On this page you’ll find all of our investigative reporting on Liberty University and the Falwell family.
New Leaders at Liberty University, Museum of the Bible, and David C. Cook Have Great Opportunities, Daunting Challenges
For Liberty, Museum of the Bible, and David C. Cook, this changing of the guard is not hypothetical.
Liberty University President Dondi E. Costin, said the school faces an “unprecedented fine” of $34.7 million.
Liberty University claimed it was a safe campus while repeatedly breaking federal safety regulations
Liberty University repeatedly broke federal safety regulations, destroyed records, and failed to warn students about both executives and students involved in episodes of sexual violence, according to a confidential report.
Falwell Jr. alleged several board members diverted university funds to private causes and overlooked sexual misconduct by former leaders.
The ongoing legal battle between Liberty University and Jerry Falwell Jr. has taken yet another twist, with the disgraced former president of the school alleging misconduct by its board of directors and attempting to ban the university from using images of his late father.
Regular MinistryWatch readers know that Christian colleges and universities are in a state of crisis.
Samford & Abilene Christian Move Into Top 10, Moody Bible Institute Is Biggest Mover
This list is compiled from the most recent data available from the Internal Revenue Service, which in all cases but one (North Park University) means we used 2022 data.
In a statement, a Liberty University spokesperson insisted the school 'is confident it will ultimately prevail in this case.'
Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University, is suing the school, arguing administrators are committing trademark infringement by using the late Jerry Falwell Sr.’s likeness without consulting with the family.
Liberty University Again Tops “Pastors and Planes” List
April was a busy month for pastors and their planes.
Liberty University has named as its new president Dondi E. Costin, the outgoing president at Charleston Southern University.
Jerry Falwell Jr. is suing Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, claiming his former employer has withheld $8.5 million in retirement benefits that were previously promised to him.
A former administrative dean for academic operations is suing Liberty University (LU) for $20 million, alleging they fired him because he was a whistleblower.
The new documentary “God Forbid” includes the claims by Giancarlo Granda of a yearslong sexual relationship with Becki Falwell under the blessing of her husband, the then-president of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr.
At Liberty University, Veterans’ Complaints Keep Coming
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit twelve women brought last summer against Liberty University, accusing the Christian institution of fostering an unsafe environment on its Virginia campus and mishandling cases of sexual assault and harassment.
This story was published by ProPublica. It is reprinted with permission. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive their biggest stories as soon as they’re published. The federal Department of Education has begun investigating Liberty University’s handling of student reports of sexual assault. In a statement to ProPublica, the school pledged its “full cooperation” with the investigation. Last October, ProPublica revealed how the school, which was founded by…
A Washington, D.C.-area law firm has filed a complaint in a Virginia District Court alleging Liberty University failed to properly investigate a student’s report that she was raped by another student and retaliated against her after she made the report.
Recently, Jerry Falwell, Jr. and his wife, Becki, were interviewed in the pages of Vanity Fair about their precipitous fall from grace.
A group of Liberty University students and alumni plans to hold a prayer rally on the school’s campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, today (Nov. 4), calling for an independent, third-party investigation of Liberty’s handling of sexual assault and harassment cases.
Universities across the country have long faced scrutiny for their handling, and mishandling, of sexual assault cases. But Liberty University’s responses to such cases stand out.
A former vice president of Liberty University is suing one of the nation’s largest Christian schools, alleging he was fired after he complained about how Liberty handled sexual assaults on campus.
12 anonymous women filed suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court
A new lawsuit against Liberty University claims the Lynchburg, Virginia-based evangelical Christian school has “intentionally created a campus environment” that makes sexual assaults and rapes more likely to occur.
The school said in a statement that President Jerry Prevo had determined that hiring Edwards was ‘among his predecessor’s mistakes.’
A former NFL player who served as a diversity officer at Liberty University has sued the Christian school for $8 million, claiming his firing violated the Civil Rights Act and the Virginia Human Rights Act.
Jerry Falwell Jr., his rise and fall from grace at Liberty University, and his support of former President Donald Trump constitute the subject of the third season of the C13Originals podcast “Gangster Capitalism,” hosted by filmmaker and TV producer Adam Jenks.
Liberty University claims its former president failed to live up to the school's moral code.
Liberty University, one of the nation’s largest Christian universities, is suing former President Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million, citing a breach of contract and a conspiracy to mislead the university’s board.
