Liberty Journal Spring 2022

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MILESTONE YEAR

FIELD HOCKEY’S HISTORIC RUN TO LU’S FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

CHURCH PLANTERS

Liberty graduates have been sowing seeds for souls for 50 years

‘THE CHOSEN’

BROADCASTING A VISION

Director, cast members of popular show visit campus

How the founder took the Gospel and Liberty over the airwaves

COMING

IN

2023

PRESERVING THE MISSION In honor of one man’s lasting legacy and Liberty University’s commitment to preserve its Christian mission, the university has announced the latest addition to campus: The Jerry Falwell Center.

Coming in 2023, the new center will give students and guests an immersive look at the faith, vision, and purpose of the university. Through the latest entertainment technology and interactive displays, students will be inspired by the institution’s spiritual heritage and learn how the original mission, Training Champions for Christ, is still being carried out today with biblically based academic excellence.

Join us in Inspiring Champions for Christ. Support the mission:

LIBERT Y.EDU/JF CENTER

MESSAGE from THE PRESIDENT Our 50th Anniversary celebration continues on Liberty Mountain, and I am amazed daily by the work God is doing here in the lives of our students. They are excelling in so many areas, and the world is taking notice.

We recently held one of our largest career fairs on campus. Employers are signing up early to participate in these events, actively seeking out our students for not only their talent but also their work ethic and exemplary character that is needed on their workforce. They tell us they see something different in our students — they see integrity, compassion, and a drive to succeed that’s hard to find elsewhere.

But we know the reason our students are different. They are being trained in their field of study here, but they are also being taught how to live out their faith.

From their professors to our Convocation speakers, Campus Community services, and the spiritual leadership teams in their halls, our students are learning to love others as Christ first loved us.

I’m extremely proud of how our students care for one another. This has been very evident this semester as they embraced the Liberty in Prayer initiative. Students have been picking up prayer request cards from special boxes around campus and stopping during their busy schedules to pray for their classmates and members of the Liberty community.

This is the foundation that makes all the difference.

When Liberty University was originally founded by Dr. Jerry Falwell in 1971 as

Lynchburg Baptist College, its motto was “Knowledge Aflame.” That motto still exists today; a flame is embossed on the university seal. Fire is often used as a test of strength. As fire refines precious metals, so does the Word of God. No confessing Christian institution can ever fulfill its mission or purpose apart from God’s Word. That’s because we cannot have true knowledge without the knowledge of God. Our nation’s oldest elite universities — Harvard, Yale, and Princeton — were once firmly grounded in the Christian faith.

Over time, each one of them abandoned the sacred Scriptures, along with their Christian mission.

When I was interviewed by Decision magazine for their cover story, “Christian Colleges Standing Strong for Christ,” I told them that Liberty maintains our uncompromising commitment to biblical values, even as the culture steadily becomes more antagonistic toward Christianity, by first teaching our students that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. And therefore, we as Christians are to follow its teachings — without compromising. We continually remind students that Jesus taught if we follow Him, we will face the displeasure of the world (Matthew 10:22). The Bible, over and over again, says we are to expect the world to be antagonistic toward us (1 John 3:13), but as believers, we are not to compromise just to be liked by the world.

Liberty is not bending. God’s Word IS our source of truth. It permeates every classroom.

As we celebrate 50 Years of Training Champions for Christ, the focus isn’t on our growth in numbers or buildings — although God has certainly chosen to bless us. Our focus is on the legacy of our graduates and the influence they’ve had on this world as champions “standing strong” and carrying out the mission. That’s why we are breaking ground on the new Jerry Falwell Center — not just as a legacy to our founder, but to reinforce those foundations.

At Liberty, we teach our students to be Champions for Christ in the classroom so that they can be Champions for Christ in the world beyond. And by God’s grace they are leading faithfully.

Jerry Prevo | President

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SPRING 2022 S E N I O R M A N AG I N G E D I TO R Mitzi Bible G RA P H I C D E S I G N E R Carrie Mitchell CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kristin Conrad Ryan Helfenbein Jerry Prevo Amanda Stanley WRITERS Ted Allen Mitzi Bible Jacob Couch Ryan Klinker Logan Smith PHOTOGRAPHERS Joel Coleman Chase Gyles KJ Jugar Ross Kohl Ellie Richardson Andrew Snyder

PUBLISHING STAFF Rebecca Beem Ashley Deanda Kerry Hogan Mary-Hannah Jackson Leslie Keeney Dawn Neal Brian Shesko

E LL I E R I C HAR DSON

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Josh Rice

ON THE COVER: The Liberty Field Hockey team celebrates after scoring a goal with 39 seconds left to beat Old Dominion University 2-1 on Oct. 29, 2021, at home. With the win, the team secured the outright BIG EAST regular season title for the first time in school history.

Photo by Andrew Snyder The Liberty Journal engages alumni, supporters, friends, and current and prospective students, informing them on all the exciting developments at the world’s premier Christian university.

View the digital version and past issues at Liberty.edu/LibertyJournal.

Contact the Liberty Journal at news@liberty.edu, (434) 592-4955, or write to: Liberty University Office of Communications & Public Engagement 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, Va. 24515 Liberty remains one of the largest private, nonprofit universities in the nation and the largest university in Virginia. Located near the Blue Ridge Mountains on more than 7,000 acres in Lynchburg, Va., Liberty utilizes its world-class infrastructure and Christian faculty to offer more than 700 unique programs of study from the certificate to the doctoral level. Over 450 programs are offered online.

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

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

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

On March 11, four-time Grammy Award-winning Christian music duo for KING & COUNTRY debuted their new album, “What Are We Waiting For,” at Convocation.

With cellphone flashlights illuminating the Vines Center, they sang “Shoulders” and “God Only Knows” in a unifying time of reflection for the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine.

Throughout the Convocation, between songs, the brothers offered words of spiritual encouragement for students. Following the show, they greeted students in line to purchase the new album.

INSIDE this ISSUE 4 | A FLAMES FIRST

12 | WELCOMING ‘THE CHOSEN’

20 | MEET THE DEAN

Field hockey becomes Liberty’s first NCAA team to contend for a national title.

Director and cast members share their inspirational stories behind the making of the popular TV series on the life of Jesus and His disciples.

Dr. Heidi DiFrancesca brings her passion of teaching God’s creation to the School of Health Sciences.

14 | BROADCASTING A VISION Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell used TV and radio as a method to spread the Word and grow his ministries.

At the Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music, industry professionals are working with students in-studio on real-time projects.

18 | FAITH & FOOTBALL

42 | CLASS NOTES

Flames quarterback Malik Willis receives the Bobby Bowden Trophy and takes part in a special Convocation with Bowden’s sons and other notable guests.

Read about the careers and accomplishments of your former classmates.

8 | SEEDS FOR SOULS For 50 years, Liberty graduates have been following the founder’s example and impacting the world for Christ as church planters.

28 | REMIXING WITH THE BEST

Are we hitting the mark?

Let us know what kinds of stories interest you. Do you have a story idea of your own? Share it with us. Email news@liberty.edu.

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MILESTONE

YEAR

FIELD HOCKEY TEAM MAKES LIBERTY HISTORY ON JOURNEY TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

BY BILL SMITH

ROSS KO HL

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The Lady Flames celebrate after defeating Maryland 3-2 in double overtime to advance to the NCAA Division I Field Hockey National Championship game.

“The field hockey team reaching the national championship should inspire every faculty and staff member in each program, department, and college at Liberty to believe that we can be best in class.”

I A N M C C AW Liberty Director of Athletics

As the Liberty University Field Hockey team made its way past cheering fans, parents, and alumni on the path to Phyllis Ocker Field Hockey Field on Nov. 21, the energy was palpable. Liberty was playing for a national championship that day, its first appearance in a national title game in any sport at the Division I level.

That damp and dreary Sunday in late November in Ann Arbor, Mich., was full of optimism about what was to come on that field hockey pitch in less than two hours.

But to fully grasp the magnitude of this day, one had to stop and reflect on the journey up to this point.

Liberty entered the national championship game with a 20-2 overall record and the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 games. The Lady Flames had captured their first-ever BIG EAST Conference title just two weeks prior, downing UConn 1-0 on its home turf in Storrs, Conn.

Making its first NCAA Field Hockey Championship appearance since 2014, Liberty accomplished another program first right off the bat, advancing to the Elite

Senior Jill Bolton was named the 2021 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I National Player of the Year, making her the first Liberty student-athlete at the NCAA Division I level to be voted a national player of the year.

8 with a 2-0 triumph over Saint Joseph’s at Rutgers’ Bauer Track/Field Hockey Complex. The Lady Flames then faced off against the nation’s No. 1 team and host Rutgers with a Final Four berth on the line. Liberty prevailed in thrilling fashion, winning 3-2 in a shootout to claim the first Final Four appearance for any team in school history.

The team departed Lynchburg on a Wednesday to a send-off parade full of students, Liberty’s Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band, the Liberty Cheerleading squad, staff members, and other fans.

Upon arriving at its hotel in Ann Arbor, the team entered a lobby and meeting room decorated in Liberty and Final Four signage and balloons.

The first-class treatment at the Final Four moved into Thursday. The team practiced in the morning then took part in a stadium experience at “The Big House” (Michigan Stadium), making a special tunnel entrance to the field with the Liberty fight song playing. The Liberty Field Hockey intro video and other welcome videos were played

on the video board. The team then made its way up to the stadium’s club suite level for a special luncheon where sophomore Reagan Underwood was presented the Elite 90 Award for field hockey, given to the studentathlete with the top GPA at the 2021 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship.

Friday’s Final Four game pitted Liberty against eight-time national champion Maryland, which was making its 20th Final Four appearance. Liberty jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Jill Bolton and Charlotte Vaanhold, but Maryland scored a goal in the closing seconds of the third quarter and then scored the equalizer with 4:54 to play to force overtime.

The two teams had their chances in overtime, but to no avail until the 79th minute of the second overtime. Underwood sent a pass up the right side to Bolton, who dribbled into the circle and passed over to Vaanhold. Vaanhold’s one-time shot found the top of the cage, and a euphoric celebration ensued on the field following the 3-2 win over the Terrapins. The jubilee spilled over to in front of the stands, >>

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>> with players celebrating with their families, friends, and fans.

Vaanhold’s goal, which was featured on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays listing, sent Liberty to Sunday’s national championship game.

The success up to this point, however, was birthed out of a greater calling and purpose for this group of coaches and student-athletes. After narrowly missing out on an NCAA Tournament berth during the Spring 2021 season, the Liberty Field Hockey coaching staff brought a new and unique theme into the Fall 2021 season for its team: “Open Hands.”

“Open Hands was born out of not winning the BIG EAST or making the NCAA Tournament for the fifth season in a row. At the beginning of the preseason in 2021, we had our first team meeting in the same room where, the year before, we had received the heartbreaking news that we were not selected to play in the postseason,” said Liberty Field Hockey Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker. “We really felt the Lord leading us to fully surrender to His plan and timing, even if that meant not getting the results we were striving toward. We knew He was calling us to give 100 percent but to keep our hands open to receive His will at just the right time.”

There was plenty of support from Flames Nation on championship Sunday in Ann Arbor, with Liberty Field Hockey alumni, parents, fans, and other Liberty coaching staffs in attendance. Liberty Field Hockey program founders Jodi Murphy (former head coach), Tilly Brampton (former associate head coach), and Jacki Bolt (former assistant coach) were in the stands to cheer on the team.

Liberty’s championship game opponent, Northwestern, was also in search of its first field hockey national title in school history and a very familiar foe for the Lady Flames.

Liberty hosted Northwestern earlier in

“Having field hockey compete for the NCAA Championship on national television did wonders for the program and the profile of the athletics department and university.”

I A N M C C AW Liberty Director of Athletics

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the season in Lynchburg (Sept. 7), with the Wildcats scoring a goal in the final two minutes to prevail 4-3 and give Liberty one of only two losses on the year.

Even more notably, Parsley-Blocker was up against her alma mater; she played for Wildcats Head Coach Tracey Fuchs from 2010-13, earning second team All-American honors as a senior. Sunday’s championship game was the first time in NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship history that a former player competed against her former head coach in the title game. At 29 years old, Parsley-Blocker became the youngest head coach to lead a team in an NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship game.

A back-and-forth first half saw the Flames and Wildcats with scoring chances that came up empty, sending the two squads into the locker room scoreless. Northwestern broke through for two goals in the third period and went on to top Liberty 2-0 for the national title.

“This team is special,” said Bolton after the game. “I will remember this season for the rest of my life. I would have loved to have won a national championship, but making it to the national championship is something I never would have imagined and will be a forever memory for me.”

“The field hockey team reaching the national championship should inspire every faculty and staff member in each program, department, and college at Liberty to believe that we can be best in class,” said Liberty Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. “The Liberty brand is soaring nationally, and it is not only football and basketball driving it but also the excellence of all of our programs.

Having field hockey compete for the NCAA Championship on national television did wonders for the program and the profile of the athletics department and university.”

The very next day after the national title game, the accolades started to roll in. A program-record six Liberty players were named to the NFHCA All-South Region team. First team honorees included Bolton, Daniella Rhodes, Bethany Dykema, and Azul Iritxity Irigoyen. Jodie Conolly and Lizzie Hamlett earned spots on the all-region second team. A week later, Bolton became the program’s first-ever NFHCA South Region Player of the Year.

In December, Liberty received NFHCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year distinction. Bolton (first team), Iritxity Irigoyen (first team), and Rhodes (second team) were selected as NFHCA All-

Americans, giving the Flames three All-Americans in a season for the first time ever.

Bolton was named the 2021 NFHCA Division I National Player of the Year — the first Liberty student-athlete at the Division I level to earn the top honor. She also received the 2022 Honda Sport Award for field hockey, presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) for the past 46 years to the top female in

12 NCAA sanctioned sports. The award signifies “the best of the best in college athletics.” Bolton is now a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2022 Honda Cup, which will be presented on a telecast on CBS Sports Network, June 27 at 9 p.m. EST. In late January, the Liberty Field Hockey team was honored by the Lynchburg City Council at City Hall for its record-breaking season.

Liberty’s run to the national championship game during the Fall 2021 season won’t be forgotten.

“The coaches, staff, and student-athletes are closely bonded through their faith in Christ and love of field hockey,” McCaw stated. “It is gratifying to witness how our field hockey coaches and student-athletes embody Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ.”

R OSS KO H L

DID YOU

KNOW?

ELL IE RICHA RDSON

ELL IE RICHA RDSON

Lady Flames Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker, 29, is the youngest coach to take a team to the field hockey national championship game at the NCAA Division I level.

In 1975, basketball became the first women’s athletic program. The first field hockey team was established in 2011. Today, Liberty’s female student-athletes compete in 10 NCAA sports and 18 Club Sports programs.

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SPURRED ON BY THE FOUNDER AND HIS LEGACY, LIBERTY’S CHURCH PLANTERS HAVE IMPACTED LIVES FOR CHRIST ACROSS THE U.S. AND ABROAD

BY JACOB COUCH

Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell Sr. served in every imaginable capacity — pastor, evangelist, political activist, visionary, and so much more. But spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ by sending forth students to knock on doors and plant a church, just as he had done in Lynchburg, was his heartbeat.

“Jerry was always a great encouragement and example to me throughout my entire ministry,” said Liberty alumnus Dr. Dave Anderson (’79, ’81), who planted two churches, in Dunedin, Fla., and Buffalo, N.Y. “I have no doubt he impacted many lives the same way he impacted mine by being not only a pioneer and a trailblazer but an example to follow as to how to share the Gospel.”

Anderson, a former captain of the Flames Football team, now serves as senior pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Sarasota, Fla. He said Falwell displayed a life of boldness for the Lord seasoned in kindness and godly character that he wanted to emulate.

“I saw an example of a man who loved people, wanted to reach people,” Anderson said. “He was also openhearted and openminded to people who opposed him, and in the years I was there, I never saw him lash out or retaliate. … That’s what spoke to me, and that was the kind of pastor I wanted

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to be: one who would go into a town and portray the character qualities of Christ.”

While his church planting efforts were not always free of difficulty, Anderson saw encouraging fruit from his labor, while modeling Falwell’s bold, evangelistic approach.

“When we started, we knew no one,” he said about his first church plant in Dunedin.

“But my wife and I just started knocking on doors in the area, and then soon afterwards, we were able to plant a church in a bingo hall.”

Close to 50 people attended the first Sunday. Then Anderson had the idea to visit the local high school football team and volunteered to coach.

“We had one Sunday where I asked the whole football team to come to our morning service and 32 of them showed up, and 10 of them professed faith in Jesus Christ,” he said. “It wasn’t only Dr. Falwell’s exhortation to knock on doors and witness to people, but it was also my football experience at Liberty that came together to help us with our church plant.”

At his one-year anniversary service, 150 people attended and 10 more came to Christ.

Fellow church planter Barry Fero (’85) started Open Door Baptist Church near Los

Angeles in 1991. Other than his wife’s family who lived in Southern California, Fero was living far away from anything familiar.

He was stepping into a very different environment than the small, Central Virginia Bible college culture that he was accustomed to. But one of his most memorable outreach initiatives came on Saturday nights, when he and some of his parishioners would drive to Huntington Beach, Calif., to share the Gospel amid the thousands of people who congregated around fire pits on the shore.

Because the area would become so crowded, a church member would drive there early in the morning to reserve the fire pit closest to the end of the beach.

“At just about sunset, you would see people coming down the beach, and they would be working their way down asking people if they could share their fire pit,” Fero said. People would run out of options until the end, and that’s where they would find Fero, always willing to share his spot. “We would tell them they could share it if they didn’t mind that we were a church group. We had opportunity at that point to lay out the Gospel for them. It was a great ministry and a great outreach, being able to lead people to Christ around fire pits on the beach.”

Fero said he still remembers the training he received as a young college student who had just received a call into the ministry.

He recalls Falwell hosting panels with church planters on Wednesday mornings for students interested in following in their footsteps and traveling to visit church plants.

“They told us their church planting stories, and we were able to ask them questions about what it was like practically to go out and share the Gospel while starting a church,” he said.

Every graduate who has left Liberty to start a church has powerful stories like Anderson’s and Fero’s. These servants of the Lord were willing to face the unknown and leave their comforts of home to share the Good News.

“There’s no telling how many lives have been impacted across this country and across the world because of our church planting efforts out of Liberty over the past 50 years and because of the faithfulness of these graduates who received their training here and heeded the call to boldly spread the Gospel,” said Troy Temple, dean of the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity. “It’s at the core of what Liberty is all about: making an eternal impact.”

NEW GROWTH, SAME GOALS

Through his consistency in faithfulness to the Lord, Falwell left an evangelistic church planting legacy that has remained with Liberty throughout the school’s 50 years.

“I think the point was that church planting would be the DNA of Liberty University,” said Dr. David Wheeler, evangelism professor and the senior executive director of LU Shepherd.

Wheeler said Liberty has always been intentional in reaching the world through training students and supporting alumni as they planted churches. He said Falwell understood that establishing strong church communities was essential for the growth of new and seasoned believers.

“Evangelism is not a process or a program or something that you do as an assignment,” Wheeler said. “It is the assignment of who we are in Christ. But more than that, it is a daily lifestyle of who we are supposed to be. May we never look for a place to be comfortable, but may we always look for a place to be committed.”

To further these efforts, the School of

Divinity has launched the Center for Church Advancement with a focus on church planting, church revitalization, and church resourcing. The new center is in partnership with the North American Mission Board.

“This school was started by a church planter. Dr. Falwell had a burden, a passion, and a vision to equip students to go out and plant churches,” said Dr. Chris Dowd (’97), the center’s director.

The center is building off Falwell’s original vision of planting 5,000 churches, a goal he initiated in the early 1980s. Dowd said Liberty is looking to return to this specific focus, embodying the founder’s approach by taking action through evangelism while not standing on the sidelines.

“During our 50th Anniversary year, getting back to the vision of planting 5,000 churches is unique to Liberty, and it’s amazing. We’re finding a way to meet the church planting needs of today and developing some systems and programs moving forward,” Dowd said.

While the mission of sharing the Gospel will not change for Liberty’s church planting initiative, Dowd said that the methods must as the culture changes.

In 2020, Liberty graduate Austin Coleman (’13, ’14) moved to Knoxville, Tenn., to plant Heart & Soul Church during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately, he was forced to begin adapting to the virus protocols and mandates.

