certain road projects required by the City of Lynchburg when enrollment

on campus reaches 12,000 students. No academic or athletic projects are slated to be delayed.

The university made a decision last year to hold enrollment at 11,500 for the next two years.

Falwell said the administration is also considering innovative new loan programs for next fall, and the school is bolstering its Career Center to help students find jobs more easily.

“Liberty University has been blessed with generous contributions over the last two years, and this is our way of sharing that generosity with our students in a time of financial crisis and layoffs across the entire country,” he said.

The university is expecting an additional 3,900 students in the fall, with total resident enrollment estimated at 11,500.

The chancellor also announced that Liberty University Online is freezing its tuition for fall 2009 at current rates.

The online program, which provides more than 36 degree programs and services 32,000 students, ranks among the lowest of online accredited universities for affordable tuition.

“We want to encourage prospective students and our current online students to finish their degree — or begin earning their first degree,” said Chris Johnson, Vice President for Enrollment Management. “Now is the time to do so, and this is just one way we can help them earn a quality education from the world’s most exciting university.”

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News brief S University Happenings

SBCV representatives meet with Chancellor Falwell

Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. met with several leaders of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia on Feb. 5, including the new executive director, Jeff Ginn.

The SBCV was founded in 1996 and currently has about 500 churches in its membership.

“Liberty and the SBCV are linked together in ministry in many ways,” Ginn said. “Liberty has a heart to raise champions for Christ, and we are kind of a seed bed in which Liberty graduates can find places to serve and impact the world through our network.”

The meeting strengthened the many ties LU has to the SBCV. These ties include $1,000 scholarships which LU provides to undergraduate students who are members of SBCV churches, and free tuition for SBCV senior pastors and youth ministers pursuing a master’s or doctorate’s degree through Liberty University Online. SBCV supports Liberty interns and provides guest speakers and lecturers for Liberty and the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, among many other shows of support.

Students, faculty, alumni attend CPAC in D.C. Liberty University rolled out the welcome mat at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 26-28, as it hosted a special reception for

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LU students, alumni and friends during the conference.

CPAC is the largest annual gathering of conservative students, activists and policymakers in the United States. This year’s conference drew numerous high-profile conservatives. Past events have attracted leaders such as John McCain, George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee and Dick Cheney.

The university organized a caravan and excused students from their classes to attend CPAC. About 80 students traveled to CPAC with LU’s Student Alumni Association and 20 more joined them in D.C.

Moldovan ambassador talks to government students

Moldovan Ambassador Nicolae Chirtoaca traveled to Liberty University on Feb. 17 to speak to two Helms School of Government classes and a group of Liberty and Lynchburg area executives.

Before becoming an ambassador in September 2006, Chirtoaca had a 13-year military career in the Soviet Union’s armed forces. He joined the Moldavian movement for democracy, which eventually led to the Republic of Moldova becoming an independent state in 1991. He is one of the founders of the Liberal Party of Moldova and has held many esteemed posts in the Moldova government and the private business sector.

Moldova is a landlocked nation located in Eastern Europe between

Ukraine and Romania.

The ambassador told the government classes he visited that Moldova is still working toward a completely democratic government.

“We are survivors,” Chirtoaca said of the Moldovan people. “We are still in the middle of a transition.”

Chirtoaca also toured the campus during his visit and received gifts from Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. and the Helms School of Government.

Trail Race Series begins with Candler’s Mtn. 5K

The Liberty Mountain Trail Series is comprised of four races, with the first being a 5K that took place Feb. 21 at Camp Hydaway on Candler’s Mountain. About 130 runners — Liberty students, alumni and members of the Lynchburg area community — took part in the event, which was sponsored by the Liberty University Student Activities office.

Jordan Whitlock came powering across the finish line with a time of 20:04. He was followed by runner-up Andrew Rigler at 20:43. The first female runner, Rachel Valliere, crossed the line in 23:47 and placed fourth overall in the race.

The next race in the Liberty Mountain Trail Race Series will be held in May, further testing the endurance of participants with a 10K course. All races are open to the public. To register online for the upcoming races go to www.raceit.com.

The Hangar food court gets a new ‘Wall of Fame’

The School of Aeronautics unveiled its new “Wall of Fame” in The Hangar food court on Feb. 4.

It features a photo of Liberty University’s helicopter flying past the LU monogram and other photographs depicting aviation at Liberty.

The wall also includes a gallery of shirttails, a symbol of the early days of aviation with tandem cockpits and before radio communication.

In those days an instructor would sit behind the student and yank on the student’s shirttail to communicate maneuvers. The significance of cutting off the shirttail meant students could now fly solo.

In support of flight at LU, several distinguished university leaders came to the ceremony, including co-founder Dr. Elmer Towns and Vice Chancellor Ron Godwin.

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. spoke to the crowd, and his brother, the Rev. Jonathan Falwell, led a prayer.

Lynchburg City Council returns property to Liberty Due in part to Liberty University’s tremendous growth in recent years, Lynchburg City Council conveyed several acres of land to the university earlier this year. The acquisition is the undeveloped portion at the end of Ericsson Drive (the 90-foot-wide right-ofway in front of the LaHaye Ice Center now

owned by the city), extending to the railroad tracks behind the home run fence at Worthington Field.

Despite previous plans to connect U.S. 460 with Wards Road, council members voted 6-1 in favor of returning the property to the university, permitting future on-campus construction and building opportunities.

The undeveloped property gives LU an additional four acres.

“This land is centrally located and will be a prime site for future academic buildings,” Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said.

Lee Beaumont, LU’s director of auxiliary services, said the acquisition of the easement will help stabilize the on-campus traffic flow and prevent division between Campus North and Main Campus.

“It just makes it more of a pedestrianand mass transit-friendly campus,” he stated. “Anytime you can avoid having those main public roads going through the campus, it just makes it so much better.”

University sponsors events promoting creationism

Throughout the month of February, Liberty University hosted events promoting the biblical view of creationism in response to the 200th anniversary celebration of Charles Darwin’s birthday (Feb. 12).

Liberty University School of Law held its 2009 Symposium, “Intelligent Design and Public School,” featuring nationally-recognized legal scholars, and also showed films

on creation in the Supreme Courtroom.

Dr. Paul Nelson, of the Discovery Institute in DeMoss Hall, presented A lecture titled “Whatever Happened to Darwin’s Tree of Life?”

Liberty faculty also took part in the Answers for Darwin Conference at Thomas Road Baptist Church. Dr. Marcus Ross, assistant director of LU’s Center for Creation Studies, spoke on fossil evidence that supports a creation view. Dr. David DeWitt, the center’s director, explained that evolution is based on an interpretive framework and why a creation model of life makes sense.

Liberty Live radio program broadcasts from LU campus

Liberty Live, a weekday, hour-long call-in radio show on political and cultural news, débuted Jan. 19 on hundreds of American Family Radio’s Talk network stations.

Mathew Staver, Dean of Liberty University School of Law and founder of Liberty Counsel, co-hosts the show with Matt Barber, Associate Dean for Career and Professional Development at the law school.

Liberty Live features political and religious leaders and is sponsored by Liberty Counsel, Liberty University and the Liberty Alliance Action. Sarah Seitz, Legal Director for the Liberty Center for Law & Policy in Washington, D.C., provides a weekly Liberty Live update on public policy from our nation’s capital. To watch an interactive video webcast of the program every weekday at 4 p.m., or to use the Liberty Live interactive blog, go to www.lc.org. li b e rty j o u r nal

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Board of Trustees holds

annual meeting on campus

by Sar ah F u n d e r b u r k e

Liberty University could not have become the successful school it is today without a lot of divine guidance and a strong group of dedicated supporters. The Board of Trustees has always been an important part of Liberty’s support system.

The Board of Trustees works with Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. to ensure that Liberty’s future is academically, financially and physically secure and that the university is growing in ways that are congruent to the school’s mission, training Champions for Christ. Board members confer at an annual meeting on the Liberty campus about general university policy and also work in committees for more specific initiatives and planning.

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Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. addresses the Board of Trustees in March.

These committees cover student affairs, academic affairs, buildings and grounds, the School of Law, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and executive affairs. Board members may also confer on school name changes, dean appointments, long-range university plans such

as the Five Year Strategic Plan (detailing LU’s goals from 2005-2010) and a variety of other administrative business.

At the trustees’ March 2 meeting, the 37 current board members considered a request from Liberty’s chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on

?

Who are

Campus to allow LU students with concealed weapons permits to carry their guns on campus.

The board decided not to make any policy changes at this time, as LU does have a 24-hour, gun-wielding police force on campus.

Board members, however, do more than sit in a boardroom discussing policy; they can often be found in campus classrooms and at LU podiums.

Throughout the year many trustees visit Liberty’s campus and share their life experiences and spiritual knowledge with LU students by speaking in convocation. Other trustees are involved in campus organizations, such as trustee Richard Osborne, who chairs the Parent’s Development Board, a group dedicated to assisting LU parents in raising money for student programs, internships and more.

The men and women on the Board of Trustees have helped build Liberty University piece by piece. They help fund simple campus improvements, such as paving and field resurfacing, and have also contributed to larger construction and remodeling projects. Their mark, in many cases, can be physically seen on campus; the LaHaye Ice Center, Liberty’s ice arena, was named for Drs. Tim and Beverly LaHaye, board members and university donors. Other trustees have Liberty awards named in their honor. Many trustees helped push Liberty forward when the university was experiencing financial strife.

Others have helped initiate and support the creation of new programs at LU. Trustee and longtime university supporter Wayne Booth pitched the idea of starting vocational programs at Liberty to Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr. several years ago and was one of the first to financially support the start-up of these courses.

for

Your

Partners Your

Health Care

What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?

What fellowship has light with darkness? What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? –from II Corinthians 6: 14-15 Whether you realize it or not, when you participate in a health insurance plan, you are agreeing that the premiums for your policy can be used to pay for anything your insurance company covers in any of their polices. Health insurance can actually support the opponents of Jesus Christ.

