Liberty Journal Fall 2025 by Liberty University

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

TRADES TRAINING

PAYS OFF

PARENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

Q&A WITH DALLAS & AMANDA JENKINS MEDICAL MISSIONS

STUDENT-DOCTORS TRAVEL ABROAD

JERRY FALWELL MUSEUM LU’S HISTORY ON DISPLAY

Abigail

Christian

Logan

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Joel

Jessie

Matt

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

FEATURES

4| MEDICAL MISSIONS

LUCOM students tend to communities in El Salvador, Eswatini, Kenya, and here at home.

8| LEADING WITH CARE

Alumna Janet Kelly (’98) serves Virginia families as Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

10| CAPITAL GAINS

From music to government, law, health, and advocacy, students experience Washington, D.C.

14| PARENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

“The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins and his wife, Amanda, share what it’s like to send their children to LU.

18| TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

Enhanced offerings in the skilled trades are preparing students for in-demand careers.

20| MASTER OF HIS CRAFT

The handiwork of longtime employee Dave Morgan can be seen all across the Liberty campus.

24| HEARTBREAK TO HEALING

Professor uses past tragedy to help students deal with difficult faith questions as new director of the Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement.

26| GRAND CELEBRATION

The 52nd Commencement honored Liberty’s largest graduating class with an impactful speech and spectacular drone show.

30| JERRY FALWELL MUSEUM

From its new space in the Hancock Welcome Center, the museum charts the founder’s life, legacy, and vision.

NEWS & VIEWS

34| IN TIME OF NEED

Students assist cleanup efforts from wildfires that ravaged neighborhoods near Los Angeles last January.

38| EXPLORE THE ARTS

Plan for exciting music, art, and theatre events this school year.

40| SCHOLARS’ VIEWPOINT

Introducing Liberty’s new Global Center for Human Flourishing ON THE COVER

A drone show lights up the sky above Williams Stadium during the Main Commencement Ceremony on May 9.

ATHLETICS

50| GO FLAMES, GO GOD

A fitting mantra for a historic season of Liberty Softball

52| BURNING BRIGHT

Liberty Athletics and Club Sports highlights from the 2024-25 season

56| A STORY TO TELL

NBC sports broadcaster Pat Doney (’07) shares God’s special gift through adoption.

ALUMNI & FRIENDS

58| ETERNAL PURPOSE

Josh Cooley (’96) keeps the Gospel the focus through successful careers in sports, ministry, and publishing.

62| CLASS NOTES

Alumni news and updates

ON THE MOVE

Students from the Department of Social Work ride camels on a beach in Tangier, Morocco, during Spring Break. The trip was designed as an opportunity to explore international diversity within the social work field. Students met with social service agencies, such as the Lisbon Project, an organization serving immigrants and refugees in Portugal; Guadalsalus, a substance misuse treatment center for women in Seville, Spain; Cross World, a missions organization aiding in refugee resettlement in Malaga, Spain; and a women’s empowerment organization and children’s cultural center in Morocco.

About 330 students joined 14 universitysponsored trips over Spring Break. The trips, facilitated by the LU Send Office, covered a variety of academic disciplines and spanned 14 countries across four continents. Many of the trips offered academic credit and chances to participate in service and missions. LU Send trips help equip students to become Champions for Christ by providing ways to experience their faith and education in action as they explore God’s beautiful world alongside their professors and classmates. The trips give students once-ina-lifetime experiences where they can cultivate lifelong friendships and increase their global awareness and cultural engagement. Learn more at Liberty.edu/OSD/LU-Send

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Pick up your stone and live out God’s story for your life

Liberty University’s Class of 2025 — one of the largest in our history — was sent out from our campus in May ready for the rest of God’s story to be written in their lives. Addressing our graduates in Williams Stadium during our Main Commencement Ceremony, I reminded them that their commissioning from Liberty Mountain into the world is a flip of the page in this story, the beginning of a chapter that will tell the tale of God’s faithfulness. Our stories begin before our first breaths, and God assigns us a mission in a story where He is the main character. Liberty University’s purpose is to train young people to follow that mission, live life for the good of others, and give the glory to God as each chapter unfolds.

Liberty is a place where both academic scholarship and fearless faith intertwine, preparing young men and women to face challenges, overcome insurmountable odds, and even change the course of history. During the ceremony, I recounted

the story of David, the familiar biblical account of a young man with a stone, a sling, and an unshakable faith, who took down a giant and, indeed, changed the course of history. The story was fitting because we were honored to host the director and main actors from the new Prime Video series “House of David” in Convocation this past spring (see accompanying story). David’s story reminds us that God chooses His champions not based on their outward appearance but on the extent to which their hearts are set on Him. The same God in Whom David placed his faith, Who put the stone at David’s feet, is the God Who is still equipping the faithful — Champions for Christ — to do miraculous things in our world today and, Lord willing, change the course of history once again.