“If you are going to plant a church, you better be adaptable,” he said. “You can learn to lead, your character can grow, but church planters really need to be people who will step out and do (seemingly) crazy things and be really adaptable along the way.”

Although Coleman did not get to benefit from a personal relationship with Falwell, who passed away in 2007, he said he was influenced by his legacy.

“Some of the leaders in my life at Liberty had a significant impact on my future regarding church planting and sharing the love of Christ,” he said.

NETWORK OF SUPPORT

One way church planters who have trained at Liberty receive support for their ministry is through the Liberty Church Network, founded by Falwell in 1981. LCN was originally called Liberty Baptist Fellowship before changing its name years later when it began welcoming other denominations, providing coaching, networking, and

resources for new church planters. Falwell’s son Jonathan, Liberty’s campus pastor and the senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, now serves as the national director.

The network is organized into 30 centers around the country. Each center includes local pastors from different denominations who meet monthly to encourage, challenge, and coach each other on how to lead better disciple-making churches. The network is open to all sizes, types, and models of churches. Throughout the year, the LCN

TOP: Liberty church planter Dr. Dave Anderson (’79, ’81) with Dr. Jerry Falwell.

BOTTOM: Dr. Jerry Falwell, Liberty’s founder, visits church planter and pastor Dr. Rodney Dempsey (’82, ’84, ’04) at New Life Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio, in June 1997.

ays preached, lw a l el lw a F r.

D “ s ht at Convocation ug ta or , ed in a tr ke to go out and ta e er w ts en ud st t tor tha em into every sec th h it w l pe os G the pel planting the Gos e il h w ty ie oc s of se, ples and, of cour ci is d g n ki a m d an es.” starting church N T WILLMI DR. MA T

GT ON

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puts on one-day Refuel Conferences in various locations.

“The focus is coaching pastors to develop and deploy disciples, which means planting the Gospel, which produces new churches,” said Dr. Matt Willmington (’85, ’87), an adjunct professor in the School of Divinity and executive pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

These efforts are critical to the spread of the Gospel.

“The message at this school from the beginning was champions,” he said. “That wasn’t just a buzzword, but it was an understanding that we are a world-class school sending out champions to change their world.”

“Dr. Falwell always preached, trained, or taught at Convocations that students were to go out and take the Gospel with them into every sector of society while planting the Gospel and making disciples and, of course, starting churches,” he added. “That message has been mission centric to Liberty University from the very beginning.”

DISCIPLES MAKING DISCIPLES

Liberty’s next generation of church planters will also have the shoulders of former church planters to stand on and look to for guidance. That includes former church planter and current School of Divinity professor Dr. Rodney Dempsey (’82, ’84, ’04), who returned to Liberty in 2003 after spending 18 years with his church plant in Columbus, Ohio, and is helping to equip future pastors for the journey ahead.

“Church planting is who we are, and there is still a desperate need for it,” Dempsey said.

In the summer of 1985, Dempsey and four of his former classmates decided to follow the leading the Lord had placed on their hearts to plant a church. After researching several developing cities in the U.S. that were growing and in need of churches, they all moved to Columbus, Ohio, a growing city, to plant New Life Baptist Church (now called New Life Church).

“We basically did it because Dr. Falwell told us to,” he said, laughing. “We prayed about it for sure, and we had passion and had done our research on Columbus, too. We knew it would be a growing area.”

Dempsey said Falwell was consistent in commissioning young men out across the country to start churches, but he was also consistent in his correspondence with them.

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“In all of the church plants they started, they didn’t leave their students by themselves,” Dempsey said, referring to Falwell and Liberty co-founder Elmer Towns. “They came and visited, encouraged, and mentored us and really stayed closely connected.”

While Dempsey and his ministry comrades appreciated their support, they were also grateful for their laypeople, some of whom desired to be an intricate part of the plant themselves.

“It was extremely important,” he said. “We had people who had graphic design abilities, and in the early days, we had computer people who knew a lot more about computers than we did, and so they were a part of our core team. We even had a financial guy who was our bookkeeper.”

Due to the need for people from different professions to join church planting efforts, Dempsey and the School of Divinity are looking to create a church planting minor that students from all majors can sign up for to learn how to be an integral part of a church plant.

Dempsey and his colleagues have hopes of displaying a board on campus showing the major cities where the next Liberty church plants will be launched so that they can apply for jobs nearby.

“We would really like to target cities where we have a pastor or a team going to that city, and if you are a business student or someone who is going to that city, we can make you aware of that church plant,” he said.

Dempsey hopes Liberty can make this available to their online students as well.

“Church plants are more likely to succeed if they have a healthy weight. And that means there are people on the team, and those people are in on the vision and are in on helping out and helping the church be successful,” he added.

Although these congregation members will have careers they are growing in throughout the work week, all Christians should understand the importance of discipleship.

“You’re called to be a disciple first,” Dempsey said. “And disciples are then called to make disciples.”

TOP: Chris Dowd, center, director of the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity’s Center for Church Advancement, talks with some of Liberty’s future church planters. BOTTOM: Austin Coleman (’13, ’14) planted Heart & Soul Church in Knoxville, Tenn., and is the lead pastor.

Liberty offers a Master of Arts in Religion–Evangelism & Church Planting residentially and online as well as a Doctor of Ministry– Evangelism/Church Planting through the online program.

"I have no do the same w ubt he [Falwell] impa ay cte a pioneer a he impacted mine by d many lives being not on nd a trailb l ly a zer but an follow as to e x ample to how to shar e t h e Gospel."

D R . DA VE A CHURC

DID YOU

KNOW?

NDERS

H PLA NT ER

ON

Dr. Jerry Falwell, Liberty’s founder, planted Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg. On Sunday, June 17, 1956, 35 adults and their children attended the first service in Mountain View Elementary School, and on June 21, the group held a prayer meeting inside a dirty, one-room building abandoned by the Donald Duck Bottling Company, a soft drink manufacturer, near the site where they would build their first sanctuary in 1964. The church relocated to its current building near Liberty’s campus in 2006.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEVEN SHERLIN

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K J JU GAR

Dallas Jenkins (right), creator and director of “The Chosen,” appeared in Convocation with three cast members: Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Noah James (Andrew), and Lara Silva (Eden, wife of Simon Peter), for a discussion led by Campus Pastor Jonathan Falwell (left).

WELCOMING

‘THE CHOSEN’ F I L M M A K E R A N D C A S T M E M B E R S S P E N D D AY O N C A M P U S The stories of Jesus Christ and those who walked the earth with Him are the most powerful stories to ever make it on screen. Now, “The Chosen,” the first multiseason TV series about the life of Jesus, is taking the Gospel around the world like no other show has, with superb storytelling and filmmaking that rivals anything out of Hollywood today.

But the success hasn’t come in the usual way. Supported entirely through generous donations from viewers, the show has become the top crowd-funded TV series of all time.

Since its debut in 2017, its two seasons and a Christmas special have been viewed by over 400 million people around the world.

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On Feb. 18, Liberty University students and College For A Weekend (CFAW) guests had the unique opportunity during the morning’s Convocation to get a behind-the-scenes look at the show and hear directly from the show’s creator and cast members. Later in the day, “The Chosen” guests held special sessions with digital media and cinematic arts students where they shared more about the making of the show and insights from the filmmaking industry.

“The Chosen” was created and is directed by Dallas Jenkins, a parent of two Liberty students. Jenkins joined three actors from the show, Elizabeth Tabish

(Mary Magdalene), Noah James (Andrew), and Lara Silva (Eden, wife of Simon Peter), who all shared inspirational stories of how God is using “The Chosen” to reach audiences and, in turn, is leading them deeper in their own faith journeys.

Jenkins said “The Chosen” came after a major disappointment in his career, but one that would ultimately change his perspective on how God would use him in his craft. He recalled his previous visit to Liberty, in 2017, when he spoke to a Convocation crowd about a promising new feature film. But three days after that visit, Jenkins watched as the box office returns came in and his budding career

K J JUGAR

Jenkins and the cast members met students on the concourse of the Vines Center after Convocation, and they spoke with students from Liberty’s cinematic arts and digital media programs in the afternoon.

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plummeted. His prospective partners in future projects pulled out, and he “went from being a director with a very bright future to a director with no future.”

That same night, in the midst of his discouragement, God spoke to Dallas through his wife and a Facebook friend, both of whom pointed him to the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

“In that moment, my life changed, I changed, because for the first time in my life … I realized the multiplication is up to (God). I cannot put myself in God’s place.

As dumb as it would have been for the boy who provided the five loaves and two

fish to go home to his parents and say, ‘I fed 5,000 people today,’ that is how dumb it would be to stand in front of you today and say, ‘I made “The Chosen” and here’s how.’ I don’t know how; I just provided the loaves and fish.”

Through a video message to the Convocation crowd, Jonathan Roumie, the actor who portrays Jesus, shared a similar story of surrendering his work to God. Before he was cast in the show, he said he was struggling in his career.

“I had to look at everything that I had achieved and not achieved at this point in my life, at the tender age of 44, and realize that unless I invited God into my

career, no matter what I did or how hard I tried, my career wasn’t going to move forward because He did not want that to happen without Him,” Roumie said. Three months later, Roumie was contacted about working on “The Chosen.”

Tabish told the students that her role was an opportunity for her “to take a breath of fresh air and see the love and goodness in life, the hope in life, and start over.”

“I’ve experienced that in my life from this show, working with these wonderful people and telling stories about love and hope that Hollywood doesn’t always offer,” she said.

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Broadcasting

A VISION:

HOW LIBERTY’S FOUNDER TOOK HIS MINISTRY — AND AN EXCITING NEW SCHOOL — TO THE AIRWAVES B Y R YA N K L I N K E R

When he passed away in May 2007, Jerry Falwell Sr., Liberty’s founder, had spent 50 years in radio and television broadcasting.

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Throughout multiple eras of television and radio broadcasting, Liberty University’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, was committed to using “every available means” to spread the Gospel. Those efforts also helped to tell the world about a new school and the Christian values it was founded on.

Dr. Falwell’s pastoral ministry and his career in broadcasting, particularly television, began at almost the same time.

On his first Sunday as the founding pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC) on June 17, 1956, Falwell preached to a congregation of 35 people gathered in Mountain View Elementary School. The next week, the service was held in a building formerly used as an old soft drink bottling company. That’s when Falwell began his first TV ministry with 30-minute daily live broadcasts of “Thomas Road Baptist Church Presents” aired from the studios of the Lynchburg ABC affiliate WLVA to the city of Lynchburg and nearby Campbell, Bedford, and Amherst counties.

and a personal message from Falwell on salvation. It wasn’t long before the show was picked up by affiliates across the country.

In 1968, TRBC purchased black-andwhite camera equipment, and with it came the ability for the church to broadcast live on its own; two years later it upgraded to color.

By 1971, “The Old Time Gospel Hour” was airing on over 300 stations reaching every state in America.

“I thank God for this television ministry.

I thank God for the radio. We’re reaching people that maybe we’ll never know about until we get on the other side,” Falwell told his congregation. “But I believe we should pray that God will put their hands on the dial and help them turn those sets on and hear. That’s why I never preach without talking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

I never want to assume that every viewer is a Christian, because there may be just that one time a person tunes in who will never do it again, who may be dead tomorrow, who will hear how to be saved.”

“I realized how I could present the message (of the Gospel) to all those people simultaneously from one convenient location,” Falwell once said of starting TRBC’s media ministries, including his daily radio program, “The Deep Things of God,” carried on the local WBRG daylight station. “So, it was only natural for me to begin to dream about expanding the church’s electronic ministry through television. Being pastor of the church is my heartbeat; it’s my calling. Television and radio are just methods of reaching millions of people at once from this little spot in Virginia.”

A local church on TV was almost unheard of in this era of television. But the local program was successful in building the church and soon developed into the church’s own program, the long-running “Old-Time Gospel Hour,” filled with music, preaching,

At a Wednesday night service in January 1971, Falwell brought his congregation an idea: an evangelical school that would turn young people into Champions for Christ.

From that night on, wherever he traveled or whomever he reached with his broadcasted messages, Falwell shared with audiences the Gospel first, followed by the news of this growing Christian university in Lynchburg.

“Dr. Falwell’s main focus, even though he had the university, was always to see people come to Christ, and he did that through every medium he could possibly find,” said Sandra Wagner, who has worked in Liberty’s broadcasting department since 1988 and is currently the operations/project coordinator.

“He used the broadcast end of it to promote Liberty in different segments of his programs.

It was the main way that the university got known, probably worldwide, because of his

use of the medium of television or radio.”

“As more people (heard about Liberty), more donations started coming in, more buildings started coming up, and basically through TV, radio, and the print media, the college was built,” added Bruce Carey, a cameraman for both TRBC and Liberty in those early years and a mainstay in Liberty’s broadcasting department for 48 years.

“When there was construction on a building, we would come up and shoot footage of the groundbreaking and everything as the building was going up, and he would show people on TV during the service. After that, people started to realize, ‘Hey, he’s got something here.’”

The church and school shared most of their equipment and workers; the same crew members who were running the Sunday morning broadcasts would operate cameras for Liberty’s chapel services during the week.

In an ongoing endeavor to keep the school afloat financially, Falwell and the broadcast team had to combine prayer with prudence.

“In the old days, we had to scrimp and save and scrape together stuff that we had to hang on to for decades,” Wagner explained.

“Many of us even donated our own money to buy things. One day I came into work, and there was a certain piece of equipment that was not working, and I just laid my hands on it and prayed, and God made it work. We believed in what we were doing, we believed in Dr. Falwell’s vision, and we worked tirelessly to see it happen.”

As a passionate sports fan, especially when it came to football, Falwell knew that developing an athletics program and getting it airtime on television and radio would give the school even more exposure.

Originally with football, men’s basketball, and baseball, Liberty began airing play-byplay in the late 1970s on WRVL Victory FM. The radio station manager, Jerry Edwards, spent 33 years at the helm and came to be known as “The Voice of the Flames.” Falwell soon purchased a remote truck and cameras and hired a television producer named Dan Shoemaker to get the Flames on television.

“We started broadcasting games from Lynchburg and around the country, and we used our people who had already been out doing freelance, including myself,” Carey said. “From that point on, we just kept doing games until eventually it got very costly.”

In the 1990s, Falwell decided Liberty could produce its own games, work its own cameras, and create what would become the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN).

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“Jerry knew I’d been doing freelance (camera jobs) for years, and he walked me out to his Suburban and said, ‘I want to start producing games here at Liberty with our TV truck, and I want you to start this network and be in charge of doing the games. You’re in charge,’” Carey recalled with a laugh. “I was just a camera guy, and here’s the head of the university asking me to start a sports network. I told him people wouldn’t listen to me if I say I’m just a camera guy, and Jerry said, ‘You’re now the senior producer for sports for Liberty University. Go print up some business cards.’”

Liberty’s athletics have expanded to 20 NCAA Division I teams and over 40 Club Sports programs, with many of them now being televised on ESPN. Carey remembers a call from an ESPN producer a few years ago.

“He told me, ‘Bruce, your baseball games are exactly how we want baseball games to be produced. We are using your games as a model for all the other schools around the country that we carry. We want them to broadcast their games the same way you do yours,’” Carey said. “I was blown away.”

Liberty’s sports productions have been distributed on ESPN digital platforms for nearly a decade, including more than 225 events the last two years. LFSN Radio continues to air live game coverage.

In addition to athletics, Falwell knew that other broadcast opportunities like Convocations, concerts, and other special events on campus would engage the public and attract prospective students.

He invited pastors like Billy Graham and politicians from both sides of the aisle, such as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Ted Kennedy, to speak.

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“As we were building the sports network, he was also building the television aspect, as far as concerts and speakers and Convocations,” Carey said. “A lot of people like sports, but a lot of people don’t care for sports; they like music, they like preaching, they like learning. He branched out with every means available on air. That’s how you pick up eyes, then the college grows, and as it grows, people want to come and be a part of it.”

In 1985, Falwell launched his daily radio broadcast “Listen America,” aired on more than 200 stations nationwide, and his onehour weekly “Listen America” TV program was available in 90 million American homes.

As time went on, students joined Liberty’s broadcasting efforts. Liberty added a telecommunications production area with TV studios for student news productions, a video editing facility, and a master control transmitter for a four-channel, closed-circuit system in 1985.

Liberty video engineer Richard “Al” Stephens, who has worked with the church and university broadcasting teams since the mid-1960s, said incorporating academics was the goal from the beginning.

“It was always Dr. Falwell’s vision to have students approach ministry from a hands-on point of view,” Stephens said. “You learn how to do it by doing it. You have to train them on what they’re going to be expected to use when they leave here. Like Jerry would say, ‘If it’s Christian, it should be better.’ We’ve always had really good people here, and they’ve done great work, and they have talents, God-given talents that they’re using.”

As the school grew and its television network became more “Liberty-centric,” students began participating in original

live programming. Today, students are still involved with broadcasting Convocation and Campus Community (which air on the Liberty University Facebook and YouTube pages), the weekly athletics news show “Flames Central,” and live game coverage.

Carey explained that a live game production can involve as many as 35 people, so there are always opportunities for students. Now, after having retired, he says he still watches in amazement as productions reach new levels.

“There’s a lot of room for students to come in, observe, watch, and learn,” Carey said. “As the students got better, we started moving them into some of the key positions, and now a lot of people have left here and gone on to big careers after having gone through training here. Each year, Liberty seems to get a newer piece of equipment, and the students who come here now are exposed to some of the best people and the best equipment that they can get anywhere in the world.”

Today, Liberty is in the top tier of collegiate broadcasting with its live game coverage and nonathletic events. For the current 202122 academic year, Liberty Broadcasting Communications has either completed or scheduled over 600 broadcasts, including 231 live sports events, 203 campus events, and 64 “Flames Central” productions.

“Whether it’s for those in attendance at a venue, a parent watching online, or someone who is flipping through the channels one day and stumbles upon Convocation, our goal is to enhance the Liberty experience through everything we do,” said Bobby Keating, assistant director of Broadcast Communications. “What Dr. Falwell started with trying to reach the

globe, it’s still happening.”

Liberty Broadcasting has also adapted to accommodate the unexpected variables caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by producing livestreams of all 26 Commencement degree ceremonies last year and various summits and theatre performances for those who cannot attend in-person.

The staff has also remained up to date with broadcasting trends by launching the Flames Central Podcast in early 2021. Other university departments, including the Health & Wellness department and the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, have begun separate podcasts, and a show devoted to Flames hockey, titled “Rock the Rink,” is available on Spotify.

As ambitious as Falwell was in using the latest formats to share his vision, Keating said podcasting is a medium that the founder would have adopted wholeheartedly.

DID YOU

KNOW?

“Every new form of technology that has come along, it seemed like (Falwell) would always jump on it and further the mission of the university through that,” Keating said.

“Podcasting certainly is the ‘now,’ and if Dr. Falwell was still around, I’m sure he would have a weekly sermon podcast or something like that he would be putting out.”

The high caliber of Liberty’s productions is recognized by those outside the university as well, evidenced by the ASUN Conference requesting Liberty to bring its staff and mobile production truck to broadcast the conference championships on other schools’ campuses.

“Our work and our facilities are top notch,” Keating said. “We are very close to BYU and Notre Dame, which is a comparison that Dr. Falwell always wanted us to be able to make.

We are lucky because we’ve been given the resources — gear, finances, and people — to be able to do what we do.”

Liberty’s student-run radio station, 90.9 The Light, began in February 1980, known as WLBU at the time. In addition to music programming, The Light also broadcasts news programs and sports.

‘FLAMES CENTRAL’ TAKES VIEWERS INTO THE ACTION AND HEARTS OF STUDENT-ATHLETES As Liberty University Athletics continues to experience unprecedented success on the field, the university’s weekly TV show “Flames Central” gives fans an inside look at the teams and student-athletes leading the way.

Hosted by Matt Warner, Rett McGibbon, and Emily Austen, the Emmy Awardwinning program showcases the rise of the Flames through behind-the-scenes access, inspirational features, and entertaining looks at the student-athletes making the plays on the field.

“From Hugh Freeze and Liberty Football winning a third-straight bowl game, to

Liberty Basketball’s three straight NCAA Tournament bids, Flames Central brings you closer to the teams, athletes, and coaches leading the Flames into their greatest era of athletic success,” said Warner.

But Flames Central goes deeper than just the scores and stats, as each week it brings viewers in-depth, personal stories of Liberty athletes, coaches, and alumni.