You may be working and praying for abortion to end, but supporting abortions and the use of abortifacient drugs by helping pay for them with your health insurance premiums. You may be encouraging others to trust in Jesus Christ and turn away from the dangers of living in disobedience to Him. At the same time, the policies offered by your health insurance may be encouraging disobedience to Jesus Christ by agreeing, in advance, to cover the consequences of sexual promiscuity, drug or alcohol abuse, or other unbliblical practices..

We should not confuse health insurance with charitable giving. Charity is a compassionate, precise response to existing needs. Health insurance is a business agreement that indiscriminately agrees to cover things before they even happen.

Members of Samaritan Ministries share one another’s medical needs through a simple, Biblical approach that doesn’t involve health insurance. They have agreed not to share in medical needs for unbiblical practices, and the monthly share for a family of any size has never exceeded $285*, even less for couples, singles, and single-parent families. Come experience the blessings, and the savings, that result when members of the body of Jesus Christ partner with one another instead of joining in partnerships that support the works of darkness.

To learn more about our Biblical, non-insurance ministry call us toll-free at 1.888.2.OTHERS (1.888.268.4377). *as of December 2008

Mention you saw us in the Liberty Journal.

Faith in God applied to health care

www.samaritanministries.org

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Who was here ... and what they had to say Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the student body gathers at convocation to hear well-known speakers from around the globe give their Christian perspectives on a range of topics and to testify about God’s work in their lives.

Jan uary

Jim Cymbala, senior pastor at Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York and author of several books, including “Fresh Wind Fresh Fire,” spoke on the importance of imitating God as the Bible says in Ephesians 5:1. “If you want to be an imitator of God, show kindness to somebody who maybe hasn’t been so nice to you because that’s the way God has been to you,” Cymbala said. Showing kindness to our enemies manifests what God does for us every day, he said, but we also need to fellowship with them.

Clayton King, a popular youth evangelist and Christian musician, was the guest speaker during Spiritual Emphasis Week, Jan. 21-23. He challenged students to ask themselves who is Lord in their lives. King is founder and president of Crossroads Worldwide, a non-profit, interdenominational ministry designed to preach the Gospel, make disciples, support youth and college leaders and build a community among believers. He has also recorded eight records under the bands Monogamous Fish and Adam’s Housecat, with several original songs as well

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as praise and worship music.

Charles Lowery, president and CEO of the Lowery Institute for Excellence (LIFE, Inc.), told students that their plan for life would be very limited if that plan was not directed by the word of God. He offered a strategy: Psalm 100. These verses should be a guidepost for how Christians live their lives, he said. A psychiatrist-turned-motivational speaker, Lowery’s clients have included AT&T, Jenny Craig Systems, State Farm Insurance Company and more.

which has shared the Gospel with more than 1 billion people over 40 years, also aims to mobilize the church and equip the next generation.

Brad Buser closed out Missions Emphasis Week by sharing his 20 years of experience serving as a missionary to the Iteri people of Papua, New Guinea. He challenged students to go into every corner of the world to share the Gospel and showed a video of missionaries in the tribe of Yembi.

F e b r uary

Heather Mercer, founder and president of Global Hope, spoke during Missions Emphasis Week. A Virginia native, Mercer graduated from Baylor University with a degree in German. After graduation she joined Shelter Now International and in March of 2001 traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan. On Aug. 3, 2001, Mercer, along with five other women and two men, was arrested by the Taliban for spreading the Gospel, a capital crime in Afghanistan.

After Sept. 11, 2001, she and the others were put on trial. Some were sentenced to death.

Mercer and others were released/escaped in October of that year after the Taliban was annihilated by U.S. air strikes. Through her testimony she encouraged students to answer God’s call on their lives.

Luis Palau, founder and president of Luis Palau Association, spoke on the theme of this semester’s Missions Emphasis Week — spreading the Gospel “by all means.” His ministry,

A.R. Bernard, president of the Council of Churches of the City of New York — representing 1.5 million Protestants, Anglicans and Orthodox Christians — spoke to students about struggling with a sinful nature.

Christians are caught in an intense battle, constantly fighting temptations while trying to be an example to others, he said. He spoke about the importance of not letting these inner struggles and desires hinder our relationship with Christ. Bernard is the founding pastor and CEO of the Christian Cultural Center (CCC), a 29,000-member church situated on an 11-acre campus in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue spoke about feeling the call to move out of his comfort zone and run for governor. He talked about the “uphill battle” to become governor and used the story of Daniel in the Old Testament to draw parallels to his own life.

Linden_MC-AD2_PR.pdf

2/27/09

1:52:59 PM

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Chancellor announces plans for

new performing arts theater

BY M iTz i B i b le

Liberty University’s budding thespians will soon get the spotlight they deserve.

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. recently announced plans for a new theater to be built in the tower portion of Campus North.

Falwell included the plans in Liberty’s Annual Report, reviewed by the Board of Trustees in March. He said Liberty has hired an architect to draw up plans for a 700-seat theater to be built in the tower.

Starting from scratch and building a new facility could have cost up to $20 million dollars, he said, but using the space will now cost only 10 to 15 percent of that figure. He announced that a fundraising

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effort has already started, with donors to be presented with naming opportunities for each seat in the theatre.

“Pray for that fundraising effort,” Falwell said. “The new theater facility is long overdue.”

Linda Nell Cooper, head of Liberty University’s Theatre Arts Department, said she first heard of the plans before Christmas break and has been hopeful ever since.

“The chancellor said he could not think of anything better that could use that space than the theater. He said it’s the last undeveloped part of North Campus.”

Falwell said the ceiling height turned out to be the exact height needed for a theater fly tower.

No start dates have been set, but to

Cooper, “the sooner the better,” she said in January. “I have the largest graduating class … [in] May 2010 — and I would love to see them be able to perform on a professional-size stage before they go into the profession.”

The current theater located on main campus is a renovated lecture hall that seats 250. According to Cooper, most college theatre programs as large as Liberty’s have a theater that seats 500-750 for main productions and a separate 250-seat black-box theater for student productions.

With as many as six main-stage productions a year, tickets are sold out for almost every show. The final show of last year’s season, “West Side Story,” sold out even before opening night,

she said. “We turn hundreds of people away, and that’s sad.”

The new theater at Campus North will allow more people to see the shows in a convenient, comfortable location, she said.

“There’s parking, nice large restrooms and the Tilley Center for people to get refreshments at intermission.”

She said the space may also provide for a scene shop and storage for props and costumes —“everything we desperately need but do not have.” There may also be room for a black box theater to seat 150, either underneath the main theater or across the hall, she said.

There is also space for a lobby and offices; plans are being considered for moving the entire department there.

Liberty University theatre students are ranked No. 1 among Christian colleges and in the top three for secular colleges with theater programs in Virginia.

Students have ranked with superior placement at the Virginia Theater Association, the American College Theater Festival and the National Artistic Teachers of Music competitions.

The program has continued to churn out high-caliber graduates well prepared for a career in the entertainment field.

Some alumni have starred in hit films and TV series, impacting the entertainment world as Champions for Christ.

The Theatre Arts major was established three years ago and offers five concentrations: Acting, Musical Theatre, Production, Drama Ministry and Theatre Arts Education. A minor is also offered.

434.592.4140 www.liberty.edu/LBTS

Watchmen on the Wall 2009 A Washington Briefing for Pastors and a Ministry of Family Research Council

“Only strong leadership from our nation’s pastors will enable us to

May 20-22, 2009 Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill Washington, D.C.

Only $199 Includes: Hotel, meals and conference costs.

prevail in the fight for faith, family, and freedom.”

Tony Perkins

President, Family Research Council

Confirmed Speakers

Space is limited Dr. Henry Blackaby

Visit www.liberty.edu/theatre for more information on Theatre Arts at Liberty University, including this year’s performance season, or call 1 (866) 602-7983 to find out about donor naming opportunities.

Dr. Ergun Caner, President

Founder Blackaby Ministries Intl.

David Barton President WallBuilders

Anne Graham Lotz Founder AnGeL Ministries

Dr. Ergun Caner

President Liberty Theological Seminary

To Register: www.watchmenevents.org or call 1-800-225-4008 li b e rty j o u r nal

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Freedom to succeed Young student embraces learning opportunities J e r o m e Stu r m

BY Car m e n F le i s c hau e r

Although Rebecca Porter has never been to South America, she knows that is where she will end up. Even as a child, she felt God calling her to be a missionary. The development of her interests — in the Bible, children, Spanish and education — through various life experiences, has allowed her to better prepare for the future.

Porter’s story begins with her mother’s desire to learn more about the Bible. Her mother enrolled in the Liberty Home Bible Institute (LHBI) because of its broad range of information. After repeatedly asking her parents to allow her to complete the program, Porter began the LHBI at 13 years of age, the youngest person to ever enroll.

“I thought it was a really great program, and I just loved it,” Porter said.

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Porter was so committed to the program that she did it simultaneously along with her high school studies. She didn’t even break for the summer.

“That summer I worked at a camp in Quebec. After working all day I’d be exhausted, but I’d get back to my room, pull out the book and I’d be reading and learning more. It was so much new information, and it was really interesting,” said Porter.

After completing LHBI, Liberty University was a natural college choice because of the amount of credits that transferred in.

However, she didn’t just stop with LHBI, but also enrolled in LU Online’s Edge program. The Edge is specifically designed for juniors and seniors to earn college credit before graduation from high school.

Additionally, Porter used the College Level Exam Program (CLEP) to test out of a few

general education classes. She received an associate’s in general studies during high school, even before arriving at LU as a full-time student.

Porter came to Liberty’s campus in fall 2007 and will graduate this May with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and religion.

She also plans to stay to finish up a second bachelor’s degree in music. Because Liberty allows undergraduate students to take graduate courses if they are within a few hours of graduating, Porter has also begun a master of arts in education.

Outside of academics, Porter is involved in activities that support her desire and help prepare her to be a missionary.