Liberty University has named Rev. Jonathan Falwell as the university’s new campus pastor following the resignation Wednesday of David Nasser, who will leave at the end of the semester.
The son of former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has left the school, vacating his post as vice president of university operations roughly eight months after his father resigned in the wake of scandal.
Liberty University has declined to renew the contract for conservative activist Charlie Kirk at the think tank he founded along with Jerry Falwell Jr. Kirk has also revealed that he will be pivoting to a new faith-rooted initiative.
Liberty University sued Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Friday (Jan. 8), accusing his administration of wrongfully denying financial aid to some of the evangelical school’s online students.
A new petition from a group calling itself Liberty United Against Falkirk is calling for Liberty University to shut down the Falkirk Center, a conservative political think tank at the evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. The petition reportedly had been signed by more than 400 Liberty students and recent graduates as of Tuesday (Dec. 29), according to The Christian Post. “Students at Liberty are tired of having our witness tarnished by association with a…
Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has dropped a lawsuit in which he claimed the school he once led defamed him after he resigned this summer in the wake of a sex scandal.
Former Liberty University president Jerry Falwell announced Monday that he is suing Liberty University, saying the school damaged his reputation after his resignation from the school.
Liberty confirmed in a statement Tuesday (Oct. 20) that the Virginia-based school has retained Baker Tilly US, a global forensic accounting firm, to conduct the wide-ranging review of business practices during the tenure of Jerry Falwell Jr. The inquiry, as first announced by the school board at the end of August, will cover financial, real estate, and legal matters.
Several Christian colleges and universities freeze or cut tuition to make Christian education more accessible
Gordon College is among several Christian colleges and universities cutting or freezing tuition this year in an effort to make private Christian higher education more accessible.
A key reason for Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s departure from Liberty University was an Instagram photo showing Falwell with his pants unbuttoned, on a luxury yacht. According to Politico, the yacht is owned by billionaire NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick. Falwell’s family has been using the yacht for family vacations since Liberty University committed to a lucrative sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports.
Less than a week after resigning as president of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. was injured in a fall after drinking, according to 911 transcripts and audio obtained by the Huffington Post.
Liberty University is opening an independent investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that will include financial, real estate, and legal matters, the evangelical school’s board announced Monday.
Jerry Falwell, Jr., has behaved in ways that would have gotten him fired from leadership in most Christian organizations, and many non-Christian organizations.
Falwell: “I haven’t done anything.”
Jerry Falwell Jr. will get $10.5 million as part of his severance package after resigning as president from Liberty University following allegations of a sex scandal.
Jerry Falwell Jr., the embattled president of Liberty University, has resigned from the evangelical Christian university founded by his father.
Jerry Falwell Jr. says that his wife’s affair and the strain of keeping it secret has contributed to his depression.
Unfortunately, in many cases, the longer leaders remain in leadership, the more relaxed they become about their principles and convictions. They lose sight of their original purpose, living disconnected from what they preach to others.
Lessons for Ministry Leaders
For leaders of religious institutions, social media can be another way to share their public messages and a peek into their private lives. But it can also backfire.
Jerry Prevo, who has served as chairman of the school’s board of trustees since 2003 and recently retired as the senior pastor of a Baptist church in Alaska, will assume the role of acting president immediately, Liberty said in a news release.
The Executive Committee of Liberty University’s Board of Trustees, acting on behalf of the full Board, met today and requested that Jerry Falwell, Jr. take an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as President and Chancellor of Liberty University, to which he has agreed, effective immediately. The board’s action is a response to Falwell posting a photo of himself with a woman on his yacht, both had their shirts hiked up and their pants…
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. spoke to a local radio station about Instagram photos that sparked controversy earlier this week.
Black LU Alumni Calling for Resignation
Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. apologized yesterday as black alumni demanded his resignation for tweeting an offensive image as part of a jab at Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s social distancing policies.
Liberty University philosophy professor Mark Foreman wrote on his Facebook page yesterday: “Liberty University has chosen to completely dissolve the philosophy department. As of June 30, I am unemployed.” Liberty University’s philosophy department has seven faculty members, including Gary Habermas, one of the best-known Christian apologists in the nation. Habermas is 69 years old. UPDATE May 15: Habermas reported on social media that he had not been laid-off. He confirmed that the philosophy department had been eliminated, and…