“At the heart of Flames Central is the idea that athletics can be used as a platform to share the Gospel,” Warner said. “Whether it’s an inspirational story about how God brought a student-athlete through a difficult

time in their life or an encouraging feature about an alumnus sharing the Gospel on the mission field, this combination of faith-filled, inspirational stories and high-level collegiate athletics makes Flames Central a must-watch program for any fan of the Flames.”

Flames Central is available on-demand each week on ESPN+ and on a number of regional TV affiliates (visit LibertyFlamesCentral.com for a list).

“The Flames Central Podcast” is released weekly on Mondays and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast platforms.

E LL IE RICH ARDSON

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AND R EW S NYD ER

Left to right: Samantha Ponder, Christian Ponder, Tommy Bowden, Terry Bowden, Malik Willis, Hugh Freeze, and Dr. Benny Jones (coordinator of the Bobby Bowden Trophy)

FAITH & FOOTBALL When Flames star quarterback Malik Willis was asked how he will approach his budding professional football career and handle the countless eyes on him leading up to the NFL Draft, his answer was simple: “Keep looking up, don’t look out in front.”

The interview was a part of a panel during the March 23 Convocation that centered on the theme of faith and football. Liberty alumna and host of ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” Samantha Ponder (’09) led the discussion, joined by her husband, former NFL quarterback Christian Ponder, Willis, Flames Head Coach Hugh Freeze, and Tommy and Terry Bowden, sons of Bobby Bowden, who were also there to present the 2021 Bobby Bowden Trophy to Willis. The annual award recognizes the college football player who epitomizes a student-athlete of faith. Willis’ gridiron performance in the fall earned him multiple national recognitions, and many projected him to be selected in the first round.

“It’s more than an honor; I’m more than blessed to receive this award,” Willis said during the presentation. “I can’t do anything but give the glory to God, and my parents, and thank Liberty University for having me.”

Christian Ponder was the 2010 recipient of the Bobby Bowden Trophy.

Bobby Bowden, the legendary college football coach, passed away in August.

All the guests noted that the Christian values that Bobby Bowden so clearly demonstrated throughout his life are reflected today in Malik Willis. At the NFL Combine in early March, a video of Willis handing out some items from a suitcase to a homeless person went viral.

“Football only lasts so long, and none of us are perfect, so you have to strive to be better and do something good,” Willis said. “We are all works in progress. When you have a grateful heart, it makes (life) easier.”

Freeze noted that after every game Willis played, no matter the outcome or how well he performed, Willis would post on his social media the concise but poignant phrase, “Thank God for everything” or the acronym “TGFE.” Terry Bowden told Willis, “What I think made my father different and what makes you different is not just that you’re a leader quarterback, but that you’re also a servant quarterback like how he was a servant coach.”

The Convocation followed an exciting Football Pro Day at Liberty the day before, in which representatives from all 32 NFL franchises — more than 60 NFL team personnel, including two NFL head coaches and four NFL general managers — came to watch Liberty’s 17 draft-eligible players display their skills.

WATCH THIS CONVOCATION ON LIBERTY’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

Malik Willis was not the only Liberty student recognized for recent achievements in sports during the March 23 Convocation. NASCAR Cup Series driver and current online student William Byron surprised the crowd three days after his thrilling win in the No. 24 Liberty car at the March 20 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The victory was the third of Byron’s career in the Cup Series. Byron is studying strategic communication through Liberty’s online program. Liberty will remain his primary sponsor in 12 Cup races annually through 2026. Visit Liberty.edu/24 and follow Byron’s progress at WilliamByron.com.

AN DREW SNYD ER

CHAMPION ON THE TRACK President Jerry Prevo welcomes William Byron to the stage.

LEADING WITH FAITH: G O V. G L E N N YO U N G K I N S P E A K S I N C O N V O C AT I O N

R OSS KO H L

“THIS CAMPAIGN IN THE FIRST 10 WEEKS OF SERVING VIRGINIANS HAS DONE ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING: IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE AFFIRMATION OF MY FAITH.”

Liberty University President Jerry Prevo welcomed Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Convocation stage on March 25 to loud applause after introducing him as someone who “has not hidden that it is his faith that keeps him grounded and motivates him to serve.”

The governor’s message was a testimony to that statement. He recounted his journey to becoming governor and spoke about the importance of his prayer life, the many issues that are causing divisiveness in our country today, and how to show love without compromising our convictions.

“What an honor to speak not just at Liberty University but at Liberty University Convocation,” Youngkin told the students.

“This is special. I hope all of you understand how special this is to come together — in faith — at your university, to share in the

G O V. G L E N N Y O U N G K I N

brotherhood of Christ together.”

Just over two months into his role as Virginia’s 74th governor, he called the road to Richmond “a test of perseverance, an eyeopening insight into the soul of Virginia, the most amazing job interview you could possibly imagine.”

“Above and beyond all those things that are quite earthly,” he added, “this campaign in the first 10 weeks of serving Virginians has done one most important thing: it has been an absolute affirmation of my faith.”

While many politicians run for election because people around them encourage it, Youngkin said his campaign began in his prayer closet. He said he sensed the Lord calling him to consider running for governor, and his wife urged him to follow that leading.

“I’ve never believed that prayer is about moving God to where I am but a process of

God moving us to where He is,” he said.

Throughout this time, Psalm 121, “Our help comes from the Lord” kept coming to mind.

“I asked Him every day for help, and I continue to ask Him every day for help.”

Youngkin encouraged students to consider careers in public service. “Christians need to serve on the front lines,” he said.

Youngkin pointed out that Liberty graduates are currently holding office, serving in state government, and even working alongside him on his staff.

“The reputation and impact of Liberty University extends far beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains,” he said.

Youngkin congratulated Liberty on its 50th Anniversary and prayed over the students, asking God to direct their steps and light their paths so that they would find clarity in their callings.

HELMS SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT HOLDS PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Panels covered a variety of pressing foreign and domestic concerns, including the heightened Russia-Ukraine conflict, the state of Virginia’s legislature, Critical Race Theory’s threat to education, and a broad volley of national security, legal, regulatory, and international issues.

The School of Government regularly provides students with opportunities to research and engage with America’s leading policy voices. In addition to panels, more than 70 government students and faculty presented their own research through 14 breakout sessions. Topics ranged from COVID-19 pandemic policies to reclaiming federalism and self-government, confrontations with China, and education policy.

JOE L COL EMAN

Liberty University’s Helms School of Government hosted leading policy minds on campus March 24-26 for its second annual academic research conference, “A Nation Divided? Assessing Freedom & the Rule of Law in a Post-2020 World.” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin gave the keynote address during Convocation on March 25.

More than 400 registered attendees heard from an impressive roster of panelists that included former Virginia governors Bob McDonnell and George Allen, the new Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Todd Gilbert, Virginia Senator Steve Newman, and members of the Family Research Council, Forge Leadership Network, the Heritage Foundation, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

From left, former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, former Virginia Gov. George Allen, and Robert Hurt, dean of the School of Government

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MEET the DEAN:

DR. HEIDI DIFRANCESCA BRINGS PASSION FOR TEACHING GOD’S CREATION TO SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES

E LL IE RICH ARDSO N

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B Y R YA N K L I N K E R With a faith in God that touches everything she strives to do, Liberty University’s new dean of the School of Health Sciences, Dr. Heidi DiFrancesca, aims to train students across her departments to approach their research and service with a focus on God’s calling on their lives.

DiFrancesca came to Liberty last fall after spending two years at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she served as the Executive Director of Academic Affairs and taught graduate-level courses as an associate scientist and professor. Prior to Johns Hopkins, DiFrancesca served as associate dean for the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

DiFrancesca found her interest and calling in the sciences after taking introductory biology courses at Lee University.

Feeling her curiosity stirred, she soon switched her major from communications and journalism to molecular biology. Learning the intricacies of God’s creation, including the design of the human body, became her driving passion.

“I found something that deeply resonated with me, and as I got further into my education, I became increasingly more intrigued about molecular biology and the way the body works,” DiFrancesca said. “The inherent design of our body by God, the beauty and complexity of what He had created, it’s fascinating. Studying the human body allows me to see God in a unique way — His nature and His love and compassion for humanity. Through my studies, I began to recognize in a very tangible way that I am His creation; we are all His creation, intentionally and brilliantly designed with purpose.”

DiFrancesca’s graduate-level research focused on molecular cancer biology and

the prognostic and diagnostic value of a specific enzyme, steroid sulfatase, as it relates to hormone-dependent breast cancers. As a graduate teaching assistant, she began to realize she had a passion for teaching, too.

“I really fell in love with teaching during that time,” she said. “I found myself having greater interest in it and could really see myself in an education role as an academician. As a graduate student, through my experiences in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students, I started to recognize that teaching is a gift I have.”

Her early teaching experiences shaped the direction of her career.

“It became increasingly apparent to me that education is the cornerstone for empowering success both within academics and beyond,” she said. “I understood this for myself, but now it had a broader meaning — I am able to be a part of something bigger than just me.”

DiFrancesca went on to earn a doctorate in molecular biology from Duquesne University. After college, while she was running an undergraduate research lab at McMurry University in Texas, DiFrancesca gave birth to her daughter, Brielle, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Brielle was born with significant medical complications that required an extended hospital stay followed by considerable acute care. Needing the time to focus on her daughter’s health, DiFrancesca took a three-year hiatus. When she returned to her career, her inclination toward academics was even stronger, leading her to Mary Hardin-Baylor and, later, Johns Hopkins.

Being able to contribute to students’ success is an approach that she’s taken throughout her career — first as a faculty member and then as she stepped

into leadership positions with greater influence. As a leader, she recognizes the impact her influence can have, and this is not something that she takes lightly.

Now living in her home state (she grew up in Virginia Beach), DiFrancesca said she has cherished the opportunity to work among fellow Christians at Liberty who are outspoken and active in their faith, using their expertise in their chosen field to Train Champions for Christ.

“It is so refreshing to be in a university that is unapologetically Christian, that values Christian principles, and that stands on biblical principles,” she said.

“I certainly see that lived out among the faculty, the administrators, and the students. They understand the importance of faith and the role that their faith has in their lives.”

DiFrancesca considers her faith inseparable from her work, and she hopes that those she interacts with at Liberty can see that in her.

“There is not a separation between my faith and my professional role, because my faith informs everything that I do, and I am not who I am without my faith,” she said.

“I attribute the favor that I’ve gained and my successes as a result of my relationship with Christ — the most important thing about me — and I want that to be recognizable.”

DiFrancesca also praised the caliber of the three departments in the School of Health Sciences — Biology & Chemistry, Public & Community Health, and Allied Health Professions — and shared her goal of building upon what Liberty has already been doing to train students for the workforce, especially in the current healthcare climate.

“Healthcare as a whole is changing across the country and the globe, and I think it’s important for us to look at the

landscape of healthcare and the allied health professions and public health sector to see where we might build out programs that could prepare individuals for the positions that are growing,” she said. “We know healthcare is growing pretty significantly, so we’re asking what we can do to help get Christians in those areas where they can impact individuals and the nation.”

The dean said she also wants to ensure that each of the degree programs within the School of Health Sciences continues to align with workforce trends and demands so that students are equipped for their careers in the medical, scientific, education, and/or healthcare community as scientists, teachers, doctors, and allied health or public health professionals.

“We have some very solid degree programs, and I want to see us build upon those strengths so that we can prepare this next generation of champions who are going to go out and change the world and bring the message of hope and healing to a world that desperately needs it,” she added.

DiFrancesca said she and her family have settled in well to campus and are thoroughly enjoying everything Liberty has to offer. Brielle has become an instant Flames fan.

“Given the challenging start to her young life, my husband (of 22 years), Mark, and I see our 11-year old as our miracle from God,” she said. “Brielle is our gift and really is the light of our lives.

She is so excited to be here at Liberty, and she is already a huge fan of Liberty. She loves being on campus, interacting with the students. She feels like she is a part of the Liberty community, which is huge for us. She also enjoys attending the sports events, cheering on her new favorite team.

It’s been a really good transition for us.”

EL LIE RICH ARDSON

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Small Steps, Big Faith

BY JONAT H A N FA LW E L L

Liberty University is a special place. Not just because of the tens of thousands of students who are currently studying here.

Not just because of the amazing faculty and staff who serve tirelessly in Training Champions for Christ. Not just because of the great successes of our sports programs in recent years. All of these, and so much more, help make Liberty a special place.

But for me, Liberty is special because it is one of the greatest examples of dynamic faith in our world today.

As a 5- or 6-year-old, I remember many times driving with my dad onto what was at that time nothing more than a large farm on the outskirts of Lynchburg. In those days, there wasn’t much located on the property. There was an old home once occupied by a former senator from Virginia and several barns on the fields that now make up the LU campus. In those days, LU (then known as Lynchburg Baptist

College) held classes at the old Thomas Road Baptist Church complex, rented buildings across Lynchburg for dorm space and athletics, and had no money.

I remember he would get out of the car and walk around that old farm. He would take oddly small steps for such a large man, yet those steps were intentional. While I didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing most of the time, I do remember once asking him why he was walking so strangely. His response, while not so meaningful to me at the time, has become a powerful reminder for me today. He told me he was claiming Joshua 1:3 over this property. This verse states, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.” He stated he was praying that God would allow that property to become a college that would change the world.

Here we are 50 years later, and it never ceases to amaze me how faithful our God is as I drive on this campus nearly every day.

I see the beautiful campus that now graces that once wide-open space. I see the worldclass facilities that God has made possible.

I see the thousands of students gathering in times of worship in our Convocations and Campus Community services. I hear the stories of graduates who are changing the world through their service to God. To find a more obvious example of dynamic faith in our world today would be a difficult task.

My dad simply believed God would do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or think. He believed, in faith, God would build a university that would impact the world for the Gospel in unmistakable ways. He never doubted the

This view from Liberty Mountain in August 1978 shows the barns where Williams Stadium now stands. A year before, construction had just begun on the first campus buildings.

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power and faithfulness of God, no matter how difficult the journey might become.

There certainly have been difficult and dark days in LU’s history. There have been moments of uncertainty and challenge in our past. Yet in every situation, God was faithful and continued to build that school that would change the world. I’m often asked what my dad would say if he could see what Liberty has become. My answer is always the same: he did see it, in faith.

While our history is one consisting of many miraculous moves of the hand of God on this place, I can’t help but think God’s greatest work is yet ahead. I truly believe God will lead Liberty to continue being a powerful example of the faithfulness of God. In academics, athletics, missions, church planting and advancement, and so much more. God is not done with Liberty University. For 50 years, God’s hand has clearly guided this great institution. And still I believe God’s hand has never been stronger in leading Liberty into the future.

What will Liberty look like 50 years from now if Jesus doesn’t return?

Honestly, I can’t answer that question.

But I do know whatever thoughts I could offer about Liberty’s future, God will do so much more.

Falwell serves as Liberty’s Campus Pastor and is the Senior Pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

JENNA M CK ENNEY

Tim Lee, a Vietnam War veteran who has served on Liberty’s Board of Trustees since 1991, speaks at Convocation Nov. 13, 2019.

Chairman of Liberty’s Board of Trustees Shares Testimony of Restoring Relationship with God

BY CHRISTIAN SHIELDS

ee

Liberty’s Year of Jubil A Champion Special

Edition: Celebrating

50 Years of God’s

Faithfulness

Note: This article was first published in the 50th Anniversary Special Edition of the Liberty Champion, the university’s student newspaper. The edition features stories about Liberty’s trailblazers, timelines of key moments in campus development, Liberty Athletics milestones, testimonies of alumni who overcame tremendous odds, and more. Read the full edition under “Websclusives” at Liberty.edu/Champion.

Growing up as the son of a pastor, Tim Lee was no stranger to the Gospel and accepted Christ at the age of 10. But as he got older, Lee slowly strayed from the faith in pursuit of worldly pleasures. God finally got a hold of his life in one of the most unlikely places: a battlefield in South Vietnam.

While serving as a Marine in 1971, Lee lost both of his legs when he stepped on a 60-pound land mine. Lying on the ground in excruciating pain, Lee decided to mend his relationship with his Creator. He promised God that if he miraculously survived the accident, he would offer his life as a living sacrifice for Him. Lee credits the transformation of his heart as the reason why he is still alive today.

“If I had hardened my heart, if I hadn’t gotten right with God, I think I would have died,” Lee said.

Since his time in the military, Lee has used the loss of his legs to share the love of Christ with others. He has spent the last 44 years as an evangelist, visiting all 50 states as well as many foreign countries to share his testimony of redemption. He and his wife, Connie, have three children and six grandchildren.

Fifty years have passed since the explosion.

Lee continues to deal with the daily trials that come with being in a wheelchair. Yet, despite all of the discomfort, Lee refuses to let his faith waver and continues to serve God as a living sacrifice.

“What little suffering and pain I go through pales in comparison to what eternity has for me and what God has for me in heaven,” Lee said. “I want to spend my life for Him, and make it count, and to see people come to Him and see lives changed. That’s why my interest in Liberty University remains strong and passionate — I believe it’s a place where lives are changed for Christ.”

Lee first became involved with Liberty when Dr. Jerry Falwell asked him to preach at Thomas Road Baptist Church in the 1980s.

Then, in 1991, Falwell asked Lee to serve on Liberty’s Board of Trustees. He now serves as chairman of the board.

Lee’s time at Liberty allowed his relationship with Falwell to blossom into a strong friendship. “(Falwell) was a fun guy to be around,” Lee said. “We had a lot of great times together. He was a giant to me. He was like a hero. Not like this world looks at heroes,

but he really looked like a true biblical hero to me in the way he lived his life and the way that he believed God was going to build this university.”

To Lee, Falwell served as a testimony of the power of God, and it impacted his faith, especially in relation to the founding of Liberty University. Where others saw an empty plot of land, Falwell saw a university.

“God showed him by faith what could happen on that mountain,” Lee said. “There was nothing, and yet 50 years later we see the miracle. There was no money, but he had a dream — he could look on that mountain and see these buildings and, more importantly, these students. There’s nothing like this place in the world.”

Even after Falwell’s death, Lee continues to see Falwell’s legacy grow through the university as it continues its mission of Training Champions for Christ.

“When you come to Liberty University, you’re not going to be there very long before you hear somebody telling you the Gospel and telling you how your life can be changed for the Gospel,” Lee said.

The Liberty Champion launched in 1983 as a monthly eight-page newspaper. It is now the largest weekly newspaper in Central Virginia, circulating 13,000 issues every Tuesday. In addition to its 16-page spread, the student publication also tallied nearly 1 million website clicks in 2021.

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LIBERTY IN PRAYER INITIATIVE Completed in the summer of 1981, the Worley Prayer Chapel is an iconic landmark on Liberty’s campus. The building was constructed with funds from generous donors and named in honor of the late R.C. Worley, a member of Thomas Road Baptist Church. Worley was a great prayer warrior for church families, Liberty students, and community members in need. Over the years, the chapel has been used by many different campus groups for special prayer times, worship nights, and ministry meetings. It is also used for weddings.

Through the LU Shepherd prayer ministry, students, faculty, and staff can sign up for 30-minute prayer slots from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday.

President Jerry Prevo launched the university’s new Liberty in Prayer initiative during the Jan. 28 Convocation.

The morning began with songs by Christian music artist Dennis Agajanian, who has been featured at the Harvest Crusades and Billy Graham crusades since 1974 and awarded Musician of the Year and Entertainer of the Year multiple times by the Christian Country Music Association.

Prevo then introduced the theme of the Convocation with Philippians 4:6: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.” On every seat in the Vines Center was a blank card, and he encouraged students to write down their prayer requests. The cards were collected and dropped into a large box by the stage that bore a famous saying from Liberty’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell: “Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer.”

Prevo pulled out a handful of the cards and read them aloud. Some asked God for healing, others for the salvation of their loved ones, and some for the future of the

university and country. He then led the crowd in prayer.

After Convocation, the prayer cards were placed in boxes at different locations around campus, available for students who pass by to pick out a card and pray for their peers.

In closing, Prevo strongly encouraged students to pray the Lord’s Prayer throughout their daily schedules, and the Worship Collective led them in a song of the Lord’s Prayer to conclude Convocation.

The Liberty in Prayer Initiative is for all members of the Liberty community. Prayer requests can be shared online, and prayed for, at Liberty.edu/Prayer-Request.

PRAYERS FOR UKRAINE

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“In the midst of a dangerous world, we are reminded that we serve a God who can overcome anything,” he said. “And so today, we want to pray for God to intervene and for God to bring peace in that region, peace in that area of the world which, again, really touches all of us, as represented by the fact that one of our own is sitting here watching her own family in harm’s way.”