Among other activities, she routinely works with Campus SERVE and teaches a 2-year-old class Sunday mornings at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Commuter Affairs to hold seminar for students

BY T E R ESA D U N HAM

Nearly 4,700 students at Liberty University live off campus. In response to their needs, LU created the Office of Commuter Affairs in August 2008.

“Some people think commuters don’t need to have anything because they’re independent students. I don’t think that’s true. I think we need to have just as much support for them,” said Larry Provost, director of commuter students. “They need somebody to advocate for them on an academic, social, and spiritual level and work with other departments on campus that also do the same thing.”

His office lobbies for good parking spots, helps commuters find someone

to talk to when they need a spiritual or social boost, researches the best places for students to live off campus, streamlines communication and brainstorms ways to offer commuters special meal plans to save them money.

For the first time ever, the Office of Commuter Affairs is offering a Commuter Seminar on April 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Campus North 1500.

Geared toward on-campus students who plan on moving off campus this fall, the seminar will become a regular fixture in the approval process for students who want to live off campus.

“We’re going to have workshops and chapel on representing God in the local community, financial management, roommate relations, selecting

an apartment, renters’ insurance and other valuable information,” Provost said, adding that the event is also open to current commuters and any other interested students.

The seminar includes an all-day apartment fair and free lunch.

“It’s going to be a pretty extensive day,” Provost said. “We want to help them maintain their connection to LU while they’re off campus — especially their academic and spiritual connection.”

C O N TACT T H E O F F I C E O F C O M M U T E R A F FA I R S AT

(434) 592-3067 O R V I S I T I TS R E VA M P E D W E B S I T E AT

WWW.

LIBERTY.E DU /COMMUTER.

LI B E RTY J O U R NAL

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Can you dig it?

Professor leads students on archaeological trip to Israel

S u b m it t e d

Freshman Katelyn Thurston uncovers a bowl.

BY Te r esa D u n ham

Painstaking hours of digging through rock and sifting sandy debris in the Judean Desert brought Bible history to life for four Liberty University students in December.

The students — Emilee Price, David Sherret, Nathan LeMaster and Katelyn

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Thurston — traveled to Israel for Liberty University’s first-ever study abroad archaeological trip.

Positioned within sight of the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the students learned about archaeology and put in long days of hands-on labor.

“Working at the Dead Sea was an

amazing experience because it brings Jesus’ life into the reality of Bible times,” said Price, a sophomore studying women’s ministry. “God’s word really opens up in your mind and in your heart.”

Each student traded different roles at the site — sifting, digging, recording discoveries and providing leadership.

Additional volunteers from other states and universities shared the work, and 70 degree weather also provided relief throughout the intense days.

As they dug, the group’s “Liberty University” sign at the work site drew attention.

“We were digging where the tourists come, so the tourists stopped all the time.

It was pretty interesting because they’d [ask], ‘Is that Jerry Falwell’s school?’ I didn’t realize that so many people from all over the world knew … of him,” said Price, whose father, Dr. Randall Price, executive director of LU’s Center for Judaic Studies, organized the trip.

Tourists sometimes watched as the students discovered bits of pottery, coins and animal bones from a Jewish community that thrived 200 years before Jesus’ birth, as well as objects spanning Jesus’ actual lifetime and the days after His resurrection when the early church began.

“It was pretty exciting at first because we were finding little pieces of pottery. You’d get really excited, and then after a while it seemed quite normal because there’s so much of it there,” said Sherret, a freshman computer science major.

Dr. Price, an archaeologist and respected scholar who has authored more than 20 books and films on the Bible, believes one of the silver coins students found was a half-shekel — the type Judas would have received for betraying Jesus. Students also found three animal bone deposits on top of a purposefully-buried plank of wood, most likely from a sacred Jewish ritual.

The Dead Sea Scroll fragments were

went to the site of King Herod’s tomb and explored Jerusalem.

“We went to three places where [people thought] Jesus was born because each church has their own place, and they all argue which is the right place,” said Sherret. “I don’t know if any of them are.

There’s just so many of them.”

For LeMaster, a senior, the trip was an amazing learning experience. He plans on pursuing a master’s degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, so the class made him a little more familiar with the area and culture.

“It was good to get my hands dirty and understand what it’s really about — archaeology and how that relates to Biblical time periods,” he said. “I really enjoy that culture and that mindset of people … I really like the food, and a general impression was very positive. The people were very helpful, very friendly, if you were willing to engage them.”

Now the students are back at LU, taking classes and also completing assignments related to their trip because it is considered a spring course.

Based on the success of this trip,

S u b m itte d

uncovered six decades ago. DNA tests were performed on the animal skins on which the text was written. As the DNA helped match up the skins, researchers were able to piece the scrolls together and read some of the only known copies of Biblical documents that survived from before Christ’s time.

Now Price is hoping that DNA from the animal bones his students found could match the DNA of the skins from the scrolls and help determine who hid the documents. If so, the bones could be of more historical value than the coins.

“No one in the last 60 years of research, since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, has been able to scientifically prove that the people who wrote the scrolls and hid them in the caves were also the people who lived in that community [200 years before Jesus] and hid those … [animal bones],” said Dr. Price. “It’s very important research in that respect.”

Besides digging, the group did plenty of exploring on the trip, Dec. 7-23. They climbed inside the cave where the Isaiah scrolls were found, swam in the Dead Sea, saw the Shepherds’ Fields in Bethlehem,

Dr. Price said he would like to offer trips through the Center for Judaic Studies each spring. Going just before Christmas was difficult for students, he said, but he believes leaving in late May or early June 2010 would encourage more participation.

Next time, he wants to bring 10 to 15 Liberty students along.

The Center for Judaic Studies is located inside the north entrance of the Arthur S. DeMoss Learning Center, just before the Sub Connection. An archaeological display is in the front window, and other interesting pieces are inside for viewing.

For more information about

S u b m itt e d

Dr. Price’s work, including his hopes of finding Noah’s Ark, visit www. worldofthebible .com.

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Commitment to Christ Prayer Leaders provide personal spiritual guidance to peers

joe l cole man

Liberty University Prayer Leader Paul Meissner holds a prayer group meeting in Dorm 23-2 in February.

BY d o m i n i q u e m c kay

Every Tuesday night, groups of resident students gather in residence hall rooms around campus with the mission of growing closer to God through prayer.

The small groups of four or five are led by fellow students known as Prayer Leaders.

They, along with Resident Assistants (RAs) and Spiritual Life Directors (SLDs), make up the student leadership teams assigned to every residence hall on campus.

Paul Meissner, a senior sport management major, has been a Prayer Leader in Dorm 23-2 for the past three and a half years. He spends about 30 minutes ministering to his group each week, after the hall meeting.

“I always have a lesson and try to make it interactive,” he said. “I try to help them grow spiritually throughout the year.”

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Liberty’s Office of Student Leadership designed the Prayer Leader position with the goal of having each student ministered to by another. Each leader has four major objectives: to make sure that every student is loved, prayed for daily by name, prayed with weekly and given a chance to be personally discipled.

Meissner applied for the position in spring 2006 after the leadership team on his hall expressed a need for more Prayer Leaders. Soon after his first prayer group meeting, he found it was something he really enjoyed.

“My first prayer group I ever had was a lot of fun. We had four guys who were all very different,” he said. “For a while I had a hard time trying to find stuff to do to bring them all together, but it was a great experience.”

For the next two years, Meissner remained in Dorm 23-2 and began forming

friendships through his position on the leadership team.

Ministering to different students each semester, Meissner said he experienced different responses to prayer groups.

Although many were eager to come each night, he said there were others who needed a little more encouragement — so he began inviting them to church and leaving reminders on their doors.

“It was hard sometimes, but it was worth it,” he said.

As Meissner approached his last year of college, he considered the possibility of moving off campus.

After much prayer, Meissner said he felt God was calling him to remain on campus his last year, again as a prayer leader in Dorm 23-2.

“I’m glad I decided to stay on campus.

My prayer group this semester has been

very good,” he said. “They help keep me accountable. I make sure I’m reading my Bible and growing because if I’m not, then I can’t help others.”

Meissner said what he enjoys most about being a Prayer Leader is the helping hand he gets to offer the young men on his hall. Every year, he arrives on campus a few days early for training, and each semester he volunteers to help the incoming freshmen move in.

More than anything, Meissner said Prayer Leaders make a personal sacrifice of their time, especially in the amount of hours they spend in weekly meetings with other members of the student leadership team.

Once a week Prayer Leaders attend a class conducted by Associate Director of Student Leadership and Campus Pastor

Chris Deitsch. They also attend weekly residence hall leadership meetings and leadership prayer groups, as well as a weekly accountability meeting with one of their RAs or SLDs. Despite the heavy responsibilities of prayer leaders, new students continue to apply for the position each year. LU has 925 Prayer Leaders — about one per every five students.

“Our Prayer Leaders give a personal touch of showing love and praying daily for each member of their prayer group,” Campus Pastor and Vice President for Spiritual Development Dwayne Carson said.

“This personal touch is so vital to training a student to be a Champion for Christ.”

Brad Mitchell, a sophomore and Prayer Leader on East 23, said what drew him to

apply for the position was the desire God gave him to see the young men on his hall grow in Christ.

“I have had so many people pour into me that I have lost count,” Mitchell said.

“I wanted to pour what I was given into others and see those guys help others grow in the Lord.”

He said he has not only developed deep friendships in the past year as a Prayer Leader, but also felt encouraged by the personal and spiritual growth of the members in his prayer group.

“The spiritual mentoring and discipleship available by Liberty’s student leadership program is one of the key elements that distinguishes the LU experience from that of secular institutions,” Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said.

j o e l c o le ma n

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Scholar ’ s Setting an Example

By Davi d Wh e e le r

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she touched each bag?”

Believe it or not, Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace carried Tucholsky to each base, eventually handing her to her coaches and teammates after passing home plate. Even more incredible is that a bid to the Division II National Tournament was on the line!