At Liberty we equip and encourage our students to stand firm, grounded in the unchanging Word of God, strengthened by a community of believers, and inspired by the over 300,000 Champions for Christ

who have gone before. Our students are challenged to live boldly for Christ wherever He takes them. Our keynote speaker for Commencement, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, encouraged our graduates to use their intellect, hope, faith, and love to impact the world. (Read more about our 52nd Commencement on Page 26).

When we operate in the power of God, our actions can achieve what others say is impossible. Liberty University was built by the power of God, and it continues to be fueled by that same power and provision. With every milestone passed, every opportunity celebrated, may the Lord be magnified, and may our story point others to Him.

Each semester I have the privilege of preaching from God’s Word during our weekly Campus Community gatherings on Wednesday nights. Our spring semester series, “He Is,” opened the book of Colossians and examined what it says

about the attributes of God. I reminded our students that each of them has a résumé that they carry with them into their future careers. Colossians 1:15-20 serves as Christ’s résumé, listing His supreme roles as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. From planets to particles, all things were created by Him and for Him, leading us to spend our lives worshipping Him, following Him, and being conformed to His image. I urged students to recognize and respond to God’s supremacy, placing Christ in His rightful place of dominion over every aspect of their lives. Nothing is more important at Liberty than encouraging students to embrace that response.

According to Oxford University’s World Happiness Report, the United States

ranks just 24th in happiness among the 150 countries evaluated. Despite greater wealth, comforts, and freedoms relative to other parts of the world, the American population is unhappy. Why? Because we have gone our own way rather than aligning ourselves with God’s design. Building the life we want is never the path to meaning, purpose, and joy. Instead, allowing God to build the life He wants for us is the story God has in mind. When God’s story overlaps our story, we finally have a real chance to live happily ever after, regardless of the obstacles we face along the way.

Regardless of the setting, the job of every Champion for Christ is to work, live, and serve as if he or she is doing it all for

the Lord. Everything we do is under God’s authority — for His glory and others’ good. God calls us to be innovative, excellent, loving, and humble. He calls us to pick up the stones He places in front of us and use them to do His will. Because He publishes bestsellers that only He can write, things go so much better when we let the pen stay in His hand. Thankfully, Liberty University is a key part of His story, and I cannot wait to see what He writes next.

director visit Liberty

The stars of “House of David,” the Prime Video series depicting the story of David from the Bible, visited campus on Feb. 26, the day before the series released. Creator, director, and producer Jon Erwin joined cast members Michael Iskander (David) and Martyn Ford (Goliath) on the Convocation stage. Later in the afternoon, the actors spoke to cinematic arts students about the making of the show.

Erwin said he had been stirred to tell the story of David for decades, beginning as a child when he visited David’s tomb in Israel.

“It took a long time to get to a story like this,” Erwin said. “All of the films I made before this — like ‘Jesus Revolution’ or ‘I Can Only Imagine’ — were about preparing and trying to get the skill set to tell David’s

story. This has been a career-long quest.”

Iskander said he sees playing David as truly “worship to the Lord.” He found it easier than expected to develop skills like playing the lyre and singing, thanks to his previous role in the cast of the Broadway musical “Kimberley Akimbo.” His ability to sling stones was aided by his past as a high school athlete in discus and shot put.

Erwin said the current standing of the entertainment industry allows Christian projects to reach larger audiences, and “House of David” is his biggest release yet.

“We’re in an unprecedented moment in the entertainment industry on behalf of Christianity and (faith) values,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s because our voice has been so clearly heard; the power of our unified voice

has created this moment. The industry is taking notice.”

View the Convocation at Watch.Liberty.edu or on YouTube.

‘House of David’ actors,

‘House of David’ cast members Martyn Ford (Goliath) and Michael Iskander (David) visited Liberty in February.

Dondi E. Costin | President

Medical Missions

LUCOM

STUDENT-DOCTORS TEND

TO

COMMUNITIES NEAR AND FAR

BY RYAN KLINKER

Student-doctors from Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine are choosing to be healers and helpers in their careers through medicine. In the midst of their arduous coursework, they are grasping opportunities outside the classroom to serve others both medically and missionally throughout the year, all for the glory of

Whether they are volunteering in the small southeastern African country of Eswatini, in Central America, or just a short drive from Liberty’s campus, the medical students are using their growing knowledge and hearts for service to provide physical and spiritual care. Through the vessel of medicine, they are sharing the Gospel and being lights for Christ.

OMS-II (secondyear medical student) Kristen Vaughn assesses a young patient during a mobile bus clinic in Cuyultitán, El Salvador.

LUCOM Professor Dr. Charles Joseph, students, and Harvesting in Spanish staff pray before seeing patients in El Salvador.