That afternoon, students gathered in the Worley Prayer Chapel for a special prayer time for Ukraine coordinated by the Office of Spiritual Development. That night, the Freedom Tower was lit in blue and gold for Ukraine’s national colors.

“Tonight we are lighting our Freedom Tower as a reminder to our students and our Lynchburg community to pray for Ukraine,” said Liberty President Jerry Prevo. “In the midst of so much danger and chaos in the world, we are asking for the peace that only Christ can bring. We are praying for Ukraine and take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ has overcome the world.”

WANT TO HELP? Give to Liberty’s Support Ukraine fund to provide shelter, food, and hygiene supplies for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian military invasion. Visit Liberty.edu/Ukraine.

JOE L COLEMAN

As news of the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine spread, Liberty University responded the following morning when Campus Pastor Jonathan Falwell led students in prayer during Convocation.

“We’ve seen over these last 24-36 hours the fragility that is taking place in Ukraine and Russia, the dangers we are seeing, and how so many people are under bombardment by the Russian military,” Falwell told the arena full of 10,000 students. “We’ve seen the fear that is pictured in newspapers and on websites of Ukrainian citizens that are hiding, that are living in metro stations to get away from the bombing that is taking place.”

He recognized and prayed for Liberty University Police Department security services officer Ilona Penner, a native of Ukraine who traveled to America when she was 16 years old. Penner’s family still resides in Ukraine, and one of her cousins is on the front lines with the Ukrainian Army. Falwell prayed for other Liberty students who have ties to the country or have family members in the military who may be called to serve during the conflict.

FAITH IN FOCUS

THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR INCLUSION

BY SHON MULDROW The trending topic of diversity in higher education today is largely being defined through a secular lens, lacking an integral theological basis. But establishing inclusion is inherently biblical and crucial to the Gospel. “We are the body of Christ, and each one of us is a part of it,” Paul writes the Corinthians. And as a part of the body, we have responsibilities — responsibilities to respect and encourage the other parts as we carry out the individual work God has called each of us to do.

At Liberty University, we are committed to preparing and caring for a diverse student body. But while we can do all the research on student demographics and launch all the creative enrichment programs that promote diversity and inclusion, we cannot operate as one body without standing on the foundation of His Word. We cannot love one another as Christ loved us if we lose sight of our mission to create a campus community that reflects the heavenly kingdom, a kingdom in which all of God’s people are already citizens.

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14 (NIV) Liberty’s Board of Trustees adopted an important Resolution on Equity and Inclusion in Fall 2018, acknowledging the centrality of “fostering a diverse, co-educational student body and an inclusive educational environment reflective of the Body of Christ” as well as the need to utilize proactive measures to recruit, retain, and support highly qualified

and diverse students and professionals.

I now lead the talented and passionate team in the Office of Equity & Inclusion tasked with developing and implementing initiatives that support the university’s desire to have culturally and ethnically diverse students, faculty, and staff free from unbiblical and unlawful discrimination.

It’s important that we Train Champions for Christ from every nation, tribe, people, and language. The division recognizes diversity in its pursuit and support of people from varied ethnicities, nationalities, socioeconomic and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, disabilities, military statuses, and ages.

Reconciliation has been at the heart of our efforts. We have some of the best faculty, staff, and students in the world who embody the biblical mandate, from James 1, to be quick to listen and slow to speak. We understand this continued effort must be theologically motivated, culturally competent, and most importantly, led by the Holy Spirit.

The Board of Trustees has continued to follow through with its resolution to invest in an inclusive institutional environment and support the advancements we’ve made at every level so that Liberty can rightly model diversity in higher education from a biblical perspective. We are dedicated to providing an excellent academic experience where students can grow in their faith together, celebrating God the Creator, who made us all unique and all with the awesome purpose to reflect His image.

Since coming to Lynchburg, I’ve spent a lot of time in the community, watching our students and our leaders share the love of Christ. I love the climate of service here, how Liberty fosters a culture of belonging and establishes a reputation of opportunity.

I’ve seen students give up their free time to serve others. In January, we partnered with LU Serve to host Liberty’s first MLK Day of Service and sent teams to 10 different sites, where they partnered with local service organizations, becoming the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. Martin Luther King Jr. set an example of bold Christian service, so the day was an opportunity for us to do the same. Jesus came to serve, and nothing is more unifying than when we answer the biblical call to give of ourselves and love our neighbors.

I’ve worked at some of the more influential businesses in the country, but doing inclusion work at Liberty is a dream job for me. There is no other place where I would have more opportunity to affect the nation, and the world, for Christ. We have to believe that if the world’s largest Christian institutions could also become the world’s most effective culture of belonging, we would be the example of biblical inclusion, diversity, and equity for everyone everywhere. After all, the ground is level at the cross, and level ground is the perfect place to build something that will stand steadfast for the cause of Christ.

Shon Muldrow is the Executive Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity, serving as Liberty’s Chief Diversity Officer. He is responsible for establishing inclusive institutional objectives and programming in the areas of community engagement, training, development, recruitment, retention, and accommodation. Muldrow has extensive experience in building inclusive environments at some of the world’s largest companies, including Walmart and Goldman Sachs.

CH AS E GYL ES

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Want to launch a rocket? Plant a garden? Build a robot?

CLUB THERE’S A F O R T H AT

BY LOGAN SMITH

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With an ever-expanding selection of student clubs, Liberty University has multiple ways for students to enrich their campus life.

Joining a club can help them cultivate their hobbies, celebrate ethnicity, hone industryspecific skills, and build friendships.

“I think it’s really cool to see students build community on our campus as they join new clubs and get more members,” said Riley Foster, director of clubs in Liberty’s Student Government Association (SGA). “It’s been really inspiring, and it gives us a lot of hope for the direction of the university to see all the interests there are and how the clubs are growing. I think it’s really cool to see that students have a channel to advocate for what they’re passionate about.”

The SGA acts as the support system for all university clubs, processing between 10-20 new club applications each semester.

There are currently over 120 different clubs on campus.

Because Liberty University is home to students from all 50 states and 70 countries, these demographics demand activities that cater to a variety of interests.

“We have so many different clubs — for ethnic backgrounds, political parties, sports,” said Abbigail Goshen, an administrative representative under Foster. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come together who are like-minded or share the same hobbies and be a part of something. It speaks into the culture at Liberty, that it’s inclusive and everyone has a spot.”

Sophomore Emma Granger is president of the Zumba Club. She said students enjoy the community at club events as much as the exercise. For new students, it’s a chance for them to break out of their shell.

“One of our main goals as a club isn’t just the exercise,” she said, “it’s the spiritual aspect. There are people who come to these classes

who just need a break. Life is busy. Life is crazy. But then they come, and they let it go.

It’s so special to the club that we continue having that faith-based community every time.”

The club hosts a popular Zumbathon, a two-hour event each semester that is a great way for students to focus on fitness.

In the same way, the Robotics Club provides additional outlets for students.

Although many of the members are mechanical engineering students who enjoy building robots, they also participate in other activities together, like hikes, often with a spiritual component.

Moving to college doesn’t mean students have to leave behind all the activities they loved growing up. By joining a club, they don’t have to wait until they go home on breaks to pick up their hobbies again.

Liberty offers many recreational clubs, ranging from table tennis to fencing, gaming, gardening, SCUBA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, chess, and a general Outdoor Recreation Club.

Liberty also offers many clubs that allow students to advocate for causes and bond over shared personal experiences, like the American Sign Language (ASL) Club, the Autism Speaks U Club, and the Epilepsy Rise Up Club.

Many clubs are an extension of students’ academic fields, with an option for almost every discipline at Liberty.

Students can integrate their vocation into an extracurricular through the Cyber Defense Club, Criminal Justice Club, or the Accounting Society. Some clubs are part of national associations and provide career networking opportunities, such as the Professional Association of Christian Educators (PACE), Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the Pre-Physical Therapy club.

For students looking for service opportunities for (or in addition to) their

required CSER (Christian Community Service) hours, they can join the Habitat for Humanity or Red Cross Service clubs.

Students in the Cure U Club support hospitalized children and underprivileged families. The Operation Christmas Child Club coordinates Liberty’s yearly collection drive for the Samaritan’s Purse shoebox ministry.

Creative students may find a home in the writing club, poetic soul club, or improv team. Those interested in entertainment may enjoy Liberty’s Japanese Culture and Anime Club or the Disney Club, which tallies one of the highest numbers of weekly student participants.

Many clubs like Campus Outreach or Ratio Christi (apologetics club) emphasize spiritual growth and community ministry.

Those fascinated with the Great Beyond can join the Liberty Space Club. The club is currently working with a NASA program to develop Liberty’s first satellites and send its first payload into low Earth orbit in August.

The club is also engineering a 12-foot rocket that will be the first in history powered by a titanium 3D-printed rocket engine. Test launches are scheduled for 2023.

Regardless of the pursuit, Liberty’s clubs offer a community where students can grow, nurture friendships, and expand their academic interests beyond the classroom.

“Students who participate in our clubs are sure to gain confidence, develop leadership skills, and make long-lasting friendships as they engage and connect with other students who have similar passions and interests,” said Dr. Mark Hine, senior vice president of Student Affairs. “SGA clubs provide the opportunity for students to enrich their campus life by building valuable social skills, which assist them in becoming Champions for Christ.”

For a complete list of current student clubs and contact information, visit

LIBERTY.EDU/CLUBS.

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Remixing with the Best Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music grows substantially with help from top industry professionals

SO F I A ALEX P H OTO G RAP H Y

Award-winning songwriter and producer Tommee Profitt, center, served as a judge for the Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music’s Greatest Hits Remix Project, along with John Forystek, left, the center’s director of product development, and Al Denson, a music industry executive and liaison for the center.

In a few short years, the Liberty University School of Music’s Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music has grown into one of the nation’s most reputable university music programs of its kind.

This was most recently evidenced in January when three tracks produced by students were selected by award-winning songwriter and producer Tommee Profitt in a remix competition and recently released by Capitol Records.

Profitt visited campus in December for the school’s Greatest Hits Remix Project, a series of competitions featuring different artists as mentors and judges.

“Working with the Liberty students on the remix contest was such a blast,” said Profitt, who has worked with platinumselling artists and achieved tremendous success himself as a composer for TV and film. “Not only was I super impressed with their world-class quality of work, but their hearts were so humble and passionate, and it was so encouraging to see their drive. I’m so thankful I could be a small part of their journey and excited to see what’s in store for them in the future.”

The project kicked off last year with Michael W. Smith, the center’s executive director, working with students in April. Mac Powell, former lead singer of the Christian rock band Third Day, visited in September.

For the contest, which is open to all Liberty students, entrants choose a track from the

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artist’s past releases and remix it in one of the School of Music studios to give it a more present-day sound. Smith and Powell joined the students in the studio, recording their own voices over the new remix tracks.

Liberty’s broadcast team has filmed each contest in a reality competition format, in the likes of “America’s Got Talent,” with a panel of judges, including the artist and School of Music staff, who offer advice before announcing the winners. Liberty is currently creating this remix series into episodes that will fit a TV format. The top remixes from both Smith’s and Powell’s contests will likely be released to coincide with the airing of the episodes. The center plans to bring a different artist in every semester to record an episode.

Through the remix project, the students gain valuable, real-time experience navigating the business side of the industry, which is something many music schools don’t offer. The winning students from Profitt’s remix releases are already earning royalties for their work, which is available on all platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), and many have received job offers from major studios.

“We get to really help these students build a career. Now they have real credentials,” said John Forystek, the center’s department director of product development and communications. “It’s a Capitol Recordsowned product that is remixed by our

students with a royalty share. Our students have been released side by side with the best in the world, which is incredible credibility for them.”

The center’s growth has afforded students opportunities only typically available to music professionals. Liberty advocates for commercial music students by walking them through the full process, including the legal side, through Red Tie Music, Liberty’s music publishing company.

Forystek was a judge for the latest contest, alongside Profitt and former Christian recording artist Al Denson, a music industry executive who serves as an industry liaison for the center. As they were in the process of narrowing down the tracks for the top slots in the latest episode, Forystek said they were amazed at how “radio ready” many of the students were, and it was hard to choose just one final winner. That’s when Profitt contacted Capitol Records, which agreed to release three of the winning remixes in his remix series: “A Storm is Coming” by senior Rich Andrews, “There for You” by the student producer known as Fire & Ice, and “Pull That Trigger” by senior Joseph Brown and Parker Robinson (’21).

“The fact that Liberty’s student work is so good that on a Capitol Records release we get three slots is really good for the students, the program, and the school,” Forystek said.

Fire & Ice said opportunities such as this competition are why they originally chose to enroll.

“The reason we came here for music is because Liberty is a place that has a lot of connections to the music industry,” they said. “We think that these contests are the beginning to a lot more things that Liberty is going to be doing. It is an amazing opportunity that a lot of other schools never even get to have. The fact that they are able to bring in people like Tommee Profitt is crazy.”

Because the music industry is built off of relationships, the students in these contests, as well as many others in the commercial music center, are ahead of other industry competitors their age. Brown, for example, has already received an offer from a

NEWS & EVENTS recording studio in Atlanta that is coveting his talent and ability.

“All of our students who got released or were a part of these remix competitions have already gotten other work,” Forystek said.

“They’ve already gotten paid from other entities because their skill level has been seen, and they are wanted for other projects.”

This is the Center for Commercial Music’s goal.

“It’s not about winning (the competitions).

It’s about building a career,” Forystek said.

“While they’re students, they are getting opportunities to actually participate in real content generation for the actual marketplace.”

The music industry has long been known as a difficult destination to reach. But the Center for Commercial Music is creating a bridge from dreams to reality.

SOF I A AL E X P HOTOGRAP HY

Tommee Profitt, center, with music students (left to right) Fire & Ice, Rich Andrews, Joseph Brown, and Parker Robinson (’21)

“At the end of the day, your (diploma) shows you have the qualifications, you have the credentials, but we wanted to go a step above, and now these students have the relationships, too,” Forystek said. “They are all getting face time. They are all getting to shake the hand, and the artist is hearing the student’s work.”

He added Denson has played an integral role.

“He tells the students all the time, ‘It’s all about relationships. It’s people working with people.’”

While many colleges excel at teaching the craft and giving students some insight on how the industry operates, Liberty gives its students tangible steps toward achieving their goals. After laying a strong musical foundation during their early semesters, the students are then introduced to studio musicians from the industry who fly in every semester to walk them through the process of bringing textbook education to hands-on learning.

“The credibility for Liberty in the industry has grown to where people in Nashville and Los Angeles are talking about what’s happening at Liberty,” Forystek said.

Emmy Award-winning music professor says investing in students is most cherished time of his career Throughout his 14 years at Liberty University, School of Music professor Don Marsh has experienced the joy of pouring into hundreds of students on a personal level, sharing his knowledge of the music industry while encouraging them to remain grounded in their faith throughout their careers.

Along with his 13 Dove Award nominations, three Emmy Awards, and Gold Record, Marsh has arranged, orchestrated, and produced over 300 full albums of choral music, solo projects,

C HASE RE ED

and various works for major publishing companies with accomplished artists.

Marsh’s publishing career began in Lynchburg, writing arrangements for the Old Time Gospel Hour Choir at Thomas Road Baptist Church (under Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell), and he later produced 22 albums for the church and university as a freelancer. After spending much of his career in Nashville, an epicenter for the music industry, Marsh returned to Lynchburg when he was hired by the School of Music in 2008. He teaches courses in commercial music.

“I’m now teaching pretty much every area that I worked in throughout my career,” Marsh said. “That’s what I always hoped to do — transfer some of my knowledge into the practical.”

Early on in his personal career, Marsh had the opportunity to dabble in more of the mainstream side of his field but sensed that his spiritual well-being might be impacted in a negative way. However, Marsh desires to give advice and career guidance to students who sense a calling into areas outside of worship and Christian music.

“I realized that you have to be completely sold out to the secular industry to even pursue those careers,” he said.

“And God may lead some of our students to do that, but not be sold out to the point that they have to turn their back on their Christianity.”

Marsh said that for the students who are going to make the decision to be a light in the darkness, they need to make sure that the Lord is leading them into it.

“You have to be called,” he said. “If you are called, learn your strengths and skills and be diligent in learning them well as you look to live for the Lord in that area of the industry.”

While the professional music industry often portrays achieving success as a difficult and slim possibility, Marsh chooses to take the positive approach, bringing to light every possible avenue he was exposed to along his journey in hopes of giving his students a chance to succeed.

“There’s a lot of people who have talent,” he said. “But God also cares a lot about whether we are ready to serve Him with (those talents) and whether we are willing to be used by Him.”

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Blessing Our Neighbors Liberty University students, faculty, and staff continue to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in Lynchburg and beyond.

DISASTER RELIEF: From Jan. 2-8, Liberty’s Serve Now program, in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, sent a team of six students and two group leaders to Whatcom County, Wash., to assist families whose properties had been devastated by flooding in November.

They visited the towns of Lynden and Sumas, where they removed insulation and did mud-outs. The disaster relief team worked on a total of seven homes and prayed with and presented a Bible to every homeowner. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association chaplains were also present to continue spiritual conversations and offer counseling.

MLK DAY OF SERVICE: At 10 different locations on Jan. 24, Liberty students stood ready to serve their community during the university’s first-ever MLK Day of Service.

The initiative was originally scheduled for Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, before a snowstorm warranted the rescheduling. The event was hosted by LU Serve in partnership with Liberty’s Office of Equity & Inclusion. “Education and service go hand in hand as we remember the life, sacrifices, and ministry of Martin Luther King Jr.,” LU Serve Executive Director Lew Weider said. “I am so proud of our students and the partnerships Liberty University has with community organizations as they make a positive difference in the lives of our neighbors.” Site assignments varied from sorting clothing at Park View Community Mission to working in the warehouse at Gleaning For The World in nearby Concord, Va., and property cleanup at the downtown Lynchburg Daily Bread.

BLOOD DRIVES: LU Serve and the Office of Equity & Inclusion partnered with the American Red Cross to hold two large-scale blood drives this school year: a special two-day event in October where students could help those suffering with the Sickle Cell Anemia blood disease and another in February to combat what the Red Cross called its worst shortage in over a decade. Liberty’s Student Health & Wellness department and the School of Nursing were also partners in the drive, which drew close to 200 student participants.

SNACKS FOR SOLDIERS: In February, students from Professor David Wheeler’s Evangelism 101 classes raised nearly $2,000 to purchase snacks, toilet paper, baby wipes, and other items for about 200 soldiers serving in an undisclosed region of the world. An adjunct faculty member who once worked with the soldiers’ unit as a contractor alerted Liberty to the need. The soldiers had been experiencing some setbacks as they served in the cold desert wind on the front line of freedom. The students also wrote encouraging notes for the soldiers. “This is the heart of Liberty,” Wheeler said. “These kids love those they don’t even know. This is what my class is about. It’s about living out the Gospel.”

On April 23, Liberty will continue its tradition of serving the community during Serve Lynchburg, an annual event in which students, faculty, staff, and Lynchburg residents join together with community partners in order to meet local community needs. Last year, over 1,000 people served at nearly 100 community service projects in the greater Lynchburg area. This year, Student Activities has planned a special Block Party at the conclusion of the event. For more information on Serve Lynchburg sponsorships and to sign up to participate, visit Liberty.edu/OSD/LUServe.

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NEWS & EVENTS

Liberty shows support for local organizations Liberty University has invested in the current and future generations of the Central Virginia community in recent months, with major monetary donations to local organizations, many of which are longtime partners of Liberty.

The university’s contributions have supported the following endeavors: a new Early Head Start program and the construction of a new building at Lynchburg HumanKind; a new STEM

Center at the Jubilee Family Development Center; the Legacy Education Center’s workforce development program; the Stay Close, Go Far Promise Scholarship Program administered by Lynchburg Beacon of Hope, to assist high school seniors in Lynchburg City Schools; two mobile workstations at Lynchburg Public Library; and continuing internships at Amazement Square children’s museum.

Liberty President Jerry Prevo visits the Legacy Education Center in Lynchburg. Liberty recently donated funds to support the nonprofit’s workforce development programs.

Army ROTC students gain competitive edge before launching military careers Senior cadets in Liberty University’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) are held to high performance standards in their training and in the classroom, setting them up for success in their chosen branches of military service after Commencement.