I share this with you because in the midst of a generation that is overly criticized as distant and rude, this act of sportsmanship is a defining snapshot. As a professor at Liberty, I am encouraged by the tremendous passion in the students of today. They are not unlike the young Moravians in church history who willingly sold themselves into lifelong slavery in order to take the gospel into impossible situations.

Sadly, I fear that my generation would have been too consumed with winning the

softball game to perform such a selfless act. Rather than exalting Christ-like humility, compassion and servanthood in our lifestyles, too often we act like consumers, and God is the store clerk assigned to meet our every need.

I am reminded of the time in Matthew 22:36-39 when Jesus was asked to define the “Greatest Commandment.” He responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your soul, with all your mind … the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

We should go and do the same.

Dr. David Wheeler, Liberty University professor of Evangelism and Student Ministries, contributes to “SBC Life,” a journal published by the Southern Baptist Convention.

j o r da n c r o s s i n g ham

Sara Tucholsky was a 5’2”, seldom-used senior outfielder for the Western Oregon University softball team. She recently became nationally known after slugging her only career home run in a key conference game against Central Washington.

However, it was not the home run that prompted ESPN.com to display her picture on their web page or to memorialize the event with a coveted ESPY for “Great Sportsmanship.” Rather it was the unique response from two players on the opposing team.

While rounding first base she inadvertently missed the bag. When she turned to go back, her ACL gave out leaving her writhing on the ground in pain. Unfortunately, softball rules would not allow her coaches or trainers to touch her while on the base path, even after a home run. The only solution was to credit Tucholsky with a single, thus nullifying her home run, and give her a pinch runner.

Knowing that the rules allowed defensive players to touch base runners, it was then that Central Washington’s senior first baseman, Mallory Holtman, stepped in and shocked everyone by stating, “Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and

vie W

FREE SubscriPTION! Creation?

Evolution?

Intelligent Design?

Which theory is correct?

Six days or six billion years?

Does it matter?

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aculty focuS Dr. Bruce K. Bell, School of Business dean

career

s u b m i t t e d p h oto

Bell served as a Commissioned Officer for the United States Army from 1971 until June 1996. A month later, he came to LU as an associate professor and later worked his way up to full professor and Dean of the School of Business by the year 2000. Here are some of his career highlights: Executive Speechwriter (1993–1996), Director of Public Relations (1991-1993) and Deputy Director of Public Relations (1987-1990) for the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Chief of Public Affairs (1990-1991) for U.S. Army South in Fort Clayton, Panama Official Spokesperson for the Chief of Army Public Affairs (1983-1987) and Liaison Officer for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe (1979-1982) at the Pentagon Public Relations Practitioner for Ketchum Public Relations (1982-1983) in Pittsburgh, Pa. Personnel Officer for the Personnel Operations Center — Iran (1979) in Alexandria, Va. Administrative Officer for United States Support Activity (1978-1979) in Tehran, Iran Instructor of English for the United States Military Preparatory School (1974-1977) in N.J. Postal Officer/Personnel Officer for the United States Army Training Center (1971-1974) in N.J. giving b ack

Bell is an elder at Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg.

Dr. Bell, shown in front of the Pont du Gard aqueduct in the South of France, is He loves teaching students how to communicate passionate about organizing annual trips to Europe. Sponsored by the School within professional settings, nailing down their grammar in of Business, the trips are open to students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and business letters, memos and formal reports. He also teaches family. “It exposes students to European culture, food, language. It’s an incredible them how to communicate both verbally and non-verbally when opportunity for students to see Europe, in many cases for the first time.” they give presentations.

Bell is vocal about the importance of blood donation. e d u c at i o n p u b l i c at i o n s He started donating platelets in the early 1990s, which may be Ph.D. in Applied Management and Bell has written dozens of used for cancer patients and burn victims. It’s a longer process Decision Science from Walden book reviews and articles for than regular donation, but he can give platelets twice a month University, May 2000 “Assembly” magazine, “Pointer and has made more than 100 donations in Lynchburg.

M.A. (1971) and B.A. (1969) in English View” and other publications.

He offers extra credit on his final exams to students from Pennsylvania State University who donate a unit of blood or volunteer at a blood drive.

Someday he would like to see a “trading room” in m i l i ta ry awa r d s the School of Business where the Dow would scroll and Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service students could potentially trade stocks.

Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army An avid runner, Bell can be seen most days at Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, retired as a lunchtime running through campus with some of his good Lieutenant Colonel friends and fellow faculty, hoping to inspire students to a lifetime of physical fitness.

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Best practices School of Business emphasizes career success without sacrificing ethics

j o r da n c r o s s i n g h a m

Dr. Bruce K. Bell, School of Business dean, leads a lecture in February.

by T e r esa D u n ham

In a time of bank bailouts and questionable corporate decisions, Liberty University is producing trustworthy businessmen and women — professionals with a conscience who take personal responsibility and put their reputations before ego or money even when it’s not easy.

“We teach not only business or organizational ethics, but we’ll integrate our biblical worldview into every course. So no longer is it simply a case of, ‘You should do right because that’s good business.’

We say you should do right because that is what a Christian believer does.

Whether anybody is watching or not, your character is on the line,” said Bruce Bell, Dean of LU’s School of Business.

In his view, the original sin recorded in Genesis leads to various business problems such as a WorldCom or an

Enron scandal — and his school is making students aware of that.

LU senior finance major Robert Sudden, 21, said he realizes temptation will be high when he enters his chosen field.

“When you’re dealing with financial statements for multi-billion dollar companies, it’s very easy to sweep things under the rug or disguise what things really are or to deceive your shareholders by making it seem like you’re in a better position than you really are,” he said.

He doesn’t plan on giving in, though.

“I definitely am aware that it’s a dogeat-dog world out there, and I’m prepared to stand my ground. If ethical stands that I make will cost me, then so be it. That’s the price that I pay for saying that I stand up for what I believe in. I know that it will definitely be worth it in the end,” said Sudden, who hopes to run a Fortune 500 company someday.

Before he came to LU, Sudden

already had strong ideals and morals — but LU’s business education reinforced that worldview.

“We’ve not only focused on being successful and being profitable as a company but doing it the right and ethical way and taking great care for the community you’re in and the social responsibility,” he said.

Along with excellent job skills, Sudden’s integrity and honesty are marketable qualities these days.

“That’s what I think a lot of companies are really looking for,” said Bell.

R ig ht on th e Mon ey If you’re going to live morally, sometimes you have to work twice as hard as everyone else to stay ahead — and LU’s School of Business prepares its students to do that.

“We’re trying to train people to go out and get good jobs. We want to know what the marketplace is looking for,” pag e 34 li b e rty j o u r nal

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said Dr. Paul Young, chairman of the marketing department.

The School of Business offers two undergraduate degrees — a B.S. in Accounting or Business — with Business specializations including finance, economics, marketing, management, international business or the newly approved human resources management program. Liberty University also offers an M.B.A. and an M.S. in Management or Accounting through LU Online.

“I wanted to pick a major that I could use in the real world, not only to make money to support myself, but something that employers are looking for,” said Lauren Fontaine, 23, who took most of her courses in human resource management.

Junior accounting major Kylie Ahier believes the business field will allow her to reach out to others in a positive way.

“A lot of people think accountants are crunching numbers — not really peoplepersons. You’re interacting with people all the time, which I don’t think a lot of people realize,” she said. “People really open up to you … Your finances are something really personal, so they feel like they

can talk to you about other stuff, too.”

No matter which undergraduate track a student chooses, the core curriculum integrates accounting, economics, business law, marketing, management, strategic planning and business policy, organizational ethics and other disciplines that provide a strong overview of modern business. Most of the specializations also include clubs or honor societies that are ideal for networking.

Whenever possible, students learn through hands-on methods and case studies — and they even solve real-world challenges from businesses such as Centra Health in Lynchburg, Va. “It really does make them competitive,” said Bell.

R eal-Wor ld Advice Currently 1,200 students are majoring in accounting or business on campus, making it a popular area of study. It takes 20 full-time residential faculty members to handle the demand, not counting some of the courses offered through LU Online.

Almost all of the professors hold doctorates and come to the university from

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highly respected employers such as the former Chase Manhattan Bank and AT&T. Bob Mateer, chairman of the Department of Finance and Economics, has been teaching at LU for 25 years — but he also enjoyed three decades in the business world.

“I introduce my experience into the classroom constantly. The students like it, and they benefit from it compared to the typical text,” said 75-year-old Mateer, who has a reputation as a tough professor. “I’m not averse to flunking somebody who doesn’t try hard enough.”

He’s also a firm believer in dressing for success. That’s why finance students are offered five points toward their final grade if they dress in business attire — including coat and tie for the males — every single day.

H ig h Hopes Expectations are high at the School of Business, but students are meeting the challenge.

“For the past several years we have had students who have been recognized in the Wall Street Journal among the Students of the Year, and those are high achievements for us as a school. It’s because of the hard work of the faculty and the students themselves,” said Bell.

Alumni are doing well, too. They’re starting their own businesses and taking high positions in companies such as Bank of America.

“We have students that are serving literally all over the country and probably around the world who are doing extraordinarily well,” Bell said.

For mor e i n for mation ab out Li b e rty U n ive r sity’s School of b usi n ess, visit www. li b e rty.e du /

acade m ics/ b usi n ess .

acad e m i c Li f e

Building the future Engineering program sets sights on new facility, first graduating class

J e r o m e St u r m

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. (middle) is joined by Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster and other LU officials for the grand opening of the temporary SECS facility in January.

BY e r i c b r own

Before the Fall 2007 semester, the idea of graduating Liberty University engineering students was merely a vision. By May 2011, that vision will be a reality. With a comprehensive capital campaign, a robust board of advisors, knowledgeable faculty and bright students, Liberty’s School of Engineering and Computational Sciences (SECS) is blossoming into a unique opportunity to train Champions for Christ in an innovative field.

