Liberty University

Liberty University is a Christian liberal arts university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was founded as Liberty Baptist College in 1971 by conservative Christian Jerry Falwell, who is also the Senior Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Related Topics:
Christian - University - Lynchburg, Virginia - 1971 - Conservative Christian - Jerry Falwell - Thomas Road Baptist Church

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The University is a member of the Division I level Big South Conference for 17 sports. The other eight members include Birmingham Southern College and Winthrop University. http://www.bigsouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800&KEY=&ATCLID=130599 The University regularly competes for the Sasser Cup which is the Big South's trophy for the university which has the winningest sports program among the member institutions. Liberty has won the Sasser Cup five times, second only to Coastal Carolina, which has won it seven times. http://www.bigsouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800&KEY=&ATCLID=131062

Related Topics:
Big South Conference - Sasser Cup

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Liberty is also known for its Intercollegiate Debate program. Led by Dr. Brett O'Donnel, Liberty routinely takes top honors in the National Debate Association and American Debate Association points rankings. It has, however, earned a very negative reputation amongst other debate schools for their perceived cheap ways of winning, including sending massive amounts of poor teams (quantity over quality), theft of evidence, and arrogance amongst their debators. They are often the victim of debate-oriented jokes.

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Rev. Falwell's original vision was to build the university as large as Notre Dame and Brigham Young University, with 25,000 students on campus and another 25,000 in External Degree Programs. The institution has faced a series of financial crises over the years and, as time passes, the fulfillment of these original ambitions look increasingly unlikely. Students who live on campus attend convocation three times per week where they learn from speakers in all walks of professional life. Past speakers have included Leonard Davidson, Sam Donaldson, the first President Bush, John R. Rice, Oliver North, Jesse Jackson, Skip Erickson, Freddie Gage, Billy Graham and Sean Hannity.

Related Topics:
Notre Dame - Brigham Young University - Sam Donaldson - President Bush - Billy Graham - Sean Hannity

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Current undergraduate enrollement is close to 8,000 http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=6916. Liberty University continues to invest, with 19 new dormitory buildings and a tunnel connecting the north and south ends of the campus completed for the fall semester of 2004. Other projects include over 800,000 square feet (74,000 m²) of space for a student center, the moving of Thomas Road Church and Lynchburg Christian Academy to a property adjacent to the Main Campus, the expansion of student activity facilities, and a new Law School and Library. The University has official ties with Thomas Road Baptist Church, the church that founded the University. Rev. Falwell has repeatedly emphasized the important partnership between the two institutions.

Related Topics:
2004 - Thomas Road Baptist Church

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The university has a very strict code of student behavior, including possible fines for attending dances, viewing R-rated movies, and participating in unauthorized petitions.http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=1378 On several occasions Falwell has described it as 'Bible Boot Camp' and in its early years exhorted its students to burn it down if it 'ever turns liberal'. There has been little danger however as breeze block and corrugated iron is not very combustible. In the summer of 2005, the university announced that it was slightly relaxing its dress code to allow flip-flops, capri pants, jeans, and other casual articles of clothing (but not shorts) to be worn in the classroom. Similar behavioral codes apply to faculty members, each of whom is working under a contract including terms that the faculty members in question agree to abide by those behavioral codes. Utilizing 'non-tenured teaching faculty' is a matter of pride to Falwell http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=6909, as it allows the Administration to keep a firm grip on the behavior of the academic community. As Falwell once stated, 'When we ask a faculty member be dismissed when he's teaching something wrong, our president understands and it's good to do that - because your paycheck may not be coming along next week if you don't'. The expertise of the teaching staff varies, from the ideologically committed with little academic background to top flight scholars. The record for the accolade of 'Teacher of the Year', an award that is determined by the student body itself, is held by Del Rey Loven, now a Professor at Judson College, who received the distinction three times.

Related Topics:
2005 - Dress code - Flip-flops - Capri pants - Jeans

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Liberty University started a new graduate program in Communication Studies in 2004. The Master of Arts in Communication Studies http://www.liberty.edu/Academics/Graduate/index.cfm?PID=6048 accepted its first class in 2004 and was approved by the SACS accrediting body in November 2004.

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The University gained some media attention in the winter of 2005 when the women's basketball team, the Lady Flames, made the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and were labelled a "Cinderella Team". After defeating fourth-seeded Penn State and fifth-seeded DePaul, the Flames' winning streak was halted by top seeded Louisiana State University.

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U.S. News & World Report ranked Liberty University in the 4th tier of Southern Master's Universities. The magazine ranked its selectivity as "Less Selective." With annual fees of over $13,000, excluding room and board, it is the most expensive university in its class, costing over twice the average of other universities in its ranking. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/univmas/umsouth/tier4/t4univmas_s_brief.php

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