“It’s really on the cadets, specifically that senior class, to be the most professional students, the best academic students, the most physically fit students,” Sgt. First Class Juan Hernandez said. “We expect that of Liberty students in general, to set themselves apart from other universities and other students, and we expect that even more from our cadets — to really show that they’re buying into those standards and carrying that legacy and living that culture out.”

Seniors in Liberty’s Eagle Battalion have consistently earned high Order of Merit List (OML) rankings, based on their academic standing, leadership within the ROTC unit, and performances at Cadet Summer Training (CST) Advanced Camp,

putting them at an advantage over cadets from other colleges and universities when it comes time be commissioned as officers.

The senior cadets learned their OML rankings and found out if they were selected for active duty in November. On Dec. 1, they were informed of their designated branch — the higher their OML ranking, the better their chance of earning their choice of military placement after graduation.

“As soon as our cadets graduate this coming May, they’ll all be commissioned Army officers,” Hernandez said, noting that 99 percent of those competing for the active-duty component received it. “We have a variety — from aviators to infantry to military intelligence officers and logistics. All of our cadets got either their first or second choice.”

Senior cadet Hayden Handel, a double major in international relations-strategic intelligence and interdisciplinary studies with a focus on government and languages, ranked 29th on the OML out of approximately 3,500 Army ROTC cadets nationwide. He will be commissioned along with 23 fellow cadets at Liberty’s Army ROTC commissioning ceremony on May 4.

Handel received his first choice and will

MOL LY MANTZ /LU ROTC

be assigned as a second lieutenant aviation officer to Fort Rucker (Ala.) for his Basic Officer Leader Course. He will serve an additional 10 years in the U.S. Army after completing his flight school training to become a helicopter pilot. Handel excelled in a variety of areas at Liberty. He studied Russian and participated in Project Global Officer through an Army ROTC scholarship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He played intramural sports and was on Club Sports crew and triathlon teams. He also volunteered through ROTC at the National Center for Healthy Veterans at Valor Farm in nearby Altavista and worked for the Flames Club during weekend football and basketball home games.

Handel said Liberty’s Army ROTC program brings out the best in each cadet and challenges them to rise up the ranks while developing spiritual disciplines. “(We) push each other and motivate each other to do well because a rising tide brings up all the ships,” Handel said. “So you set the standard for your class and motivate everyone to get up to that level and be like, ‘Hey, we’re all going to meet the standard, and not only meet it but exceed it,’ and that’s why this program is so successful. There’s a high standard within it, which a lot of other schools don’t have.”

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Defending Truth and Preserving Freedom

BY RYAN HELFENBEIN

In an increasingly secular and hostile age, the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University is taking its stand to uphold the Christian faith and preserve life, liberty, and truth for the next generation. Our aim is to inform, equip, and mobilize faithful men and women to preserve and defend the biblical foundations of freedom in our country. Our faith and freedom are inextricably linked.

The revolt against God began when the lies of the deceiver hissed into the ears of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Hath God said?” became the rejection of God’s absolute spoken Word and the basis of a new subjectivism that sought to redefine truth by humanistic relativism. That same relative belief system is prevalent in postmodernity and currently has a strong pull in Christian circles toward what is commonly known as deconstruction today.

The Pew Research Center has noted that young adult evangelicals are moving toward unbiblical, progressive ideologies, and 66 percent of young adults in America have left the church between the ages of 18 and 22, according to Lifeway Research.

A 2021 study by The Barna Group showed that approximately 54 percent of U.S. adults believe that our country would be worse off without the Word of God. Barna has also found that from the years 2000 to 2020, the number of practicing Christians in America dropped from 45 percent to 25 percent.

But at the Standing for Freedom Center,

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the Standing for Freedom Center’s Freedom Uncensored conference at Liberty University Nov. 12-13, 2021. Pompeo serves as a fellow with the center.

DAN IEL MORE NO

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we are committed to biblical truth — God’s truth. We exist to inform students and adults alike across the country concerning truth, and we equip others to influence the culture for Christ, engage in the public arena as representatives of Him, and stand firm in our faith. It requires a serious commitment to the Gospel and an honest assessment of engaging an increasingly post-Christian society.

Throughout the year, we host engaging summits with today’s most outspoken and recognizable Christian leaders to spur young people to reclaim biblical truth and take it into their communities. We engage culture through the digital medium of social media videos, podcasts, and web articles as the center provokes necessary conversations to spark change. We confront compromises made by members of the Church with multiple platforms to refute bad theology and heretical teaching in order to uphold the sacred Scripture’s inerrancy and authority.

Writer and theologian G.K. Chesterton said, “The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.” As an academic institution, we must understand that students, and by extension staff and faculty, have a hunger for learning. We also must remain cognizant of the fact that the enemy, who is no fool, will capitalize on this desire by feeding us lies — and he will do so with stealth. We must engage polarized issues and topics

intentionally to address positions that we disagree with and know the substance of that disagreement. That is the purpose of education. We do this because our goal at Liberty is to Train Champions for Christ.

The title of champion is never earned without facing opposition, without training or testing, or without pursuing a greater understanding of our purpose in Christ. At Liberty University, we prepare our students to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. There is no higher calling.

Our focus and priority is the Kingdom of God. We are called to build that Kingdom here on earth, which cannot happen without significant prayer. As our founder Dr. Jerry Falwell said, “Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer.” I encourage you to join Liberty University and the Freedom Center in prayer. Pray that we pursue Christ humbly, train our students biblically, and seek the glory of God faithfully.

Ryan Helfenbein is the Executive Director of the Standing for Freedom Center and Senior Vice President of Communications & Public Engagement at Liberty University. Visit the Standing for Freedom Center website at StandingForFreedom.com.

NEWS & EVENTS

A Voice for the Unborn Students rally, pray for pro-life efforts in nation’s capital Liberty University has a longstanding tradition of providing opportunities for students to engage in large events in Washington, D.C. This school year, the university has provided two bus trips, taking over 1,600 students to join thousands of other pro-life supporters to be a voice for the unborn.

On Dec. 1, the day oral arguments began in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case, close to 1,000 students boarded 21 buses on campus at 4 a.m. Before they prayed at the U.S. Supreme Court Building, they met Liberty President Jerry Prevo and other university administrators at the U.S. Capitol Building.

Morse Hyun-Myung Tan, the newly appointed dean of Liberty University School of Law, explained the case and its significance.

“This is an opportunity to potentially T R I NI TY BARTON

Students attend the March for Life on Jan. 29, 2022.

DID YOU

KNOW?

be a turning point in moving the Roe-Doe regime, weakening Planned Parenthood v.

Casey, and making it an end of the Roe-Doe regime, eventually,” Tan said.

The comments were filmed and shown during Convocation in the Vines Center the same morning, where the student body joined in prayer, led by Prevo, asking that God would empower the justices to speak boldly in defense of the unborn.

“Liberty University students were able to take part in praying at our nation’s capital for one of the most important Supreme Court cases in our nation’s history,” Prevo said after the event. “I’m beyond grateful for the overwhelming response of our Liberty student body who are defining what it means to be Champions for Christ as the pro-life generation.”

While pro-choice supporters were also there in large numbers, Liberty students focused on being an example of godly boldness, praying in groups while also singing hymns and worship songs.

“It’s so important for Liberty to be here,” senior Maggie Donica said, “to represent not only conservatives but (also) Christians and show that Christian conservatives care about this issue and that it is important to us because it is important to God.”

The trip was sponsored by Concerned Women for America in partnership with Liberty’s Standing for Freedom Center.

CWA President and CEO Penny Nance, a 1988 Liberty alumna and current member of Liberty’s Board of Trustees, also addressed the crowd.

On Jan. 21, over 600 students traveled to D.C. for the 49th annual March for Life. The trip was hosted by LU Send and the Standing for Freedom Center.

Students participated in a kickoff rally on the National Mall featuring singers Jordan St. Cyr and Matthew West (who joined virtually). Speakers included Kirk Cameron, Lisa Robertson, Toni McFadden, Kristen Waggoner, Katie Shaw, George Schuberg, Father Mike Schmitz, Cissie Graham Lynch, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, and Katie Young. Also present were pro-life congressmen Mike Kelly and Dan Crenshaw.

“I loved how there were so many people who took time to come out to march as well as show their support for this crucial issue,” said student Sierra Number.

“Humans are made by God and deserve the chance to live.”

Throughout Liberty’s history, student pro-life groups have marched in the nation’s capital. Here, student Van Dalton holds a sign during the eighth annual March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22, 1981. Dalton was the president of Liberty’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter and coordinated four busloads of students for the march. (Photo from the 1981 Selah Yearbook)

President Jerry Prevo leads students and staff members in prayer in front of the U.S. Capitol on their way to the Supreme Court Building on Dec. 1, 2021, the day oral arguments began in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

CH ASE GYL ES

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School of Engineering celebrates first master’s graduate, launches him into aerospace career As the first Master of Science in Engineering graduate from Liberty University’s School of Engineering, Jared Darius witnessed tremendous growth in the school — and in himself — over the past six years.

“It was very transformative … and I’ve seen it change a huge amount in the engineering

department,” he said. “I came here trusting that God put me here for a reason, and I saw it as an opportunity to grow and help the department grow.”

Darius completed his degree in December and plans to walk in Liberty’s 49th Commencement Exercises in May. In February, Darius launched his career in his home state of Connecticut as an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky aircraft company, which manufactures helicopters for commercial and military use.

At Liberty, Darius gained real-world experience through a series of internships — two at Lockheed Martin, one researching

stress-corrosion cracking in nuclear reactors for Lynchburg-based Framatome, and one at Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. He also participated in the Human Powered Vehicle Competition (HPVC) team and helped start the Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team.

Darius said he is proud to have been a part of a rapidly expanding engineering school and to have served as a “trailblazer” for the master’s program.

The School of Engineering is expecting to celebrate its first Ph.D. graduate in May. In addition to the residential M.S. degree, Liberty also offers an M.S. in Engineering Management online.

Students present research at Harvard conference In January, 23 undergraduate students were invited to present their research at the National Collegiate Research Conference (NCRC), hosted annually by Harvard University.

NCRC is the largest student-run research conference in America. The multidisciplinary forum invites the most

accomplished undergraduate students from across the United States and abroad to share their research in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences fields.

The conference was held virtually this year due to COVID-19.

Liberty students represented the School

C HASE GYLE S

of Nursing, Helms School of Government, College of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering, School of Health Sciences, and College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The student projects ranged from research on NCAA concussion screening protocols to the lost city of Mesoamerica and a fire extinguishing method that replicates the defense mechanism of a bombardier beetle.

In addition to presenting their research, students heard from distinguished keynote speakers from Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Liberty’s participation in the conference was funded by the Center for Research & Scholarship.

Education club prepares time capsule to be opened on Liberty’s 75th Anniversary KJ JU GAR

Twenty-five years from now, posterity will sample a taste of campus life from the university’s golden year of jubilee.

The School of Education’s PACE club (Professional Association of Christian Educators) has created a time capsule commemorating Liberty’s 50th year.

Memorabilia include stickers, campus newspapers and magazines, an anniversary T-shirt, notes from current SOE faculty, photographs, and other small relics from this year.

The time capsule will be stored in a School of Education conference room.

“Something that we are really passionate about in the PACE club is learning from those who have gone before us and learning from people who have a lot more experience than we do,” said PACE club president Lauren Dymmel, a senior studying Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). “As a future educator, being able to be part of the time capsule is really exciting. Teachers are going to have a lasting impact, and I think the impact of this time capsule is going to show students and faculty what life was like 25 years ago.”

The PACE Club, an affiliate of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), seeks to equip the next generation of educators with resources to impact their schools specifically with the Gospel.

SCHOLAR’S VIEWPOINT

K J JUG AR

Simulating Genesis:

Using physics-based modeling to illustrate the Bible’s reliability in science

BY MARK HORSTEMEYER, PH.D.

Genesis 7:11-12 states, “ … the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights.” At the Liberty University School of Engineering, High Performance Computing (HPC) is enabling students to conduct scientific analysis of the worldwide flood.

Dr. John Baumgardner and Dr. Heechen Cho and their students are studying the flood and have shown that the “fountains of the great deep breaking” is related to the earth’s lithosphere (the outermost part of the earth) subducting, or being drawn downward, into the center of the earth because of gravity.

This action precipitated worldwide mantle motion that caused magma to come forth into the ocean, thus inducing global rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Their analysis is only one aspect of the School of Engineering’s “Simulating Genesis” project, where faculty and students are studying the days of the Creation and other events in Genesis to show how the laws of physics align with biblical history.

Students are also using HPC to explain the ability of Noah’s ark to withstand the flood. To understand this from an engineering design standpoint, we can look at the automobile industry. When mechanical engineers design cars, they are worried about the strength and stiffness. The strength of a car’s parts is important because we don’t want the car to fall apart under different driving conditions and environments. The stiffness of the car

is also important because it is related to the resonant frequencies (the natural rate of vibration). If the frequencies reach 4-10 Hz, then passengers will get sick to their stomachs. If the resonant frequency is 13-14 Hz, then they will get a headache or become dizzy. Hence, car designers try to stay away from these frequencies to ensure happy commuters in their vehicles. When studying Noah’s ark, HPC simulations showed that the ark’s strength would have sustained Noah, his family, and animals for the year period (370 days) without a worry of tipping over or breaking up. Furthermore, the simulations showed that the resonant frequencies of the ark were 1 Hz and 16 Hz, so they were outside the ranges for affecting humans’ stomachs or brains. The simulations unequivocally show that Noah’s ark was safe and dynamically stable.

Simulating Genesis started out as part of our growing residential graduate program, which includes 20 Ph.D. students and 10 M.S. students. Recently, we have brought in some of our undergraduates as well to receive hands-on learning with HPC. It is exciting to see Liberty setting up a computational environment that allows undergraduate and graduate students to develop a Christian scientific and technical apologetic that substantiates the Bible.

The objectives of Simulating Genesis are to remove doubt, unbelief, and the spirit of skepticism in order to free one’s mind to fully believe in the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Genesis has been critically attacked

by atheistic evolutionists. If Genesis is not historically true, then Adam is not historically true. If there is no Adam, who failed the Creator’s first command, then there is no need for Jesus Christ to redeem back what Adam lost. Alternatively, if Genesis is true, and Adam’s sin did cause separation from the Creator, then humans are lost and are in need of a Savior. Hence, Simulating Genesis is a means to “validate” the Bible’s historicity with science.

If we can show that all other aspects of Genesis are true, then one can reason that the rest of the Bible is true, like Adam and Jesus! Once one has the doubt, unbelief, and skepticism removed, then they can fully commit to believing wholesale in Jesus, giving up their lives, desires, and futures fully to Him without reservation, since “without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Dr. Mark Horstemeyer is Dean of the School of Engineering. His life work has focused on Integrating Computational Materials Engineering (ICME).

He has 30 years of industrial, national laboratory, and academic experience and is a fellow in the American Society of Metals, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the European Union.

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Liberty’s new feature film ‘The Mulligan’ hits theaters Students from Liberty University’s Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center spent a portion of last spring working on the set of their latest feature film, “The Mulligan,” in Toccoa, Ga., and this April they saw their work on silver screens across the country. First available in its theatrical release through Fathom Events on April 18 and 19, the film will be released on video on-demand later in the year. (Go to

TheMulliganMovie.com for updates.)

Liberty partnered with ReelWorks Studios owner and executive producer Rick Eldridge for the third time with this project. “The Mulligan” marks Liberty’s third feature film to hit the big screen in a national release.

The film tells the story of a father with a passion for golf who is offered the opportunity to have a “do-over” with his son (or, in golf terms, an extra stroke called a “mulligan”). Many of the scenes were shot at Currahee Golf Club in Toccoa, Ga. In its 10 years, Liberty’s cinematic arts program has developed seven feature films, one television pilot, and one short film. The two-year immersion cohort for the B.S. in Film Production & Content Development allows students to concentrate solely

on filmmaking. In addition to creating their own short film and business plan, students earn at least one IMDb credit on a professional film project.

Faithful supporter donates artwork, funds for museum expansion

Liberty University’s art gallery is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation in its new space in Marie F. Green Hall, funded by the estate of the late Barbara A. Engstrom, who also gifted an impressive art collection to the school.

With 30 of Engstrom’s own paintings, in addition to glass and sculpted figures and photography collected from her travels to 99 countries, the Barbara A. Engstrom Gallery will be a permanent exhibit within the newly renamed Liberty University Art Museum. An accomplished artist herself,

Engstrom wrote a book, “Faith to See,” that was displayed in the Louvre in Paris and will now be available in Liberty’s museum.

Engstrom passed away in December.

Frederick and Barbara Engstrom began their contributions to Liberty in 2013 when they supported scholarships for some of the first students in the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine. They have also set up new scholarships for arts students who are asked to create pieces for God’s glory and display them around the university or in Lynchburg.

The new museum is a short distance from its former gallery space in Green Hall and in a central location in the School of Communication & the Arts, near classrooms, broadcast studios, and the Tower Theater. The Barbara A. Engstrom Gallery will take up one-third of the new museum space, leaving the rest for displaying pieces by students, faculty, and outside artists. The museum will feature glass exterior walls and movable interior walls to allow for staging and the separation

of different exhibits within the space.

With the art gallery’s move, the university is relocating the Liberty Biblical Museum, which opened in 2013 in the Jerry Falwell Library, to the vacated art gallery space.

The museum features artifacts from the Holy Land and biblical culture from 3,000 B.C. to the 6th century A.D. and affirms the historical and cultural background of Scripture. Dr. J. Randall Price, a distinguished research professor at Liberty who serves as the museum’s curator, is the owner of the collection and has personally amassed over 2,000 items. Displays include authentic artifacts as well as exact replicas of the originals, ranging from original bricks from the walls of Jericho to crucifixion nails, a genuine Roman soldier’s helmet from the time of the early church, and exact copies of some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

With the Biblical Museum’s move to Green Hall, the university will use the existing library space to house the Jerry Falwell Museum, which was originally located off the DeMoss Hall Grand Lobby.

Sadie Robertson Huff kicks off Spring Convocations with message on finding identity in Christ As Liberty University’s first Convocation guest of the new semester on Jan. 12, Sadie Robertson Huff inspired students to base their identity in Christ and use their influence as the next generation to lead others to Him. Since gaining a platform through her family’s popular reality television show “Duck Dynasty,” Robertson has become a bestselling author and popular speaker.

The Robertson family has many ties to Liberty; Sadie’s older brother, John Luke, and younger brother, Will, have both attended Liberty, and members of the family have appeared at Convocation.

Seated onstage with Liberty Campus Pastor Jonathan Falwell and LU Shepherd directors Melanie Denney and Brandon Milks, Robertson said many college students and young adults today are finding their identity in the wrong areas. She once asked her followers on Instagram how they identify themselves, and many responded with: “who God says I am.” But she said our lives don’t often reflect that.

“We are all struggling with fear, anxiety, perfectionism, self-doubt, depression, loneliness, and more. Who we say that we are in a genuine conversation does not necessarily line up with who God says we are. Why? Whatever is on the throne of your life is going to be the thing telling you who you are.”

At age 14, Robertson was thrust into the spotlight by the rapid popularity of “Duck Dynasty.” Being so young when she became “famous” — a word she struggled to accept — Robertson said she didn’t know her purpose in all of it. At a conference, she felt God speaking to her. “(God) said, ‘I’m not calling you to be famous; I’m calling you to be a sister and a friend to those who don’t have a sister and a friend,’” Robertson said. “I do not know how to be famous, but I do know how to be a sister, and I do know how to be a friend. From that little word (change of perspective), it’s launched me into what I’m doing now. Here I am seven years later, and God has done exceedingly and abundantly way more than what I thought He would’ve done.”

Robertson’s latest book, “Who are You Following?,” shares how to live in a social media-obsessed culture.

With such a large platform on social media, Robertson said she has adapted her status as a 24-year-old “influencer” to compel others to shine God’s light through their social media feeds.

“I love social media because I see the potential, but I also don’t like social media because I see the darkness,” she said.

“Not everyone is famous, but

everyone is an influencer. I want to use my (platform) to lead people to Jesus because that is the most influential thing you can do in someone’s life.”

NEWS &

REBECCA MCLAUGHLIN

author and scholar of apologetics

FRED LUTER

senior pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, La., and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention

LOUIE GIGLIO

JIMMY SCROGGINS

CHAD ROBICHAUX

BENNY TATE

pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta

pro MMA champion, former Marine, and founder of the Mighty Oaks Foundation for veterans

senior pastor of the Family Church in West Palm Beach, Fla.

senior pastor of Rock Springs Church in Milner, Ga.