“It’s amazing what the Lord has blessed us with in our tender years,” said Dr. Ronald Sones, the school’s dean.

The SECS, temporarily located on the recently renovated third floor of the Arthur S. DeMoss Learning Center, consists of two electrical engineering laboratories as well as labs dedicated to faculty research, networking and software. Sones hopes through the capital campaign, the school

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will find a permanent home inside a stateof-the-art engineering complex. Funds are now being appropriated for the future facility, which will be located on Liberty Mountain between the LU monogram and the artificial ski slope.

The proposed six-story building is expected to contain more than 20 high-tech labs, an equal number of classrooms, a library, three study rooms and adequate office space for graduate students and faculty.

Leading the charge to expand the school is a reputable board of advisors comprised of business executives and representatives from engineering firms such as Siemens, AREVA, Babcock & Wilcox, Red Hat, Inc., Northup Grumman, Simventions, Delta Star, Inc. and Tyco Electronics. Other members include Richard Rawls, a private consultant for NASA, and Tony Brown, senior vice president of J. Crew Group, Inc.

Liberty graduate Aaron Mathes is the board’s chairman and serves as the director of information technology and as an information security officer for Virginia’s Office of Attorney General. In addition to providing the SECS with advisement and financial support, Mathes said the companies represented by the board will be a great benefit to students.

“I think [Dr. Sones] has put together a comprehensive program to attract a broad base group of students, and it’s not just a traditional focus on civil engineering or electrical engineering only,” Mathes said. “As the relationships grow, we’re going to be seeing internship opportunities for Liberty engineering students.”

Inside the school’s current facility hangs a full-size, gold-plated wall plaque. Shaped like a tree, the plaque contains approximately 600 golden leaves. Liberty alumni and supporters who donate $1,000 to the school can have their name engraved on a leaf to commemorate their generous gift. Sones said once the tree’s leaves are completely filled, the school will have the $600,000 needed to construct the foyer of the future engineering complex.

“We’ve basically carved up the building into many opportunities for sponsorship,” he said. “The architects who put the plan together for us estimate building costs at $25 million. With that in mind, we wanted the students and friends of the program to sponsor the main gathering area.”

Entire wings devoted to the school’s specific degree programs are estimated at $2 million each. Other sponsorship opportunities include individual classrooms priced at $50,000 apiece and specialized labs ranging from $200,000 to $500,000. Donors with gifts of $10,000 or more will be recognized

An artist’s rendering shows the proposed School of Engineering and Computational Sciences facility on Liberty Mountain.

with a personal plaque displayed on a wall inside the SECS. “Dr. Falwell approved a separate foundation, specifically for the School of Engineering,” Sones said. “If somebody wants to help in this project, they can give their gift with the assurance that it absolutely will go to engineering.”

The SECS is comprised of approximately 300 students and offers undergraduate degrees in four engineering fields — electrical, industrial, software and computer engineering. Along with the electrical and software concentrations, students can earn an intelligence specialization minor.

Rounding out the school’s offerings are three computational science programs, which include computer science, management information systems and web design and technology.

The school also plans on adding a materials joining and welding engineering

component by fall 2010. Given Virginia’s high-profile nuclear and military presence, Sones said the degree would be of great importance to companies such as AREVA, Northup Grumman and Babcock & Wilcox.

“It’s a very much in-demand skill set that is significantly underserved by higher education,” he said. “We would be the only school in this part of the country that offers the degree.”

As the school anxiously anticipates graduating its first class in 2011, Sones is confident the SECS will continue to grow and begin producing talented engineers who can greatly impact the field.

“The students that we have are just fantastic,” he said. “I am so tremendously grateful for the support from our administration. It’s a great start and we’re looking forward to a great future.”

Alumni and supporters who donate $1,000 to the SECS can have their names engraved on the giving tree plaque.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m at i o n a b o u t Li b e rty U n ive r s ity’s S c h o o l o f E ng i n e e r i ng an d Com putational Sci e nces, visit www. li b e rty.e du /

acade m ics/ e ng i n e e r i ng & com putationalsci e nces.

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An appeal with purpose Moot Court teams gain valuable skills through competitions

J e r o m e St u r m

BY Te r esa D u n ham

A courtroom is the ultimate playing field for Liberty University’s Moot Court teams.

“It’s the [competitive] equivalent of the football player putting on his helmet for every Saturday afternoon game. … There’s just a huge satisfaction from walking away from an oral argument knowing that you’ve done absolutely the best that you could do,” said Professor Scott Thompson, head of the School of Law’s Moot Court Program.

In Moot Court tournaments, twostudent teams argue different sides of a case — coming up with the best defense, articulating that position based on findings from past cases, and standing firm as judges pepper them with questions.

Their goal is to think on their feet and outperform other teams to advance through several rounds.

“It’s a daunting challenge,” Thompson said.

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Students put in hours studying different court decisions related to their case. For national competition, they usually end up writing a brief summarizing the case over Christmas, preparing an oral argument on their own and with a teammate, and then attending an additional 10 practices in front of faculty members serving as practice judges in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

Bringing home six oralist awards in their first three years of national competition — including three first place awards — LU’s law students are considered formidable opponents. A team also won Third-Best Brief in the American Bar Association regional competition last year.

“For a program that’s only in its fourth year of existence, we’ve done very well,” Thompson said.

LU holds an internal tournament required for all first-year students each spring, and voluntary internal tournaments

are held in the fall for upperclassmen.

Those who excel can move on to several regional and even national competitions.

“Our judges have uniformly said that the arguments they hear in the final rounds are as good as many of the attorneys that practice before them on a daily basis,” said Thompson, emphasizing that LU brings in top judges from the federal, state appeals, supreme court and state circuit court levels.

One student even ended up clerking for a well-respected judge because of the impression he made on her during a competition, he said.

In Thompson’s view, Moot Court is one of the best ways for future litigators to prepare for their real-world career.

“I love working with students who are willing to make that investment and that commitment to hone their skills and become excellent oral advocates,” he said.

J e r o m e St u r m

Lucy Anderson and Chandler Smith, with Liberty University’s Moot Court team, practice their speeches in one of the law school’s courtrooms in February.

Starti n g t h e m yo u n g Liberty University starts sharpening its future lawyers early.

Law students are required to compete in Moot Court tournaments — but undergraduates from all majors can get a taste of the competition, too.

“If they come to law school having had Moot Court experience, they’re just that much farther ahead,” said Law Professor Scott Thompson.

Thompson sees the undergraduate program as a feeder for students who may compete for the School of Law someday — though dreams of a law degree aren’t a requirement for participation.

“It’s for absolutely any student who wants to participate,” said Law Professor and undergraduate Moot Court coach Grant Rost. “You just have to be good. You’ve got to be a hard worker; you have to be intelligent; you have to be a good speaker, think well on your feet.”

Moot Court mimics the argument a lawyer would make in front of an appellate court. This year, the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s fictional topic centered around the First Amendment rights of a college student engaging in political protest on campus.

LU sent four teams to Savannah, Ga., for regional competition in November, and two of those teams qualified to attend the American Collegiate Moot Court National Championships in Orange, Calif., in January. One team made it to a round of 32 teams, out of 64 total teams, and LU also brought home a secondplace trophy in brief writing.

Now in their fourth year on campus, LU’s undergraduate teams have made it to national competition three times.

LU climbed to the round of 16 teams to tie for ninth place twice in previous years, and a speaker was recognized

as the 17th best out of 128.

“The preparation was pretty intense,” said junior pre-law student Chandler Smith.

LU students were up for the challenge, though. Soon as senior government student, Mark Hicks, made the team, he went to the library and printed off all 27 cases — over 500 pages — related to the topic, read all of them over the summer, wrote briefs on them and geared up for the team’s four-hour practices on Friday nights when school was back in session. For Hicks and others, it was time well-spent.

“It’s great to know that we will be ahead of the game in law school,” said senior government and communications major Grace Woodson.

Tryouts for u n de rg rad uate M o ot Cou rt ar e h e ld eac h s p r i n g.

Em a i l g r o st @ l i b e r t y. e d u f o r m o r e i n f o r m at i o n .

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Partners in ministry Donations increase with help from Liberty’s Planned Giving Department

le s s c h o f e r

Everett Foutz, a planned giving officer at Liberty, discusses estate plans with Wayne and Charmaine Reese. by m itz i b i b le

In the Planned Giving Department on the second floor of Campus North at Liberty University, a framed Mission Statement hangs on the wall: “To endow the future of Liberty University by securing deferred gifts through the estates of donors who support our cause.”

With one director, six planned giving officers and two administrative assistants, the Planned Giving Department is ultimately responsible for much of the university’s fundraising — now and in the future.

The department reported a banner year last year (operating from July 1-June 30), with funds totaling more than a record $18 million, doubling the amount from the previous year. Now, more than halfway through the current year, the department is poised for another successful year-end report. It has already produced more than 250 gifts, totaling $11 million, with a high number of them being charitable annuities.

“Even in what we call slow economic conditions, when you think about some of the programs we have, especially our

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annuity program — it’s a great way for people to double or triple their income — that’s probably why we’re still doing so well,” says Tom Arnold, director. “Some organizations won’t see three [charitable annuities] in a year — we received three in one day.

Some of the biggest universities in the United States won’t do but 20-25 a year; in six months, we’ve received over 80. The Lord’s blessing us.”

A charitable gift annuity is when a donor transfers cash or securities in exchange for the charity’s promise to pay a fixed payment for life.

The annuity is just one of the department’s offerings, but it is often what opens the door to more planned gifts in the future, such as the Pennsylvania donor who gave Liberty its fourth-largest single bequest: $1 million. He had two annuities with LU since 2003, but changed his will three weeks before he died in June 2008, leaving Liberty the bequest in his will.