Past Convocations can be viewed on Liberty’s YouTube channel.

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IN COACH’S WORDS

TRUSTING IN GOD’S PERFECT PLAN

BY DOT RICHARDSON

When I was a little girl, I knew that God had given me a gift in athletics. I knew it because I loved sports so much and was pretty good at them. However, there was one problem: society did not allow young girls to play any organized sports. I had to watch my brothers play sports. In my prayers, I asked the Lord why He gave me this talent without any opportunity. Now, I know those were the words of a child because I didn’t know what the future would hold. We don’t know God’s plans for our lives. However, we do know God is holy, faithful, trustworthy, and delivers on His promises: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11) Then it happened. A coach asked me to play on his Little League baseball team, then told me that I would have to disguise myself as a boy to do so. I thanked him but said, “No thank you. I just don’t feel it’s right to hide who I am.”

Thirty minutes later, another coach saw me playing baseball catch and asked me to play on her women’s fastpitch softball team, the Union Park Jets. Even though I was only 10 years old and the average age of the players was 22, Mom and Dad said I could play. I guess you would say the rest is history, from the Union Park Jets, to the Orlando Rebels, UCLA, Raybestos Brakettes, California Commotion, as well as numerous USA National teams, including five Pan American Games, five World Championships and two Olympic Gold medals. The day I discovered fastpitch softball was the time I learned God hears our prayers. I have learned as I look back on my life that God’s plans for us far exceed what we can possibly imagine (Ephesians 3:20). We do not have to hide who we are or the gifts God has given us.

They are meant to be shared, in God’s timing and for His glory.

After the 2000 Olympics, Bob and I got married and I started my medical practice as an orthopedic surgeon. Soon I became executive director of a 300-acre sports, health, and education campus. I was living

the dream again and honestly thought I would eventually retire from this position.

Until one day, when I was called into the CEO’s office and informed the Board decided to lease out each of the sports venues to not-for-profit organizations and that I would have six months to transition to do this with the softball complex. I was stunned at first because this discussion caught me completely by surprise. However, that only lasted for a few brief seconds because I have come to realize that when things like this happen

in our lives, God has a plan and we need to trust it. Within a week or so, I was approached to run for city mayor and county commissioner. I KNEW that God wanted me in politics, or so I thought He did. I gave the decision to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to make the decision of where He wanted me to serve Him perfectly clear. And He did just that; the very next morning I received a phone call from the athletic director of Liberty University asking me to be the next head softball coach.

I let him know I had never been a head coach in college before. His response was, “We realize that. However, we feel the Lord is leading us to you.” My husband also knew this was a calling from God and to consider it. We both flew to Lynchburg and felt a peace that the Lord promises you will have when you are in His will. I accepted the job knowing the Lord is in control.

That first day at work, when I walked into the double-wide trailer which housed our coaches’ offices, team locker room, and umpire room for the first time, I couldn’t help but be excited to live out what God had in store for His Liberty Softball program. There is no doubt that God is moving at Liberty University and the entire athletics department. We have ascended the accomplishment and recognition ladder competing in two Regional Finals: just three wins away from the Women’s College World Series. And from those humble beginnings of a double-wide trailer to one of the most beautiful stadiums in the nation, God continues to shower His blessings upon us. Last season we ended ranked in the Top 25 (25) for the first time in program history, and we were ranked in the Top 25 (24) in numerous polls to start this 2022 season. Beyond the victories, our true success is our commitment to the Lord to impact His Kingdom by honoring Him to the best of our abilities and thanking Him for loving us so much.

Coach Richardson is in her ninth year as Head Softball Coach for the Lady Flames.

She was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2021 and Big South Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

LIBERTYFLAMES.COM 38

EL L IE RICHA RDSON

Follow Liberty Softball at

WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM SKATES TO 5TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WIN Liberty University’s ACHA Division I Women’s Hockey team netted four unanswered goals to earn its fourth consecutive and fifth overall national championship trophy after a 5-1 triumph over Midland (Nebraska) University on March 20 at the Centene Community Ice Center’s USA Arena near St. Louis, Mo. With the win, Liberty now holds the ACHA records for total national titles and for championships in a row. The Lady Flames also stretched their ACHA DI record winning streak to 40 games.

Head Coach Chris Lowes was named the ACHA DI Women’s Hockey Coach of the Year for the second year, and junior forward Yannick Truter, the ACHA’s regularseason DI Player of the Year, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“I am incredibly proud of the way they finished this season, which was certainly a historic and memorable one,” said Lowes, who pointed to his five graduate students — forwards Shelby Bradford, Vanessa DeMerchant, and Shannon Fehr, and defensemen Dana McLeod and Sally

Hoerr — for playing integral roles in the championship run.

“In the five years since we’ve been here, they haven’t lost a game that matters, in an elimination game, which is pretty amazing.

(Assistant) Coach (Justin) Forth and I are super aware of the fact that next year will be our first year at Liberty without those names.

It was really important for them to finish strong and win this last one, to complete the undefeated season. We are super proud of the whole team and thankful that our seniors are going out on top.”

SEATING UPGRADES COMING TO WILLIAMS STADIUM In anticipation of the best home football schedule in program history, Liberty University Athletics has been making several renovations to Williams Stadium prior to the 2022 season.

The project will provide new seating options, including a seating upgrade for nearly every nonstudent seat in the stadium.

All seats on the West side of the stadium will be upgraded to chairback seating, and all

seats on the upper East side of the stadium will be upgraded to benchback seating.

At the South end zone, 23 cabanas will be added above a newly graded berm with additional space for students and overflow seating. Complete with seating for eight and a roof to keep the sun and weather out, each cabana will be furnished with a TV, fan, heater, and waiter service.

“The 2022 football season will be the

most anticipated in Liberty history,” said Ian McCaw, director of athletics. “Between welcoming Virginia Tech and BYU to Williams Stadium, coupled with regular and premium seating and hospitality improvements, Flames fans will be in for a treat.”

Visit Liberty.edu/Flames for season ticket information and more information on the Flames Club Three-Year Loyalty Program.

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TOP MOMENTS

For the Golden Anniversary, the Liberty Athletics Department reached deep into the university’s archives to produce a video series of the “Top Moments from the Past 50 years.” Below is a sampling of the videos that are being posted on social media each week.

WATCH THE SERIES ON THE LIBERTY FLAMES ATHLETICS FACEBOOK PAGE (SEARCH #LU50YEARS)

FIRST NCAA DI PLAYER TO RECORD TRIPLE-DOUBLES IN ALL FOUR YEARS — JAN. 21, 2012 Point guard Jesse Sanders (’12) became the first NCAA Division I men’s basketball player to record a triple-double in each of his four seasons, with 10 or more points, rebounds, assists, and/or steals in one game. Sanders, who still ranks as Liberty’s all-time assist leader with 727, completed the quadruple triple-double feat as a senior in an 84-78 victory at High Point (N.C.) University.

LADY FLAMES UPSET VIRGINIA — NOV. 26, 2002 Trailing the University of Virginia by 10 with four minutes remaining in regulation, the women’s basketball team rallied to send the game into overtime on a last-second 3-pointer by Kristal Tharp and beat the Cavaliers 77-69. The win helped set the stage for the Lady Flames’ seventh-straight NCAA tournament appearance.

JERRY EDWARDS INDUCTED INTO ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME Liberty University honored Jerry Edwards, the voice of the Flames for 29 years, in its Athletics Hall of Fame. Edwards announced more than 1,100 Liberty Football, Men’s Basketball, and Baseball games over his career.

FLAMES CAPTURE FCS PLAYOFF VICTORY AT JMU — NOV. 29, 2014 Making its first postseason appearance — after upsetting No. 1-ranked Coastal Carolina in the 2014 regular-season finale — Flames Football defeated the Dukes 26-21 on Nov. 29. Fullback Nicky Fualaau ran in for the game-winning touchdown, and defensive back Kenny Scott broke up a pass near his own end zone in the closing seconds, preserving the victory.

MCDOUGAL WINS NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP — NOV. 19, 2007 Fourteen-time All-American track and field and cross country standout Josh McDougal (’08) outsprinted Oregon’s Galen Rupp to the finish line by one second to become the first men’s athlete in Liberty history to take home an NCAA National Championship. He ran the 8K in 29 minutes, 22.4 seconds.

WOMEN’S SOCCER CLAIMS FIRST ASUN CHAMPIONSHIP — APRIL 17, 2021 After 99 minutes of play in the ASUN Women’s Soccer Championship, Liberty and Kennesaw State were locked in a scoreless draw. McKinley Burkett’s golden penalty kick with 31 seconds left in the first overtime gave the Lady Flames their first ASUN Tournament title and their seventh trip to the NCAA Division I National Championship.

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WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CLAIMS 4TH STRAIGHT CCSA TITLE The Lady Flames Swimming & Diving team captured its fourth straight conference title and fifth overall at the 2022 CCSA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships at Liberty Natatorium in February.

The team won in convincing fashion with 1,830.5 points, 302.5 points clear of secondplace FGCU. Liberty has now won the CCSA Championship every time it has hosted the event at Liberty Natatorium (2019, 2021, 2022).

Freshman Sydney Stricklin took first place in the 100 freestyle, and sophomore

Abbie Shaw won the 200 backstroke. Liberty 12th-year head coach Jake Shellenberger was voted CCSA Women’s Swimming

Coach of the Year, and diving coach Andrew Helmich was voted CCSA Women’s Diving Coach of the Year.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SQUADS SWEEP INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS Liberty University’s men’s and women’s squads swept the team titles at the 2022 ASUN Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at Liberty Indoor Track & Field Complex in February.

The men’s team dominated the competition, outdistancing runner-up

Kennesaw State by 90 points (254-164) and earning 13 first-place finishes. The Flames picked up their fourth consecutive ASUN indoor title and their 25th straight indoor conference crown overall. Liberty has never lost a men’s indoor track & field conference meet at the NCAA Division I level.

The Lady Flames pulled out an eightpoint victory (165.5-157.5) over Kennesaw State to earn their third championship in four all-time appearances.

Second-year head coach Lance Bingham was voted ASUN Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. Quinten Clay (Most Valuable Male Performer) and Meredith Engle (Most Valuable Female Performer) swept the individual awards. Clay led all athletes with 28 points, with victories in the men’s long jump and triple jump and a runner-up finish in the high jump. Engle’s 23 points were the most of any female athlete as she captured first place in the pentathlon, second in the high jump, and fourth in the triple jump.

IN THE RECORD BOOK Flames Baseball received its highest-ever national ranking at NO. 14 heading into its matchup against UNC, then-ranked No. 15, on March 8. LU won 1-0. At the time, outfielder Derek Orndorff was the home-run leader in NCAA Division I. Basketball guard Darius McGhee finished the regular season as the nation’s leader in total points and 3-pointers made. After postseason play, he totaled 812 points and 142 3-pointers. He set the school record for most career 3-pointers with 366.

Quarterback Malik Willis finished the 2021 season setting a program record of 40 TOTAL touchdowns (27 passing, 13 rushing). He broke his previous record of 34 in 2020 (20 passing, 14 rushing).

Cross country runner Calli Doan set program records in the 5K (16:57.4 on Oct. 30 at the ASUN Championship) and 6K (19:50.6 on Nov. 20 at the NCAA Championship).

Several members of the men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams broke program records this season: Ally Kipchirchir, men’s indoor 800 (1:49.19); Ryan Drew, men’s indoor mile (4:01.27); Kennedy Sauder, men’s indoor high jump (7-2.5); Adelyn Ackley, women’s indoor 3K (9:24.96); and Ayanna Johnson, women’s indoor long jump (19-10.25).

Sophomore diver Maddie Freece set a new program record in 3-meter diving, scoring 320.75 in the A Final at the CCSA Championships.

CALLI DOAN

DARIUS MCGHEE

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CLASS NOTES S H A R E Y O U R N E W S AT L I B E R T Y. E D U / C L A S S N OT E S

1980s

1990s

’81 DANIEL POUCHER, of Granville, N.Y., recently retired as an administrator with Granville Junior Senior High School. His 36 1/2-year career included time as a physical education teacher, Athletic Director, Assistant Principal, and a Junior/Senior High School Principal in addition to 26 years of coaching. He also served as a Recreation Program Leader for close to 18 years for the New York State Department of Correctional Services. He was selected as the New York State Assistant Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York and the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 2013.

’91 DR. HOWARD EYRICH, of Birmingham, Ala., retired at 78 after 50 years of professional ministry as a pastor and counselor. He co-authored “Hope for New Beginnings” with Shirley Crowder.

’82 STEVE ROY, of Clayton, N.C., published a dissertation, “An Examination of the Theme of Discipleship in the Seven Churches of Revelation,” for his Doctor of Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. It is available at the Liberty University Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

2000s

’83 TERRY YOUNG, of Scott Air Force Base, Ill., served 40 years in the Air Force and retired for the final time in 2017. He obtained a master’s degree from Webster University along the way.

’01 SCOTT STONE, of Gilbert, Ariz., was hired as a First Officer with Southwest Airlines flying the B-737 based in Phoenix, Ariz., after many years at Republic Airlines (a regional airline). He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for 16 years and have three children.

’84 RAY JONES, of Lynchburg, is the director of the Liberty Christian Academy Theatre Department, which was recently voted as the Best Live Theatre in Central Virginia by the readers of “The News & Advance” and “Lynchburg Living Magazine.”

MAKING HEADLINES READ THESE STORIES AND MORE AT LIBERTY.EDU/NEWS/ALUMNI

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’92 TODD GREEN, of Greenwood, Ind., has been promoted to VP of Sales at Zinga’s, which made the INC5000 as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. ’92 KEVIN GREGORY, of Midlothian, Va., is a church consultant who serves as a home missionary with Word of Life. He is excited about relaunching the student evangelism event called Reverb.

’00 BRANDON BENOIT, of Lynchburg, recently accepted a position at Pen Bay Christian School along the coast of Maine where he will be working in the English department with middle schoolers.

’08 SWINTON HUDSON, of Lexington, S.C., is the owner and general manager of Management Outsourcing Group, LLC. He has been teaching since 2009 in the areas of business management, human resource management, ethics, organizational behavior, business communication and change, and leadership as an Associate Adjunct Professor at Grand Canyon University and Senior Contributing Faculty Member at Walden University. Previously, he taught at the University of Phoenix. He is also an arbitrator with the 11th Judicial Circuit Court for Youthful Offender Cases and was a Program Advisory Board Member with SouthEastern Institute College. He is an active member of the American Legion.

’08 WAYNE SASS, of Fullerton, Calif., was recently promoted from Chief Information Officer of Monarch HealthCare, part of Optum, to Area Information Officer of Optum Orange County, Calif.

2010s ’10 BRYON MITCHELL, of North Chesterfield, Va., recently retired from a full-time Clinical Supervisor position at a medication-assisted treatment clinic in order to devote his energy to his private practice, Lost and Found Counseling Services. ’11 REBEKAH KULLER, of McGaheysville, Va., is the Senior Vice President of Nielsen Builders, Inc. In her two years with Nielsen, Kuller has been added to the construction company’s board of directors and strategic planning team. ’11 ANNETTE ROUNSAVILLE-COOKS, of New Carrollton, Md., works with Family Engagement Specialists to develop programming, foster resources, and contribute to emerging leaders. ’12 MARYKAY BERRY, of Cleveland, Ga., was named the 2021 Lilie Moncus Award winner for the Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education. She serves as the White County Schools Director of Student Services. She is also a recipient of the 2016 G-CASE Outstanding New Special Education Director and the 2017 Phil Pickens Parent Mentor Leadership Award. ’12 DONALD STRAUB, of Kelowna, Ala., was interviewed on Canadian television after writing his book, “Bridges to Freedom - Creating Change through Science and Christian Spirituality.” ’12 TONJA THIGPEN, of Fort Belvoir, Va., will join the Methodist Hospital Atascosa after serving as the Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at Reston Hospital Center in Reston, Va. She has held several other leadership roles throughout her career, including Administrative Director of Nursing Operations and Practice at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va.

SCOTTIE JAMES (’20)

JENNIFER THOMSON (’07)

The former Flames Basketball power forward has a professional career overseas with the Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, after beginning his career in Germany with the Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga. James is one of the most prolific basketball players in Flames history, currently fourth on the program’s all-time rebounding list.

A history alumna, Thomson has worked to acknowledge the legacy of Susie G. Gibson, an African American woman who was a teacher and community activist in Bedford County, Va. Thomson restored Gibson’s name to a local high school technical center and also established a highway marker for the school, making it the first marker in the county to recognize an African American’s contributions.

CLASS NOTES

’12 DIEDRE WADE, of Louisville, Ky., earned a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of the Cumberlands last fall. ’13 JEFFREY BETTINGER, of Burleson, Texas, will join the executive team at Establishment Labs with responsibility for culture, employee experience, and human capital strategy. Previously, he worked with Nu Skin, a global leader in beauty and wellness, where he served as the Chief People and Places Officer. He has also held a variety of executive and senior leadership roles in medical devices, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and engineering.

moving from San Antonio to Anchorage to accept a position with the Chris Kyle Patriot Hospital as a Clinical Therapist. He is currently the Patient Advocate for the 673d Medical Group at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. ’16 DAN BOLTON, of Atlanta, Ga., was recently promoted to Vice President of Brand Experience at Riskalyze. ’16 RON CONNELLY, of Laurel, Md., was recently hired as the Vice President of Technical Operations after completing the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification.

’13 SYLVIETTE MCGILL, of Atlanta, Ga., recently published “90 Days to Your Better Self,” a book about growing in self-awareness. She is an author, editor, and teacher.

’17 SYDNEY COFFEY, of Lynchburg, released her children’s book, “Moshe’s Big Day: A Lesson in Trust,” about trusting in Jesus. She hopes to release many more children’s books in the future.

’14 MICHAEL ELLIOTT, of Bangor, Maine, has joined the broadband consulting firm Mission Broadband after serving at Bangor-based Northern Light Health, where he held leadership roles in digital media, finance, and business development. He also served eight communities and multiple organized territories in Penobscot County as the Economic Development Director of the Katahdin Region.

’17 LAUREN HENRY, of Sarasota, Fla., was recently named to Sarasota’s 35 under 35 list. She became a professor of leadership at Southeastern University in her 20s and also pursued her dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, co-founding Aretios, a company committed to training the next generation of leaders to live lives of purpose, influence, and adventure. She recently served as the co-chair for the University of South Florida SarasotaManatee’s 25th and 26th annual Brunch on the Bay scholarship fundraiser events, leading efforts to raise back-to-back record-breaking years of scholarship money for college students.

’14 ANDREW GAY, of Lynchburg, was recently promoted to the partnership of the Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke. He is a member of the firm’s Construction Law group, where he assists clients with construction contracts and resolving construction disputes. Before law school, he worked as a project manager for one of America’s largest, privately held real estate companies, managing commercial construction projects. ’14 MICHELLE MILLER, of San Antonio, Texas, launched McCauley Christian Academy last year.

The school offers classes for K3 through 12th grade. ’14 PATRICIA SMYRE, of Salisbury, N.C., has been hired as Lexington’s first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. She has over 30 years of leadership experience in various organizations focusing on equal opportunities. ’15 MARK NEWSOM, of Anchorage, Alaska, worked as a Quality Assurance Specialist for the United States Army for close to a decade before

’17 HARVEY MACY, of Ruskin, Fla., retired from the United States Secret Service in 2020. He served over 25 years in the United States military both in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard. After his military service, he was employed with Caterpillar as an instructor for Marine and Truck Diesel Engines before serving as a Uniformed Protection Officer at the United States Department of State and as a Federal Police Officer at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. ’17 ALAN OSTRZYCKI, of Elkmont, Ala., was appointed as the new Senior Pastor at Lindsay Lane Baptist Church. He has served in vocational ministry for 13 years.

’17 SEAN REEVES, of Waynesboro, Va., was promoted to Albemarle County Chief of Police on March 1. ’17 KENNETH SCARLETTE, of Loami, Ill., has been named the new Chief of the Springfield Police Department. He has been with the department for nearly 24 years, serving as a full-time officer and in various capacities including Neighborhood Police Officer, Honor Guard, Assistant Commander for the Emergency Response Team, Gang Enforcement, and Assistant Chief. ’18 GARY ATKINSON, of Jurupa Valley, Calif., recently became the New Protestant Chaplain of California State Prison in Tehachapi, Calif. ’18 MICHELLE KREGER, of Britton, Minn., was selected as one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s “Unsung Heroes” Class of 2021. She is the Firm Administrator of Goethel Engelhardt, PLLC, in Ann Arbor, Mich. ’18 STEPHANIE MAIS, of Mobridge, S.D., accepted a position as a full-time disease intervention specialist with the state after formerly working as a COVID-19 investigation worker with the Department of Health. ’18 STEPHEN SCHAHRER, of Fort Myers, Fla., was recently hired as Chief Administrative Officer for Better Together, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families in crisis and preventing the need for foster care. ’18 HUNTER TAYLOR, of Salisbury, N.C., is Dean at the School of Business and Design and Assistant Professor of Business at Chowan University. ’19 STEPHEN GOPAUL, of Rocky Hill, Conn., was hired at Intuit in 2020. ’19 NATHAN HARDIN, of Rangely, Colo., was recently hired by Colorado Northwestern Community College as its new Aviation Flight Program Director. He is an alumnus of the CNCC Flight Program and served as Flight Instructor for three years and as the National Intercollegiate Flight Association (NIFA) team coach before completing both a B.S. in Aeronautics and a Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Liberty.

HANNAH SAILSBURY (’12)

ELIZABETH BENNETT (’19)

A former elementary school teacher, Sailsbury is now serving children through her nonprofit organization Bibles in Schools. Since its founding in 2019, Bibles in Schools has donated Bibles to over 1,500 public school libraries throughout 43 states in the U.S., with aspirations to reach every public school library in the country.

Bennett has been deployed to multiple emergency responses around the world with Samaritan’s Purse and is seeing the power of God daily in the Middle East. For the last year and a half, she has been using her biomedical sciences and nursing degrees in her role as a medical response program manager serving internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled their homes due to conflict.

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’19 SVEN OLSON, of Chandler, Ariz., recently accepted an Adjunct Professor position for the Grand Canyon University College of Humanities, teaching in the Master’s in Public Administration cohorts, and accepted a full-time position in 2021 with the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Affairs Officer assigned to South America. ’19 EARNEST SHANNON, of Knightdale, N.C., is the first full-time pastor and African American pastor at Gilboa Christian Church in Mineral, Va., which has been in existence for over 200 years.

2020s ’20 KRISTI BROWN, of Lugoff, S.C., was named the Wateree Elementary School Teacher of the Year for the 2021-22 school year. ’20 LARSON CHRISTINE, of Anoka, Minn., recently published her first book, “Who I am in Christ: Encouragement for the Tough Days.” It is available on most platforms and for digital download. ’20 BREANA DONNELLY, of Pikeville, N.C., was recently hired by Lake Norman and Davis Regional Medical Centers as a marketing manager. She received her MBA in Public Relations from Liberty and her B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. ’20 CATHERINE GETZ, of Philadelphia, Pa., was recently hired as the Receptionist/Administrative Assistant at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. ’20 JUSTIN HARDY, of Jacksonville, Fla., was relieved as commanding officer of nuclearpowered ballistic missile submarine USS Alaska. ’20 NICK JACOBS, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., was recently recruited to work for the security department at Spirit Airlines in South Florida, where he can blend his police experience with the knowledge of aeronautics he gained at Liberty. ’20 ALEAH JAMES, of Charleston, S.C., has been hired at the College of Charleston as the Associate Director of Honors College Admissions for the Honors College.

’20 BRIAN O’DONNELL, of Keswick, Va., retired as a Lieutenant with the City of Charlottesville Police Department. He served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps and with the Charlottesville Police Department for 25 years.

He has a B.A. in economics from Northwestern University and an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Liberty. He has worked in patrol, as a SWAT member, as a detective with a regional narcotics task force, and as a full-time Task Force Officer with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. ’20 RANDY WESTOVER, of Puyallup, Wash., started a faith-based counseling ministry with his wife. Their work is primarily focused on the healing of families who have been impacted by unwanted sexual behaviors. ’21 DR. GORDAN BARROWS, of New Bethlehem, Pa., is a technology enthusiast, business entrepreneur, and community leader. He is the founder and president of TechReady Professionals Inc. He serves on the Redbank Valley Chamber of Commerce (past President), New Bethlehem Borough Council (Mayor), Redbank Renaissance, Redbank Valley Municipal Authority, Redbank Valley Community Center, and the Redbank Valley Education Foundation. He also serves with the Redbank Valley School District, the Southern Clarion Police Association, Redbank Valley Trails Association, and the Redbank Valley Alumni Association. He is a first responder and serves on the Board of Review for the New Bethlehem Boy Scouts. ’21 JESSICA COOKMEYER, of Henrico, Va., has joined Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. as a marketing coordinator. Previously, she was a marketing coordinator with Lakewood Retirement Community. ’21 MAKENNA EVERS, of Wanchese, N.C., published “A Devotional For The Restless Mind,” a book that combines what she learned from Scripture and her psychological research to provide a resource for those battling mental health issues.

’21 KEARA GADOURY, of Melbourne Beach, Fla., recently began working for Streamline Defense in Northern Virginia. ’21 ABRAHAM GONZALEZ II, of Gadsden, Ala., was offered a promotion with the Department of Veterans Affairs. After completing his MPA last year, he was employed as an online Adjunct Instructor in Criminal Justice with Colorado Technical University’s College of Security Studies. ’21 JENNIFER-RUTH GREEN, of Crown Point, Ind., was recognized by “Newsmax” magazine as one of its African American GOP up-and-comers across the nation. She is currently running to represent Indiana’s first congressional district in Congress. ’21 JOSHUA IRVIN, of Lexington, Ky., recently published, “Destination, My Journey Across the Globe.” This book is the story of his life as a missionary kid and can be found on Amazon. ’21 AMY MCCONNELL, of Woodbridge, Va., published “Second Chances,” under the penname A.S. McConnell. The book is available in all major outlets, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. ’21 THOMAS MCCOY, of Odenville, Ala., has joined the International Christian Network (ICN), after leaving his full-time employment. ’21 APRIL MCKNIGHT, of Belleair Bluffs, Fla., recently became the Executive Director of Shepherd’s Village, a faith-based housing ministry for single mothers and their children. ’21 JOHN SHELTON, of Anderson, S.C., began a nonprofit, “The MORE 3:20 Haven,” which cares for and encourages ministry leaders, pastors, and their spouses. ’21 MICHAEL SPONGBERG, of Franklin, Ind., was recently hired by Vergence Group as a Project Manager supporting government partners to create financial automation systems. ’21 PARIS STOVALL, of Liverpool, N.Y., is a newly published author of “The Esther Experience,” a women’s group study of the biblical book of Esther that relates to the challenges women encounter today.

Purchase the 50 Years of Training Champions for Christ commemorative coffee table book filled with Liberty memories of athletic games, campus events, special concerts, and so much more. Additional merchandise is also available, including mugs, stickers, shirts, and pennants.

Visit Liberty.edu/50-Years/Merchandise or stop by the Liberty University Barnes & Noble Bookstore.

CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM NOLAN PHILLIP BURTON, 86, of Lynchburg., passed away on Nov. 21, 2021. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Patricia Hicks Burton.

He was a longtime member of Thomas Road Baptist Church and worked part time for the church and Liberty since 2003.

2021. He was pursuing his Master of Divinity from Liberty.

CALEB JORDAN MARTIN, 25, of Lynchburg, Va., passed away on Nov. 17, 2021. Caleb was a former member of the Spirit of the Mountain

KOLTON PARKER HELBERT, 27, of Kingsport, Tenn., died in a railroad accident on Dec. 8,

JANE MARCZEWSKI Jane Kristen Marczewski, 31, of Nashport, Ohio, died on Feb. 20 from complications with cancer. The singer went by her stage name, “Nightbirde.”

While at Liberty, she studied advertising and public relations, led worship at her church, and performed at local venues (she was a favorite at Coffeehouse).

Nightbirde is most widely known for her performance on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” last summer, where she was awarded the Golden Buzzer after singing her original song, “It’s OK,” which charted No. 1 on iTunes and also made the Billboard charts. The Golden Buzzer brought the crowd and every judge to their feet in a standing ovation.

“It’s important that everyone knows I’m so much more than the bad things that happen to me,” she said from the stage.

And she reminded the audience, “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore until you decide to be happy.”

Sadly, she had to withdraw from the show shortly after due to her health.

Marczewski was featured in the Summer 2019 Liberty Journal, where she talked about her battle with cancer and her aspirations as a musician. She said she was first encouraged to pursue music as a career while she was a student.

“At Liberty, I was constantly challenged

JAMES BRAN WEISS, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., passed away on Jan. 3. He served 12 years in the Air National Guard and worked for Quad Graphics Inc. for 28 years. James was a professional photographer and helped with the Falwell Ministries when he attended Liberty.

“NIGHTBIRDE” (’13)

with the question, ‘If you could do anything for this world and you knew that you would succeed, what would you do?’” she said. “For me, the answer to that question was always music, but music was never on the radar for me as a career path.

If I had not come to Liberty, I don’t think that I would be doing this. It was pounded into my head that I needed to pursue what I was passionate about.”

She was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 2017 but underwent chemotherapy and was declared cancer-free in July 2018. That’s when she was able to make a resurgence as a musician. In March 2019

she dropped her first single as Nightbirde, and in April she returned to the stage for the first time in years — appropriately at her alma mater. She opened for Tori Kelly in a concert at the Vines Center.

According to her obituary, she cultivated her love for music and ministry during her high school years, when she volunteered with her church’s youth ministry and led worship at Christian events throughout the state. “During college, she continued her love for music by becoming a prolific songwriter and performer,” it reads. “When she was not writing or singing, she shared Jesus with underprivileged youngsters in her neighborhood while providing them snacks after school. When she resided in Nashville, Tenn., she was involved at The Belonging Church leading worship and participating as a youth camp counselor.

She also enjoyed sharing Christ with the women at the Davidson County Jail.

Many now know the Lord because of her evangelism and commitment to Christ.”

Nightbirde’s lasting legacy “will be the gift of hope she communicated through music and the strength she found in Jesus.”

A Celebration of Life Service was held on March 4. Information on the Nightbirde Foundation can be found at GoFundMe.com/f/Nightbirde-Memorial-Fund.

RAC HEL DYWE R

Nightbirde performs at the Vines Center on April 6, 2019. She opened for Tori Kelly, who at the time was fresh off two Grammy Award wins.

Marching Band and served as low brass tech for the band for the last couple years. He was pursuing the B.S. in Music Instrumental.

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COACH-TURNED-EVANGELIST BRINGS THE GOSPEL TO THE NEXT GENERATION

Rick Gage (left) and Liberty Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Will Graham (right) with a group of Liberty alumni and Liberty student interns who are serving with GO TELL camps.

Liberty University alumnus Rick Gage received Christ on Jan. 15, 1984, while an assistant football coach at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Before then, his only goal was to climb the football coaching ranks, striving to become the next Bear Bryant at Alabama. But the Lord led him to Liberty (then called Liberty Baptist College) that same year to serve as running backs coach. After his second season with the Flames, he answered God’s call into evangelistic ministry.

“I eventually lost the ambition for coaching, and God made it clear to me that He was calling me to preach the Gospel,” said Gage, who documented his transformation in his autobiography, “More Than a Game.” “After seeking wise counsel from (Liberty founder) Dr. Jerry Falwell about answering the call to ministry, he offered me a scholarship to attend Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (now the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity).”

Gage founded GO TELL Ministries, which offers camps for youth, and GO TELL Crusades, which conducts evangelistic events around the world. Both are based in Duluth, Ga. “Being at Liberty had a huge influence on my walk with God and my passion for evangelism,” said Gage, who graduated with an M.A. in Religion in 1998. “There was a contagious evangelistic atmosphere that invaded my heart during my years at Liberty and Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC). I will always be indebted to Dr. Falwell for the impact his vision and worldwide ministry had on my life. Oh, how we miss his voice today in this nation.”

Gage’s GO TELL Crusades, featuring popular Christian artists, testimonies of hope and inspiration, and a clear Gospel message, have met a void in reaching small towns

across America with the Good News.

“Gage fills stadiums just as full as the Rev. Billy Graham does,” the Associated Press reported in the 2000s. “It’s just that the stadiums are much smaller. The Texas native takes his GO TELL Crusades to the small towns that other preachers might see from the air on their way to big cities. Like Graham, Gage preaches the same Gospel, offers the same invitation to would-be believers, and sees multitudes walk toward the platform to accept Christ.”

Gage has even taken his ministries to Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and as far away as Russia and Romania, meeting the physical and spiritual needs of families, churches, schools, orphanages, and hospitals through prayer, resource distribution, and street evangelism.

Through it all, Gage has been living out the legacy of his father, the late Dr. Freddie Gage, who led more than 1 million people to saving faith during his five decades of ministry.

(Freddie Gage was the first Southern Baptist evangelist to speak from the pulpit at TRBC in the late 1960s and was preaching the night current TRBC Senior Pastor and Liberty Campus Pastor Jonathan Falwell gave his life to Christ.)

“As I look back on my life, I see that I had a front-row seat to what spiritual impact looks like,” Gage said. “I saw it in my dad’s ministry.

I saw it in Dr. Falwell’s ministry, including his vision and passion for evangelism and Training Champions for Christ. I saw it in Bailey Smith’s ministry and many others, including Billy Graham’s ministry.”

Both Freddie Gage and Bailey Smith served on Liberty’s Board of Trustees.

Now, more than 35 years after Rick Gage left coaching, his burden to reach the lost for Christ is more urgent than ever before.

“The need to reach the next generation has never been greater,” he said, noting the North American Mission Board (NAMB) estimates that of the more than 72 million Generation Z youth (those born in the late 1990s to early 2010s), more than 57 million are unsaved.

Through his GO TELL Camps, more than 100,000 students have been reached with the Gospel message. Over 40,000 have made commitments to Christ; more than 3,000 have surrendered to the ministry.

To further impact the youth of America, Gage has delivered his nationally acclaimed “ON TRACK” school assembly programs, confronting drug and alcohol abuse, to more than 2 million students.

But the summer camps have proven to be the most influential in the spiritual lives of youth during their formative years.

“God has placed a special anointing on these camps,” Gage said. “They are lifechanging weeks.”

Gage said the camps are laser-focused on “keeping the main thing the main thing … preaching the Gospel, evangelizing the lost, and equipping each camper to be a witness for Christ.”

“Many are leaving with a passion for souls and a burden in their hearts to reach their lost family members and lost friends,” he said. “We have hundreds of testimonies of students returning home and reaching their lost moms and dads, brothers and sisters, classmates and teammates.”

Gage told the story of one 16-year-old boy who was saved at a youth camp.

“When he returned home, he led his mom and sister to Christ,” Gage said. “His dad was saved a few months later while I was preaching in their church. That young man today is a graduate of Liberty University and a minister of the Gospel. His dad today is one of the most active and dedicated Christian

CLASS NOTES men in their local church. Their entire family is now complete in Christ because he attended a GO TELL Camp as a 16-year-old.”

Likewise, former Liberty quarterback Christian Newsome, a starter during the 1998-99 seasons, was called to ministry at a GO TELL Camp held at Liberty.

“God got a hold of his heart,” Gage said.

“That fall semester, he changed his major to religion. Today he is the pastor of Journey Church International in Missouri, one of the fastest-growing churches in America.”

Newsome has spoken at several GO TELL Camps since then.

“The spirit of revival and evangelism continues to stir at GO TELL Camps,” he said. “I have never been part of a summer camp ministry that so consistently sees large numbers of students give their lives to Christ, draw near to Jesus with a spirit of repentance and worship, and answer the call to full-time Christian service. Rick Gage and his GO TELL Camp staff continue to create camp experiences that allow church youth groups and students of all ages to experience Jesus at a transformational level.”

Besides Gage, several other Liberty alumni will serve as speakers at a GO TELL Camp on Liberty’s campus June 27-July 1, including Will Graham (’97), son of Franklin Graham

and vice chairman of Liberty’s Board of Trustees; Dr. Monica Brennan (’03, ’07), a Liberty associate professor and director of women’s ministries; Josh Smith (’97), son of Bailey Smith and senior pastor of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Ga., who will be the camp pastor; Flames Football Director of Spiritual Development Ed Gomes (’76, ’85, ’07); Liberty’s Director for Youth Ministry Derik Idol (’03, ’07, ’22); and Jason Lewis (’05, ’10), a senior national recruiter at Liberty better known as the Christian rap artist Humble Tip. Brennan has served as a GO TELL Ministries intern and speaker, teaching teenage girls about the importance of taking a stand for Christ in the areas of purity, modesty, relationships, and identity.

“GO TELL Camps are unique because they not only introduce teenagers to the Lord, but they train youth on how to actively share the Gospel and be disciple-makers,” she said.

More than 100 Liberty students have served as interns with GO TELL Camps over the past two decades, with several receiving scholarships. For McKenzie Wade, this will be her second summer serving with the camp. She will be one of nine Liberty interns.

“Under the staff of GO TELL Ministries, I learned leadership skills and lessons that

will forever have an impact on my life,” Wade said. “I was challenged, stretched, and encouraged to lead with passion, excellence, love, and dedication.”

As his father did for him, Gage has instilled a passion for ministry in his daughters. Sara (’15, ’20) is now on GO TELL Ministries’ staff as an assistant event coordinator after working with crusades and student camps as an intern. Anna (’20), who served in the Passion Residency Program at Louie Giglio’s Atlanta-based Passion City Church, is an evangelism and leadership ministry assistant at the NAMB. Gage and his three brothers are all ordained ministers, including Rodney Gage (’88), the founder and lead pastor of ReThink Life Church in Orlando, Fla. They realize the sense of urgency for spiritual awakening and revival in America.

“There’s a lot of apathy in the church today,” Rick Gage said. “That’s the reason why we need these evangelistic events — to build a fire back into the hearts of God’s people.”

For more information on GO TELL crusades, camps, internships, and missions, visit GOTELLMinistries.com.

SPRING UPDATES FROM YOUR ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE With the trees lining University Boulevard in full bloom, reminding us of the joys of spring, I wanted to bring you a few updates from the Office of Alumni Relations.

At the beginning of the Spring 2022 semester, we launched the Liberty University Alumni Community, and we are so excited to see the growth happening within that platform. The Liberty University Alumni Community is a digital platform that will allow our alumni, students, faculty, and staff to maintain their connection to the campus, each other, and more. Our

alumni will be able to connect with their peers closest to their home, advertise their own business, network with colleagues in their field, and mentor students and soon-to-be graduates. We are excited to bring this platform to you and the campus!

If you would like to join, please visit our website at Liberty.edu/Alumni and click “Alumni Community.”

This school year, we visited several of you in your hometown. To the alumni in Washington, D.C., Houston, and Atlanta, thank you for opening up your city to our office! We were joined by several key leadership members, including Executive Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Shon Muldrow, who spoke to our alumni about all of the new opportunities happening within his division. My office is excited to further our partnership with Mr. Muldrow and the Black Alumni Advisory Board. If you want to learn more about where we will be next, please follow our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and

LinkedIn for updates. As we begin to ramp back up with our events, we hope to see you soon!

Lastly, I would like to encourage alumni to continue sending in your updates. We want to hear from you and your peers. You are the university’s most extraordinary partner! To share your story, visit Liberty. edu/ClassNotes and submit an update on your career, life, or continued success in education.

If you have not returned to campus in a while, I want to personally invite you to visit. The campus has changed so much over the last decade, but two things have not changed: our commitment to Training Champions for Christ and calling Liberty Mountain home.

I cannot wait to meet you here.