“The annuity opened the door, the visits and the phone calls and get well cards we sent to him built the relationship to where he felt strong enough to change his will three

Liberty University’s Planned Giving officers are (left to right): Everett Foutz, Earl Sargeant, Rusty Smallwood, Geary Gadomski, Gerry Kimble, Tom Arnold (director), and Harold Knowles.

Le s S c h o f e r

Sharon Baldwin (left), annuity trust administrator, and Connie Schofer, administrative assistant, serve Liberty donors through the Planned Giving office.

weeks before he died,” Arnold says. “We had no idea we were getting that million dollars.”

Sowing a seed, so to speak, the officers build relationships with donors near and far through ministering to their needs.

“It’s a long-term, relationship type of business,” Arnold says. “That’s the reason for the success of this department; that’s what we do and what we do really well throughout the United States.”

The officers are in the field visiting donors every other week, in their respective territories.

“We go and hold their hand with them when they’re in the hospital; we take them out to dinner, out to lunch, we spend time with them,” he says.

Liberty’s donors are everyone from the West Coast couple (“who probably couldn’t tell you where Lynchburg is on the map,” Arnold says, but have a love for the late Dr. Jerry Falwell and his ministry), to the Liberty history professor who decided to make Liberty the beneficiary of his insurance policy.

“They’ve got to have a love for the Lord’s work and for this university to put money here,” Arnold says, “but when our field men get to talk to them on the telephone, they feel the enthusiasm these guys have [for Liberty University], they sense that in our voice. We talk to them about the pluses this school has and tell them we’re a debt-free university in good financial standing. That’s one of the reasons we’re the largest evangelical university in the world.” li b e rty j o u r nal

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Meet the Bradshaws Texas couple invests in Liberty’s future by m itz i b i b le

su b m itte d

Mike Bradshaw, a real estate investor, and his wife Tonia live in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Though they have never been to Liberty Mountain, they have become partners in the ministry and share in the same vision of Liberty University founder Dr. Jerry Falwell.

“I’ve been an admirer of Jerry Falwell for a number of years, first starting to take notice during the Reagan years,” Mike Bradshaw said. “Dr. Falwell would take a stand on what he believed in when others stayed silent.”

The Bradshaws have stayed tuned in to Falwell over the years, watching the services broadcast from Thomas Road Baptist Church. They keep up with the happenings at Liberty University by watching television and through Dr. Jack Graham, pastor of the 27,000-member Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, where they attend. (Graham is a member of Liberty’s Board of Trustees and has travelled to LU for meetings and to speak at the school’s convocation.) The Bradshaws have also had a chance to see Liberty’s ministry teams perform at their church.

Mike Bradshaw said he always enjoyed when Falwell visited his church and is

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excited for what the man accomplished at Liberty and for the ongoing progress there and at TRBC. “I think probably as much as anything I’ve admired the fact that he established the law school and is training these young lawyers up to go out and fight for what we believe in. … I think that’s absolutely needed in this day and time.”

Mike Bradshaw said the growth at Liberty is what prompted him to fund three deferred charitable gift annuities through Liberty’s Planned Giving Department.

He said the benefits are twofold: “It accomplishes putting your money in things you believe in and it’s an investment with a future return. An additional benefit is the tax deductions.” For the Bradshaws, this means the annuities will serve as a

guaranteed retirement fund.

He said working with Everett Foutz, a planned giving officer at Liberty, has been a great experience. “Everett is outstanding. He’s such a nice guy and he stays in contact with us; he visits us, he will call, see how you’re doing on your birthday, call at Christmas — he’s very active and has an interest in how we’re doing.”

The annuities are an investment the Bradshaws are proud of.

“We feel like this organization is a good cause. It’s on the right track. We did the deferred gift annuities because we believe in the organization and what they’re doing.”

For mor e i n for mation on Plan n e d G ivi ng to Li b e rty U n ive r sity, g o to www. lug ivi ng .com or call (800) 543-5309 .

Picture & Quote: Mrs. Ruth Dunlap

Liberty University medical doctor

and his wife offer loyal support

j e r o m e st u r m

by m itz i b i b le

For more than 20 years, Dr. Gregg Albers has been helping Liberty University students heal from their minor illnesses and injuries. But he’s not just concerned about the students; he wants the entire university to continue to thrive as an institution that provides the highest quality Christian education available.

That’s why he and his wife, Andrea, have decided to leave a bequest to Liberty University in their estate plan.

They recently joined the Jerry Falwell Legacy Society and received a plaque from Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. The Society recognizes special supporters who make commitments to the future of Liberty University through various planned giving options.

The Alberses’ ties with Liberty are strong.

“We came 25 years ago [from Ohio].

The Lord called us here to Liberty to do their health services and we’ve been working in health services ever since,” Gregg Albers said.

He operates Light Medical Inc., a family and occupational medical service available to students, staff and faculty at Liberty. He also operates a second office off campus that serves the Lynchburg community.

Andrea is an accomplished musician. She plays violin for the Lynchburg Symphony, gives lessons and has helped with the Liberty orchestra. She has performed in the Virginia Christmas Spectacular at Thomas Road Baptist Church, where the couple has been longtime members. The show raised funds for the Liberty Godparent Home, a ministry to young mothers as an alternative to abortion. Gregg now serves as chairman of the board for the Home.

Gregg also sings in the Thomas Road Baptist Church choir and is vice chairman of the Liberty Christian Academy School Board, where the couple’s four children attended school. Two went on to receive degrees from Liberty University.

The Alberses said it was an easy decision to designate a percentage of their estate to Liberty in their will.

“We’ve always supported Liberty and seen its growth; we believe in Christian education and want to see the school do well,” Andrea said.

Gregg said he hopes to raise that percentage in the future and has included a stipulation that the funds be used for a medical school, if the university should ever add one. Otherwise, it will go in the college’s general endowment.

Andrea said she would recommend the Planned Giving Department at Liberty University to anyone who is thinking about their future.

“People here are so easy to work with.

You can give any percentage, there’s no pressure from anyone as far as how much you’re going to give.”

Gregg said he is confident Liberty’s growth spurt will continue and knowing that he and his wife can contribute to the school’s mission in life and in death is reassuring.

“I don’t see any problems with it growing — until the Lord comes again.” li b e rty j o u r nal

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Alumni Snapshot NAME: David Beauregard GRADUATING CLASS: 2006 RESIDENCE: Jerusalem, Israel FAMILY: Wife Diane; mom, dad and brother who reside in Lynchburg, Va.; sister who resides in Las Vegas, and a brother who lives in N.Y. OCCUPATION: Ambassador to Jews & Arabs in Middle East, teacher HOBBIES: Outdoor recreation, reading AFFILIATIONS: I AM International, Bridges for Peace, The Lions’ Den EDUCATION: B.S. w/honors; Biblical Studies, Liberty University

Why did you choose to attend Liberty University?

While attending Christ for the Nations in Texas, I was given a ticket for preaching on the street. Bob Skolrood from Virginia Beach decided it was a case he would defend. He brought in a criminal lawyer from Missouri and another from Fort Worth. We won the case, but during it, I began to study and read the Founding Fathers and participated in the discussions. At the end, they felt that I should pursue a law degree. I started on that path, but was not wholeheartedly convinced it was my calling from the Lord. I kept feeling Israel inside, so I made the decision that I would study God’s law rather than man’s.

What is your fondest memory of Liberty?

The relationships with professors and several fine young men, as well as the classroom setting. I enjoy hearing the difference of opinions, new ideas and the give and take. It led me to deeper thinking and a keener ear. I am not your typical student; I am 52, and my relationships with the young men are kin to father/son. I am very blessed by them. Several fellow class members and I established friendships that continue today via emails and telephone.

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How did attending Liberty prepare you for your life after graduation?

I could never forget the “Champion” speech from Dr. Falwell. To be a champion, invincible until that day He calls me home; and one of my own views — to see problems as opportunities. Practically speaking, learning to discourse or debate without being defensive.

Understanding different ways and styles of sharing Christ with others was prominent, and the thing that affected me the most was Dr. Falwell’s contagious genuine love for people.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

This is not surprising to people who know me, but my daily routine consists of several hours of prayer each morning, asking the Lord for who to love, to serve, and who to bring the life of Yeshua to for that day. Then I go out into the streets and minister. Also, Diane and I work in soup kitchens establishing relationships with the host Jewish workers as well as the people we’re serving.

Are you ready for the challenges that you’ll face in your classroom, workplace, or culture? Don’t be left without an answer to the trials that will inevitably test your faith. Register today for one of our worldview Adult Conferences or worldview Student Conferences held in CO, TN, and VA.

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June 21 – July 03

summit.org 719.685.9103

alu m n i

C lass

note S

Updates from LU alumni

Clas s of 1977 Dale Howard, 55, entered the Iowa Summer Games in the rowing competition in August 2007. His team won the Gold Medal in the Men’s Open/Master 4, the Gold Medal in the Men’s Open/Master 8 and the Silver Medal in the Mixed Master/Open 8. Howard leads Bible studies, home groups and serves on the local Board of Administration at Heritage Wesleyan Church in Rock Island, Ill. Howard’s wife, Marie Newman Howard (’06) is a prayer warrior in Deliverance Ministry.

The couple, who live in Rock Island, has two grandchildren; their son-in-law works as worship pastor at Heritage Wesleyan and both of their daughters and their families live in the same city.

’77 C las s o f 19 8 0 Randy and Lori (Barclay, ’81) DeVaul provide an international hospitality ministry with their two children through their Brick House Bed & Breakfast (www.brickhousebnb.com) in Westfield, N.Y. In two years of operation, their guests have come from nine foreign countries and 34 states, including members of the Christian group, NewSong. At church, Randy teaches the Pastor’s Adult Sunday School Class and directs the PrimeTimers seniors group. Lori works with the children’s

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programs. Randy serves as a board member with the local chamber of commerce and is an internationally published writer/ author/consultant in workplace and home/ family safety.