Giuseppe Cucci Director of Alumni Relations

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THE PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE 2021 This list recognizes donors whose giving to Liberty University from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2021, qualifies for one of the following categories. $1,000,000 - and above Individuals Juanita P. Holt* George Rawlings Charles R. Stone*

$500,000 - $999,999 Barbara A. Engstrom*

$100,000 - $499,999

Individuals Melvin W. Buster* Jasen & Brandi Cassady Dan Crockett Earl Stoltzfus Charitable Remainder Unitrust Peter McKeown* Daniel & Kathryn Pinkerton Margaret P. Ricks* Organizations BB&T Charitable Fund NAMB dba SEND Network

$50,000 - $99,999

Individuals Mae V. Beuter* Armand Chenelle Jean Camper Conner Virginia I. Erwin* Mark & Michelle Hiepler Jon & Margie Lienemann Dale Miller* Johnnie & Andrea Moore Amber Olson Marlene Senner Richard F. & Linda P. Smith Jimmy & Rhonda Thomas Fredrick J. Timbrook Gilbert & Mary Margaret Tinney Zach & Lisa Tran Organizations K & J Enterprises, Inc. dba McDonalds

$25,000 - $49,999

Individuals Roy R. Anderson Steve Brooks Chris & Cindy Cruz Drew & Mary-Elizabeth Ellenburg Todd & Gillian Granger Norman K. A. Hoffer Kevin & Mary Jones John Koleznar Richard B. Kreider Dan & Jodi Leja William F. Mausolf Mark D. McClure Adeeb F. Mickahail Richard & Karin Osborne Nicklaus D. Phillips Richard P. Schwieter* Jesse & Heather Stephens Dorris D. Williams Barry & Robyn Woodard Organizations Freedom Aviation M.G.W. Communications, Inc. North American Mission Board Permanens Capital LP Runk & Pratt T. Sherwin Cook Foundation

$10,000 - $24,999

Individuals John Baumgardner Jonathan S. Beigle Jeff & Gaye Benson Glenn R. Bowman Sheldon & Shannon Bream Bryce & Shelene Bryan

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Tony & Polly Byrd Ralph & Joan Campbell Barry & Pam Clarkson Paolo Cugnasca Leonard D’Addesi Jason Dandridge Beatrice L. Dickinson* David & Kristi Dolan Brandon Edwards Carrie P. Emery Dennis & Sonya Fields Watt & Jennifer Foster Reuben Gobezie Paul J. Greene, Sr. Darrell & Margaret Hartline Glenn Heard Scott & Melanie Hicks Laura Elizabeth Higginbotham* Carroll & Nancy Hudson Brian & Melissa Hufhand Daniel & Carolee Jones David & Bonnie Keim Reynold F. Keller Janice L. Kulp Louis & Joan LaMay Herbert E. Maxey, Jr. Joel & Elisabeth Maxwell Ian & Heather McCaw Jeff McKay Jeanette C. Miller Karl & Lynnette Miller Bradley W. Mitchel John & Linda Muckel Kevin L. Newport Rachel Polley David Rice Curtis & Renee Robbins* Bill & Wanda Robertson Karl C. Salz Todd & Rachelle Sorensen Gib & Shauna Tinney Willard & Carolyn Tumlin Roy Unsin* Thomas D. Wang Charles & Claudia Wigglesworth Scott & Shelly Wolf Organizations Anderson Construction, Inc. dba Virginia Siteworks Awakening Events, Inc. Beacon Credit Union Boxley Materials Company Carter Bank & Trust Lee & Tonja Hall-Chick-fil-A at Wards Rd & River Ridge Mall Cloudfit Software Community Baptist Church of Englewood Dillman Family, Least of These Found Energy & Automation Environmental Options, Inc. Equity Enterprise 1984, LLC Foster Fuels, Inc. Freedom Defense Group Gentle Shepherd Hospice, Inc. Herr Family Foundation Hill City Pharmacy James R. Vannoy & Sons Construction Co., Inc. KMR Aviation Services, Inc. LifeWay Christian Resources Lynchburg Ready Mix Concrete Co, Inc. Mabry Automotive Group Patel & Dalrymple Attorneys at Law ServPro Of Lynchburg/Bedford & Campbell County SET, Inc. dba Caterpillar Clubhouse Smallwood Family Trust Fund Sodexo, Inc. & Affiliates SponsorUp The Bolick Foundation

The Rosewood Providential Fund Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment, LLC

$5,000 - $9,999

Individuals Anonymous Carter County OK* Daniel Barbir Tony & Kellie Bartlett Glenn Arlan Bashore* Ernest L. & Carolyn G. Bennett* Frederick D. Bornman* Veronica Bratton Robert & Rebecca Caiaze Randy Carr David & Frances Carwile Alvin & Christine Chun Tim & Julie Clinton Ron Cooper Joseph & Nancy Corbin Tony & Beth Cothron Aaron Cox William & Ruth Darr Bob & Sandra Day Lois Mae Duggan Olive M. Eckmann* Louis & Margaret Edwards Richard Eng Thomas & Clarie Eppes Jennifer Fink Greg Fontaine Hugh Freeze Christopher Gentry Bob & Tracey Good Cindy Goodrich Mervyn L. Gray Michael Hardesty Rodney & Melissa Hizy Charles & Shelvie Holmes Greg Huepper Paul & Jacquelyn Johnson Ron & Rachel Justice Dwayne & Gail Kamphuis Donald & Janice Kolts Ladmir J. Kubichek, Jr. Michael & Christina LaFleur Paul Lagerquist Suzanne H. Leebrick Paul Lokey Ritchie & Julie McKay Barbara J. Metzler Wallace & Mayme Miller* Stephen & Tricia Mock Doug & Debbie Monahan Mitch & Elizabeth Morrison Gene & Joyce Myers Thomas Nolen John Petrozelli James Pittman John & Ann Porter Nick & Joan Reichenbach Jim & Patsy Sanders Gary & Traci Schmincke Brandon Scott Mark Scott Anthony Sisti Bryan A. Spooner Dr. Mark W. Steinhoff Jade V. Tan Glen & Teresa Thomas Brian Tonnell Carey Wrenn Paul & Laurie Young Organizations Bates Orthodontics Blue Ridge Bagels & More, Inc. C12 Virginia, LLC Charities Aid Foundation of America Chesapeake RV Solutions Kenny & Jennifer Cobbs Domino’s Pizza Endurance Auto Repair and Tire Freedom First Federal Credit Union

Hurt & Proffitt, Inc. MH Masonry & Associates, Inc. Musser Lumber Company, Inc. Powell’s Truck & Equipment, Inc. R. Coffee, Ltd Ramsey Auto Group RandRFaith Partners Philanthropy RLJ Thompson Trucking Roanoke Valley Harley-Davidson Runk & Pratt Health Care Enterprises, Inc. Southern Air, Inc. The Boyd & Joan Kelley Charitable Foundation The Ellenburg Chair Co., Inc.

$2,500 - $4,999

Individuals David & Kari Adams Anna Alajajian Jason & Aven Alford Carla Allen Rob & Susan Andrews Keith Ashley Jay & Mary Bachar Dennis & Terry Bailey Brenda Baird Tim & Kathy Baldree Ron & Jeris Bashor John M. Beard Billy & Jane Belcher Shawn & Jennifer Bielicki Brandon & Ida Blankinship Keith & Kris Boan Angela Bowers Andy & Linda Bowling Randy & Cynthia Brackett Carrie Bradley Eldon & Dixie Brammer Steve & Patty Brooks David & Pamela Brown Judith I. Brown Bryce & Lori Brumm Elvin & Pam Burford Jeremy Burns Ray Butler Cole Candler Eric Carroll Ernest & Amber Carter Omar Clark Janine Crowe Barry & Melody Dahllof Mark L. D’Arezzo Rick & Angie DeBoard Dianne Deutsch Doug & Sheila Diehl Rich Distler Marianne R. Dutt Chris Eaves Brad Epps Frances Eskridge Charlie & Barbara Falwell Jonathan & Shari Falwell Tina Friar Congressman Bob Goodlatte Carey & Denise Green Cris & Theresa Green Gwenn Harth Aaron Herwig Joel & Theresa Hesch Bernard Holder Michael D. Horne Barbara A. Horstemeyer Rick & Debbie Huff Gunner Ingram James Larry Ingram Scott & Sara Jackson Leslie L. Jacoby, Jr. Jeffrey Jamerson Trevor & Jane Johnson Lee & Janette Jones John Jordan

Marsha & Clayton Justice Linda F. Kay Ira Stephen Kennedy Brian Kirschner Greg Klepper Phill & Deborah Kline Stewart Langley Stevie & Jessica Lloyd Steve & Kathy Lloyd Davance & Torrey Locklear Lance & Stephanie MacKenzie Bradley Madison Kim Magnano David & Linda Martin Michael J. Martin Ben & Megan Mason Jacob B. Mast Jeff & Cindy McCaw Michael P. Meredith Jason & Amy Meyer Mike & Lisa Misjuns P. H. Mitchell, Jr. Andy & Amy Moore J. Arthur Moore* Rich Moore Scott J. Morongell Jeremy Nance Kelly A. Nangle Arthur Nicholson* Scott & Kelli Overton Sean Owen Mike & Donalyn Parker Bill & Vida Parker James Pate Gary & Christine Pearson Beth Picciano Shane Pierce Jason & Rachael Porter William J. Rankin, Jr. Bob Pinto & Dot Richardson Gayle Richmond* David Rockabrand Mike & Kelli Rosas Michael Russo Jack Schewel Matt & Johanna Schubert Troy & Hollie Schultz Jerry Shirer Steve Shockley Cynthia L. Sivertsen Gregory A. Smith Jeff & Galene Staley William D. & Sylvia S. Stevens* Jennifer Stonebreaker Doug & Amy Strohmeier Benjamin Summers Bo & Kipplyn Summers Robert Traylor Edgar & Allison Tuck Sharon H Upton Kaleb & Piper VanDePerre Dan & Rachel Vollmer Gene & Debbie Walker Richard & Ruth Waning Lori Watkins Brian Wesbury Jade White Organizations 701 Korean Church A.G. Jefferson Opticians Amherst Dry Cleaners, Inc. Atlantic Shores Baptist Church Blue Ridge Apothecary C12 Mid-Atlantic, LLC Capital Repair Services, LLC City of Salem & Salem City Schools Curtains, Blinds & Bath Cutz for Guys English Construction Company, Inc. Fill the Gap Concerts First Bank & Trust Company Friendship United Methodist Church

G. F. Walls Agency, Inc. Great Bridge Auto Service Greenfields Outdoor Fitness HSC Wealth Advisors Impact Living Services Law Office of Jesus Reyes, PLLC OrthoVirginia, Inc. Purple Princess Properties, Inc. PWD Window & Door SBC of Virginia Foundation Sonny Merryman, Inc. The H.T. Hackney Company Inc. The Upside Travel Company, LLC The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company W.E.L., Inc. WACH Marketing, Inc. William & Pamela Malinchak Foundation Zaki Gordon Memorial Charitable Gift Fund

$1,000 - $2,499

Individuals Margaret Ackerman Wendy Adamek Paige Ake Dr. & Mrs. Gregg Albers John Albers Pastor Harold I. Albert David Allen Warren & Ann Andersen Celia Anderson Jean W. Anderson Bob & Sue Anderson Wes Anderson Dr. & Mrs. William R. Armstrong Doward F. Austin Christie Bailey Lisa Baird Cindy Baker Kenneth & Sharon Barclay Jean Barham Kevin & Susan Barringer Craig D. Bartel Gary & Jovita Barton Leslie Becker Rodney & Marlee Beckom Beverly Bedell Kristie Beitz David & Lori Belk Jenice Bennett Stephen & Barbara Bennett James D. Berens Kyle Bettis Al & Lisa Billingsly Lance & Kelly Bingham Dale & Tina Birdsall Ryan Z. Bizeau Doug & Pattie Blohm Daniel Bones Bob Bonheim Roger Boring Cheryl Bowman James E. Brandt Bernadette E. Bream Leroy & Joan Bream Sid & Michele Bream Richard & Deborah Britton Lillian S. Brockway Thad & Elizabeth Brundrett Dr. Kendrick & Lelanda Brunson Paul & Laurel Brusseau David Bryant Jane C. Bryant Jacob Buckett Vallejo Bullis* Eliza Bushn Elizabeth Campbell Tina C. Campbell Joe & Martha Caro Paul Carrasco John & Phyllis Carstens Eric & Ginny Cashion Shikara Cerak Jefferey W. Chandler Kathleen L. Chumley Cristina Clark Wendell A. Clifton Rolland & Carolyn Coburn

Mike Coder Huyla Coker Marsha W. Coker Larry & Barbara Compter Trey Cooley Frank & Jessica Corley Andy & Becky Covington Josh & Carrie Cox Susan T. Crane Tom F. Craven, Jr. Gordon R. Crawford Eston Leon Crickenberger* Johnny & Anne Crist Larry & Karon Cumberland Brian E. Daenzer Leora Elizabeth Daniel* Gregg & Dana Davidson Ryan Davis Scott T. Davis Martin de Haas Junessa A. DeBiasi Epperly Doug & Julia Deming Thomas J. Diedrich Mark & Donna Diehl Thomas & Elizabeth DiPaolo Keith W. Dishman Tim & Kathy Donlin Kirk & Marilee Dorn Derek & Stacy Doss Glen & Diane Ebert Herschel L. Elder, III Philip Engle Dave Estes James Ettara Beth E. Fallin Tim Fancher Linda L. Farver Kurt Fellenstein Vicky M. Fenimore Lois E. Fergerson Chris & Pam Ficco Jim & Tracy Fisher Christopher E. Fogal John Fornecker Everett & Dianne Foutz Dee Franklin Stafford Frederick Larry & Judy Fredricks Kirk Fritz Bill Fry Samuel D. Gaillard, III Carol Garrett Lydia V. Garrett Robert W. Garthwait, Jr. Teresa George Frank Gibb Lee & Donna Gibson Karen Gilbert Larry & Mary Lou Gilbert David P. Gilmore Rod & Tammie Gladfelter Madison Glynn Nancy Gregory Donald & Roxey Group C. Haan Mike & Erin Hagen Steven D. Hall Jan Halvorsen Bob Handwerker Kirk & Jannie Handy Christopher & Amy Hara Craig Hardee Carol A. Harris Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Harris Cora W. Harvey Calvin & Pam Hatchell Owen & Maryellen Heinrich* Jeff & Allison Helgeson Troy Henderson Dr. Jeffrey D. Hendrix Ramiro & Stephanie Hernandez Tim & Christy Hill Dr. & Mrs. Ed Hindson Dr. Mark & Toy Hine Gary Hingst George & Barbara Hoffman Donald W. & Sandra J. Holdridge Scott Hooks Tim Houghton

Jackie S. Houser Lucy Hudson Frederick Huenefeld Rachel L. Huenefeld Daniel Hull Kenneth Humbert Edward A. Hunt, III Jay Todd Hunt Daniel Huss Alan Hutchinson Clovis L. Jackson Vicklon O. Jaynes Tamara L. Johnson Kathryn C. Jones Eric & Susan Jones Todd Jones David Kaetterhenry Justina Karali Evan & Heather Keebler Michael B. Keever Barry G. Kelley Roy J. Kelley Joseph Kersey Kevin & Lori Keys Jay & Bridgett King Randy Klaus Sharon J. Kopis Mitch Kruse William Lam Robert S. Landon Andrew Law Lane Lee Donna Leonard Sandra J. Lessard Betty Lewis Blane & Terrie Lewis Paul M. Lilly Randal & Debbie Linville Randy Lively James & Deborah Livingston William & Susann Livingston Carl A. Lofgren Tom Lougheed Dianelys Machado Andrew Maggard Phyllis Maire Brock & Ronda Malcolm Jon Manson Dave & Amy Mapes David Mathena Kathy McCavanagh Linda McDaniel Charlotte R. McGhee Mark & Heather McGrew Toby McKeehan Tracey McPherson Andrew W. Meadows William D. Meeks Mark G. Minar Jeff Minard Caralynn Moore Scott & Tara Morgan Wayne & Deb Mullin Mark Murphy Dayton Neeley Gary & Karen Nelson Spencer Newcomb Wendy Nichols Dr. & Mrs. Jerry C. Nims Yvonne Norman-Rice Ben Novak Joann P. Oledan George & Tammy Page Linwood & Trudy Parker Pam Parks Debra Patsel Rory & Cheryl Patterson Todd & Rachel Patulski Samantha A. Peebles Billy & Crystal Peele Michael Phillips Rodney Phillips Matthew Poland Michael L. Polley Andrew & Miriam Prantner Ted & Nancy Preusser Mark Priest Peggy M. Profitt Charles & Sandy Prowant

John & Janna Pyle Michael J. Renfrew Harry & Susan Repstad Kelly Reyes Dr. & Mrs. James L. Rhoades Steve & Rachel Ridout Sue Robinson Anthony Rodgers Daniel R. Rodriguez Dr. William & Amy Roller Wes & Robbin Ruiz Dean Rust Josann G. Rutsch Gerald Ryan Joshua Ryskamp Lloyd Sanderlin Dr. & Mrs. Earl Sargeant Mary Ann Saunders Sallie J. Schaeffer Bob & Pam Schmidt William J. Schnarr Jonathan B. Schubert Roger & Ann Schultz Kurt T. Seelig Norman Seitz Todd Sheive Samantha M. Shivock Charles Shotmeyer Darlene Simile Archie & Carlita Smith Darrell D. Smith David B. Smith Dave & Kim Smith Karyn Smith Ray Smith Rick Smith Rodney & Maxine Smith James G. Snashall Georgia Anne Snyder-Falkinham Michael & Cynthia Sobiesiak Sam Sorbello Jim & Michelle Sorenson Bartel L. Spinelli Kathie Sprinkle Anna L. Steadman Ralph Stephens F. M. Stevenson Daniel & Heather Stogsdill Leana Stoltz Michael & Barbara Stone Alison Strange Bob & Sara Straub John W. Strother Kevin & Brittany Struble Barbara G. Stunz Terri Suggs Brian & Amanda Summers Hendrick Tabue Douglas Taylor Eric & Lesa Taylor Troy & Karla Temple Norman G. Templeton John & Anne Thompson Brant & Nancy Tolsma Derek Towery James O. Trout, Jr. Toni Troxell Sarah K. Truslow Jeff & Abby Tuomala Cynthia Turner Louise Underwood Dr. Richard D. Urwiller Nick & Delores Van Belkum Michael Varner Robin P. Vestal Mike Vicars Dr. Fred & Joanne Volk Matthew Waligora Deborah Walker John Walton Eleanore J. Warner Gretchen Wemple Mike & Donna Weston Duke & Carlene Westover David & Debbie Wheeler Charles E. Whetzel, Jr. Sonny & Sharon White Alan R. Whitlow

Beverly Wiley Charles R, Williams, Jr. Katherine Williams George & Peggy Wilson Wendell O. Wilson Wyatt & Gwen Wilson Donald G. Wingfield Faye P. Witt Donna Woodson Rupert Wright Dr. Lian-Tuu & Mrs. Arlene Yeh David Young George Young Steve & Tracey Young Gary G. Zimmerman Mike Zumpano Organizations 5 Points Creative B2C Enterprises, LLC Babies and Children, Inc. Bair of Virginia Beacon Wealth Consultants, Inc. Benchmark Benefits Blue Ridge Women’s Center Bull Run Assembly of God BWX Technologies, Inc. Cardinal Environmental Consultants, LLC Central Baptist Church of Hixson Tennessee Citation Oil & Gas Corp.

Coleman-Adams Construction, Inc. Costar Realty Crossing Paths, LLC dba Beltone Carolina Virginia Custom Siding & Remodeling, LLC Deck N Yard, LLC Doyle’s Florist, Inc. Dr. Andre Truter, Inc. Dr. James Burton, D.M.D. East Side Rides, LLC Enterprise Holdings Foundation Faith Fellowship Church, Inc. Fidelity Charitable First Baptist Church of Roanoke Garber-Lowe Fence, Inc. Glens Transmission & Automotive Grace Community Church - Lynchburg Grace Community Church - Arlington Holman Masonry, Inc. Holt Family Foundation Ignite Men, LLC Interacvault, Inc. Life Changing Productions, Inc. LifeHouse Church M.O.T.S., Delaware London Bridge Baptist Church Mardel Christian & Education Supply Marsh & McLennan Agency, LLC Miller Farms Mizell’s Hauling, Inc. Newman Electrical, LLC Parkwood Baptist Church, Inc. Perimeter Roofing VA, LLC Rasmussen Excavation, LLC Redeemer Church Rejoice Ministries, Inc. Rhema Christian Center Richmond Center for Christian Study S&R Cleaning & Floor Services of Roanoke Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, Inc. Shenandoah Valley Baptist Church Spears Consulting Group, LLC Stewart Langley Properties, LLC Swift Creek Baptist Terry Volkswagen Subaru Wisecarver Ranch Beef World Help

* Estate Gift If we have omitted, misspelled, or misplaced your name, please accept our apologies and notify our office by calling toll-free (866) 602-7983.

For more information on planned giving to Liberty University, visit Liberty.edu/Giving or call (800) 543-5309.

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