Class of 1982 Robert Holter, Jr., who attended LU on a cross country scholarship from 1978 to 1982, has been elected for induction into the 35th Annual Hall of Fame for track/ cross country on March 21, 2009, by the Board of Directors of the Corning-Painted Post, New York Sports Hall of Fame. This recognition is granted due to breaking several records held at Corning East High School. Holter graduated from LU with a degree in Accounting and resides in Harrisonburg, Va., with his wife, Charlotte P. Holter, a special needs educator.

Class of 1990 Rabbi James Petersen attended LU from 1985 – 1990. He graduated in 1989 with an A.A. in Bible and Religion and in 1990 with a B.A. in Communication (Modern Language and Linguistics). He went on to be ordained as a Messianic Jewish rabbi and received his B.A. in Theology from Shema Israel Messianic Jewish Theological Seminary.

Petersen and his wife, Judith, have six grown children: Adam, David, Eva, Sarah, Carlos and Sandra. The couple also has five granddaughters. Petersen is an ESL instructor at Houston Community College and works with special needs students in the Fort Bend Independent School District. His ministry includes being an associate rabbi at Beth Yeshua HaMashiach Messianic Synagogue in Houston, Texas, where he teaches basic Hebrew and a Messianic discipleship study course. Petersen is also part of an outreach ministry to the Sephardic (Hispanic) community and to the inmates of a correctional

facility in Rosharon, Texas. He is also part of the online ministry Truth Media.

Class of 1992 B.J. Hathaway, owner of Augusta Golf Instruction in Augusta, Ga., is also the Director of Instruction for Wedges and Woods Driving Range in Augusta. He has recently joined the Medicus Golf Institute and is a Medicus Certified Instructor. He is also one of only 98 instructors in the world to hold the degree of Bachelor of Golf Stroke Engineering and is an authorized instructor for The Golfing Machine.

Hathaway received a B.S. Degree in Business Management and played on the Liberty golf team for two seasons. www.augustagolfinstruction.com.

’92 Class of 1994 Dr. T. Andrew Elliott has co-authored and published his first book, “Instead of Chocolate,” which was chosen as a book of the week through Publishamerica.com.

Paul and Whitney Atkinson are presently serving in student mobilization with Association of Baptists for World Evangelization (ABWE) in the home office in Harrisburg, Pa. Recently, they went to India on a trip to survey church planting possibilities among the Dalit (untouchables). Paul completed his M.A. in Intercultural Studies at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. To read about their recent trip and ministry, go to http://atkinsonanomalies.blogspot.com.

Class of 1995 Mike Bluem joined the Denver Broncos staff in 1995, and he is in his fourth year as the club’s director of football administration.

Bluem negotiates player contracts, manages the salary cap, — including forecast analysis of future years as well as compliance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and NFL Player Personnel rules — and assists in other areas of player personnel. Bluem, 35, who earned a B.A. in Sport Management, previously held a position with the LU baseball team. Bluem and his wife, Shelley, along with their twins, Zackary and Kylie, live in Highlands Ranch, Colo.

Class of 2001 Michael Bahn is a singer/songwriter who has served as the worship pastor at River Valley Community Church in Grants Pass, Ore., for almost seven years. Supported by his wife and three children, Bahn also travels and leads worship abroad to encourage and shepherd the body of Christ. Bahn writes for Front Yard Worship magazine and loves opportunities to help worshipers, songwriters and musicians navigate through issues facing them in the post-modern church.

He has recorded two worship projects for his church and released his first personal worship project in November 2007. Bahn recently finished the recording of his newest worship CD entitled “PURE” which is releasing nationwide by Tent Creative Group and Word Music May 19. For more information visit www.michaelbahn.com or www.tentcreativegroup.com.

Class of 2005 Dr. Philip Ayers recently published his second book, “A Proverb a Day Keeps the Devil Away.” Ayers graduated in 1991 with a Master of Arts in Counseling and in 2005 with a Doctor of Ministry. He is serving in his 25th year as pastor of Glade Creek Baptist Church and is the chaplain for the Roanoke Valley chapter of CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association). He teaches Philosophy and

Golf at Virginia Western Community College.

He is also an adjunct teacher with Liberty Home Bible Institute (LHBI).

at t e n t i o n

’05 a l u m n i

s e n d u s yo u r s u b m i s s i o n s email: ttmaxwell@liberty.edu

mail: 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, VA 24502

fax: 434-582-7710

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s po r ts

Todd ’ s

noteboo K

Flames have clear vision for future

BY To d d Wet m o r e

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Liberty, ranked among the nation’s Top 25 mid-major programs all season, has produced its first 20-win season in 12 years.

March Madness has fanned the Lady Flames basketball program for more than a decade. Liberty has captured 11 out of the last 12 Big South titles and automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament.

Behind the efforts of a senior-laden squad, guided by two-time Big South Player of the Year Megan Frazee, Carey Green’s Lady Flames stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league this year again, as they look to make it a dozen league trophies in their awards case.

The Lady Flames wrapped up the month of February on a double-digit winning streak, positioning Liberty to have two 20-win basketball programs for the second time in University history (also in 1996-97) and one of only a few nationally.

The collective sports world now has turned its attention to filling out brackets this mid-March, and whether Flames fanatics have the unprecedented opportunity to follow two teams in postseason play or not, one thing is for sure: Liberty Athletics has a clear vision for its future.

Todd Wetmore is Liberty University’s Assistant AD for Communications.

Les Schofe r

The Liberty University Athletics Department is in the midst of one of its most successful runs in university history. The Flames took home 10 conference championships last year, en route to Liberty’s sixth Big South Sasser Cup trophy over the last 11 seasons.

Liberty had its second NCAA Division I national champion when Josh McDougal outkicked Oregon’s Glenn Rupp down the stretch to take home the 2007 NCAA Men’s Cross Country national title.

The expanse of success continued this past fall, with a pair of repeat conference champions and a near replica on the same cross running trek in Terre Haute, Ind. After capturing the program’s first Big South title in 2007, the football team took its program to new heights in 2008. The gridiron giants knocked off a pair of Top 25 programs during their drive to a second straight league title and a program-best No. 14 final national ranking.

Individually, Liberty’s star running back Rashad Jennings grabbed the league’s attention when he rushed his way to an eighth-place finish in the final voting for the Walter Payton Award.

Hailing from Forest, Va., Jennings recently showcased his skills before more than 600

NFL head coaches, general managers and talent scouts at the NFL Combine — raising his stock, which could lead to the program’s first NFL draft selection since 1993.

On the Vines Center hardwood, the Lady Flames made it two-for-two on the volleyball court, capturing the program’s second straight Big South title and the fifth in school history.

Sam Chelanga, an understudy of McDougal’s last year, nearly outperformed his master as the Nairobi, Kenya, native went toe-to-toe with Rupp at the 2008 NCAA National Cross Country event.

However, the Ducks’ senior erased the memories of last year and bested Liberty’s sophomore by five seconds to capture this season’s national crown.

Success certainly breeds success, and neither of Liberty’s basketball programs are wilting under the pressure to keep up with their fellow counterparts.

The men’s basketball team has experienced a resurgence under second-year head coach Ritchie McKay and national freshman phenom Seth Curry. The leading freshman scorer in the country, combined with the fourth-youngest squad in the country, has Flames fans packing out the Vines Center and thinking about March Madness.

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At home at bat LU senior softball player has heart for competition, missions

Les Schofe r

Since childhood, Liberty University first baseman Beth Bennett has immersed herself in the sport, playing softball practically year-round.

BY E r i c B r own

Midway through the 2008 softball season, Liberty first baseman Beth Bennett walked over to coach Paul Wetmore and said, “You know, I don’t really want to graduate.

I’m not ready to grow up.”

“I thought that was so cool,” Wetmore recalled.

The idea of a player like Bennett sticking around after graduation would intrigue any coach. Last season, she

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led the Lady Flames with a .328 batting average, 60 total hits, a .989 fielding percentage and a .409 on-base percentage.

Now in her senior year, the co-captain is accepting God’s will with open arms.

“Being here at Liberty, I’ve realized that my calling is to be in the Christian camp ministry, she said. “It’s funny because I thought I was never going to be able to let go of softball.”

Since childhood, Bennett has immersed herself in the sport, playing softball

practically year-round. While competing on a travel team in high school, Bennett’s coach recommended her to Wetmore.

After seeing her in action, Wetmore offered the Powhatan, Va., native a spot on Liberty’s roster, where she has started every game of her collegiate career.

Following her freshman season, a teammate convinced Bennett to work at a Christian summer camp in Maryland.

Blessed by the experience, she returns to the campground each summer and also plans to enroll in a yearlong internship with another Maryland-based ministry.

Bennett’s passion for ministry became even stronger as she travelled to East Asia this past winter. She and senior pitcher Sarah Ellis journeyed overseas with Liberty University’s Light Ministries, a department that offers short-term mission trips. During their stay, Bennett and Ellis interacted with children in orphanages and kindergartens, overcoming the language barrier as they shared Christ’s love.

“We would get together with some of the other believers over there and not be able to speak the language,” Bennett said. “It was like a glimpse of heaven because we were all worshipping the same Lord even though we didn’t know each other’s languages. That was so amazing to me.”

Regarded by her coach as a clutch player, Bennett is known for making big plays in big games. At the 2007 Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., she sent a three-run shot sailing over left field, helping the Lady Flames capture third place with a 7-3 victory over Rutgers.

Bennett found the left field fence again in the Big South Championship semifinals against Radford last season. With a 1-0 advantage over the Highlanders, the first baseman sealed the contest with a solo homer, advancing her team to the championship finals.

Les Schofe r

“Last year, she was one of our best hitters,” Ellis said. “Her intensity and hard work really is contagious.”

At the Seahawk Classic in 2006, Wetmore recalls a moment where Bennett’s intensity shone through under extremely cold conditions. In a tightly contested matchup against host UNC Wilmington, the infielder made a diving catch near the Lady Flames dugout. As her teeth clenched together on the play, Wetmore feared Bennett would need the aid of a good dentist after the game.

“She never even shook,” Wetmore said. “She just got up, threw the ball back and went back to play. That’s the kind of player she is.”

MARCH 1 MANHATTAN 1 P.M. 3 VCU 3 p.m.

4 GEORGE MASON 3 P.M. 6 TEMPLE 3 P.M. 7 TEMPLE 2 P.M. 8 TEMPLE 1 P.M. 10 DUKE 3 P.M. 11 WILLIAM & MARY 3 P.M. 13 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN * 3 P.M. 14 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN * 2 P.M. 15 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN * 1 P.M. 17 James Madison 3 p.m.

18 FORDHAM 3 P.M. 20 High Point * 6 p.m.

21 High Point * 6 p.m.

22 High Point * 1 p.m.

25 N. C. State 6:30 p.m.

27 PRESBYTERIAN * 7 P.M. 28 PRESBYTERIAN * 4 P.M. 29 PRESBYTERIAN * 1 P.M. 31 Old Dominion 6 p.m.

APRIL 1 JAMES MADISON 3 VMI * 4 VMI *

3 P.M. 6 p.m.

4 p.m.

HOME GAMES IN RED BOLD CAPS * - Big South Conference game

In her final season, Bennett hopes her team can capture its first Big South title since 2002, an achievement the senior believes would symbolize years of dedication. With an assembly of talented young players, the Lady Flames possess great potential.

“Just to go to the [Women’s College World Series] in my senior year would be an awesome blessing,” she said.

Regardless of what happens this spring, the veteran leader understands God is in control. Before arriving at Liberty, Bennett identified herself primarily as a softball player. These days, she views herself as an athlete on God’s team, seeking His will, one play at a time.

5 7 8 10 11 14 17 18 19 21 22 24 25 26 28 MAY 1 2 3 5 12 14 15 16 19-23

VMI * William & Mary George Mason UNC ASHEVILLE * UNC ASHEVILLE (DH) * OLD DOMINION WINTHROP * WINTHROP * WINTHROP * Longwood VIRGINIA TECH Gardner-Webb * Gardner-Webb * Gardner-Webb * Virginia

1 p.m.

7 p.m.

3 p.m.

7 P.M. 1 P.M. 6 P.M. 7 P.M. 4 P.M. 1 P.M. 6 p.m.

3 P.M. 3 p.m.

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

7 p.m.

Coastal Carolina * Coastal Carolina * Coastal Carolina * Virginia Tech Duke RADFORD * RADFORD * RADFORD * Big South Championship Asheville, N.C.

6 p.m.

6 p.m.

2 p.m.

7 p.m.

2 p.m.

7 P.M. 7 P.M. 2 P.M.

(DH) for Doubleheader All times are Eastern and subject to change

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Need for speed Student finds calling on racetrack J e r o m e Stu r m

BY E r i c B r own

Aspiring race car drivers usually develop a passion for the sport at an early age.

Often, they are seen hopping into the seat of their first go-kart when their peers are still peddling bikes with training wheels.

Liberty sophomore and sport management major Stephen Berry possesses the same fervor for driving at high speeds, but unlike his contemporaries, he did not grow up immersed in the sport. In fact, he did not receive his first professional go-kart until he was 14. Six years later, this late bloomer is turning heads in NASCAR’s developmental circuit, donning Liberty University on his Monte Carlo’s quarter panel.

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“Most guys in racing have a much different past than we did,” said Stephen’s father Bill Berry. “Almost always, a parent, family member or friend has been involved in racing. We didn’t have a clue about what we were doing, even in the go-kart stuff. We went to the track and just asked people what to do, because we didn’t know.”

Stephen’s lack of racing experience did not hinder him as he quickly moved from go-karts to a half-scale sized stock car. During his brief Mini-Cup stint, the Huddleston, Va., native started eight races, besting the division’s top drivers in his final two contests. Despite being told at season’s end to enter into an

intermediate racing series, Stephen made the jump to a full-size stock car in the Limited Sportsmen Division.

Following a successful run in Limiteds, he found himself behind the wheel of a late model stock car in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series. With just a handful of starts under his belt, Camping World Series truck driver Stacy Compton approached Stephen and asked him to join his late model team. After two full seasons in the developmental circuit, he shifted gears to NASCAR’s Camping World East Series — a division where drivers race with engines and chassis almost identical to NASCAR’s Nationwide Series.

Beginning in April, Stephen will compete

Falwell was instrumental in my being able to pursue my dream. I would love to honor Dr. Falwell and Liberty University by becoming a Champion for Christ in the competitive sport of NASCAR racing. ” When the green flag drops, Stephen’s parents take their designated positions.

Bill often serves in the pits as a crew member or mans the spotter’s tower when one is not available.

Stephen’s mom, Linda, is not a spotter or a tire changer, but her role is just as significant. Equipped with a video camera, she documents each of her son’s races. When the Berrys return home, Stephen studies the footage intently, critiquing the positives and negatives of his performance.

With each race bringing a new experience, this assertive driver is also becoming a smarter one. If a mechanical problem occurs during a race, Stephen senses the potential danger and makes adjustments accordingly.

“He’s really matured a lot in the last year or two,” said tire specialist Bill Parker. “He’s at the point now where he’s competitive even when it is not an ideal night.”

To show his appreciation LU’s for support, Stephen invited Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. and his family pag e 54

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in 13 Camping World East races during the 2009 season.

“We are racing for Bobby Hamilton, Jr. this year,” he said. “He’s a NASCAR driver and he wants to become an owner. He’s a professional, and I’d like to be like him someday.”

Much like their driver, Stephen’s first pit crew did not come with an abundance of mechanical expertise. In the early stages of his career, Stephen and his dad recruited men from their church, placing them in positions where they would serve the best.

With assistance from crew chiefs along the way, the group stood by Stephen, helping him achieve quality starts and finishes. In 2007, the crew’s efforts shined at Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C., when the young driver surpassed the entire field in time trials, setting a new track record.

As Stephen and his team venture closer to the goal of competing in the Sprint Cup Series, sponsorship becomes a necessity. Nearly two and a half years ago, the Berrys presented Liberty University with the idea of placing the school’s name on the hood of Stephen’s Monte Carlo to help with recruiting.

“My goal is to graduate from Liberty University and succeed at the highest levels in NASCAR,” Stephen said. “Dr.

Ste p h e n B e r ry Fast Facts Ag e / 20 Ye ar / Sophomore Maj o r / Sport Management E x p ecte d G r ad uati o n Date / May 2011 Race car / Chevrolet

Monte Carlo

D r ive r H i g h l i g h ts L i m ite d S p o rts m e n D ivi s i o n 2005 / Three wins, nine top fives L ate M o d e l rac i n g 2005 / Youngest driver to qualify for Bailey’s 300 in Martinsville, Va. Finished fourth at Southern National Raceway Park’s “Thanksgiving Classic” in Kenly, N.C. 2006-2007 / Garnered four poles and 11 Top 10 finishes at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. 2007 / Set track record at Kenly, N.C. / Led first 104 laps of “Thanksgiving Classic” Started 10th at Bailey’s 300 Started 14th out of 65 drivers in Toyota All-Star Showdown

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to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., to take part in the Richard Petty Driving Experience in March. The program allows enthusiasts to climb into a race car and discover firsthand what professional drivers encounter on race day.

“Liberty has sponsored us for the past few years, and we just wanted to get the whole family out here and show them a good time,” Stephen said. “Anyone who comes out to the Richard Petty Driving Experience is blown away at how much fun it is.”

Driving at speeds close to 150 mph, Stephen and Falwell burned rubber for eight laps around the 1.5-mile oval. After

completing his run, Stephen watched from behind pit road as the chancellor looped around the track.

“I was impressed,” Stephen said. “He looked like a pro out there.”

Falwell said he enjoyed the experience and hopes the university can help support Stephen’s budding racing career. Moments after stepping out of the race car, he recalled his feelings while sitting in the driver’s seat.

“I was a little concerned when I got behind the wheel,” Falwell said. “You catch on fast and it’s a lot of fun. It’s something everybody should try.”

Though the support of Liberty and other

local sponsors have kept Stephen’s racing ambitions alive, moving up to the Camping World East Series requires additional sponsors to defray the cost of the regional circuit.

Bill says he spends every free minute putting together packets to send out to potential sponsors. While the path to the Sprint Cup is longer than any road course, Stephen is relying on God — the ultimate crew chief — to guide him on his incredible journey.

“We know everything is in His hands,” he said. “It’s not how good I am; it’s not how good the car is; it’s how He wants it all to work out. We know that coming in, and we’ll let His will be done.”

(Left) Becki Falwell and Wesley Falwell, wife and son of LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., gear up at Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Vist www.stephenberryracing.net for the latest news.

b e c k i fa lw e l l

Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. (left) poses with Liberty University student and race car driver Stephen Berry (middle) and his son and LU student, Trey, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., during the Richard Petty Driving Experience in March.

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www.dodsonbros.com

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An intimate perspective of the most influential religious leader in America

L iberty university Jump into the ultimate social scene

For the first time Macel Falwell, Rev. Falwell's widow, provides this official biography of the founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church and the Moral Majority. Along with never-before-seen photographs, Macel gives a personal viewpoint and tells readers stories from across the decades, including some from his children that show the man behind the passion.

karaoke nights, paintball, movie nights, theatre productions, and more — all on campus. 

Readers will be given insight into his most publicized and controversial events, such as: • • •

His friendship with Ronald Reagan His relationship to Larry Flynt What led to the concept and formation of the Moral Majority • Discover The reaction to his September 11 remarks

Discover Your

Network for life

academic clarity Liberty has over 60 programs of study, including religion, aviation and engineering.

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Cheer on Red HOT athletics at the Vines Center basketball stadium and other athletic venues. 

Available wherever books are sold

Stretch your soul weekly convocation, Campus Church and guest speakers inspire LU students to focus on Christ.



Training champions for christ www.libertyu.com  (800) 543-5317  admissions@liberty.edu