TOP LEFT: OMS-III Moses Choi cares for a patient at Harvesting in Spanish’s four-story clinic, Centro Médico Familiar Shalom (Shalom Family Medical Center).

BOTTOM LEFT: OMS-II Logan Murphy talks with a patient during a mobile clinic. BELOW: The LUCOM group (three faculty members and 11 student-doctors) stand in front of the medical center.

During LUCOM’s Spring Break, March 24-29, a team of 11 student-doctors and three faculty traveled to El Salvador to care for patients at five different sites throughout the week. The area health clinics were held in collaboration with Harvesting in Spanish and its ministry for orphaned or abandoned children, the Shalom Children’s Home. The team used the organization’s four-story clinic in the town of Santiago Texacuangos as its main location for the clinics. On two days, they used a mobile bus clinic to visit two villages — Cuyultitan and Santo Tomás — and a Youth with a Mission compound in the region.

During the clinics, student-doctors gathered the patient’s medical history, completed a physical examination pertinent to the symptoms, and then presented it to a LUCOM professor who continued assessing the patient and provided treatment. Current OMSIII (third-year student) Moses Choi said the experience was essentially his introduction to interacting with a patient in his second year at LUCOM, as LUCOM students spend their first two years in the

El Salvador, Central America

program doing pre-clinical simulations in addition to lectures and course reading.

“As much as LUCOM does a fantastic job at simulating those different patient encounters through our standardized patient examinations, we know in the back of our heads that it is a simulation. But this was truly interactive, like we were part of the medical team, and that was really cool to experience,” Choi said. “It was refreshing to talk with people with medical issues and be a part of clinical medicine.”

“We did this trip because it gives the students hands-on experience in a supervised environment,” said Dr. Russell Melton, assistant professor of family medicine at LUCOM and the trip leader. “There’s interaction between students, there’s certainly a cultural experience, and it’s a missions opportunity. We have students who are interested in missions, and we want to give them the opportunity to explore that and let God use that in their lives and futures. The bedrock of the trip was being a light as Christians, spreading the Gospel and working with Christian organizations to help build the Kingdom around the world.”

The March trip was the third time Melton has led a trip to El Salvador to work with Harvesting in Spanish, including last spring and fall.

Thanks to Spanish translators, the team was able to communicate fully with the patients, which was crucial to providing the care they needed. Effective communication is at the core of medical care, and students said they valued the opportunity to embody and share God’s love with the patients. OMS-II Logan Murphy said a verse he found purpose in during the trip was 1 John 4:16, “We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them.”

“One of my biggest takeaways was seeing God’s work in a totally (different) part of the world,” Murphy said. “I feel very privileged and honored to have the opportunity to pursue medicine and that God gave me this opportunity. Down there, people are not opposed to you praying for them. We’d see patients, and a lot of times we’d pray for them at the end of seeing them. It was a beautiful experience to be a part of. I’m a Christian first and a student-doctor second.” >>

Eswatini and Kenya, Africa

>> Select fourth-year students had the opportunity to conduct one-month rotations in Africa this past spring (one week was LUCOM’s Spring Break). Four students assisted a healthcare organization in Eswatini in February, and eight served at a hospital in Kenya.

In Eswatini, the students volunteered with the Luke Commission, a group dedicated to compassionate healthcare for the underserved, to offer optometry, women’s healthcare, orthopedics, and general surgery. Eswatini has the highest prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the world — about 27.9 percent.

Student-doctor Colin Mackey, who has since entered an internal medicine residency at the Carolinas Medical Center, said the trip was an opportunity to see what medical missions would look like for himself, and he was inspired by the heartfelt care of the

“I think the most impactful part of my trip was seeing the passion of the people who worked there,” he said. “They’re serving in a very resource-limited area; they’re serving for free and doing so joyfully and with dedication. Hopefully, I can embody that same spirit and joy in my service in the future.”

For two weeks in June, a second group — 12 students and three faculty members — visited the Luke Commission to provide specialized training in pediatric advanced life support (PALS) for the physicians and employees. Melton said LUCOM hopes to send fourthyear students to Eswatini for one-month rotations next spring and summer.

With double the number of students who have accompanied her on previous trips, Professor of Family Medicine Dr. Lauri Ann Maitland traveled to Africa with eight students in March to spend four weeks working on multiple floors of Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya. The studentdoctors assisted in the medical disciplines for

medicine and hopefully be the hands and feet of Jesus.” She said that means not only literally using their hands to help somebody “but more the posture and attitude of servanthood. I think the students see that in this experience.”

“Going to Kenya for a month, really being immersed in the culture there and doing the work for that long, gave me a glimpse into how I could handle (long-term missions) and what I want for my future,” she said. “I came out of that trip being even more passionate about medical missions and wanting to pursue it to be a larger part of my life and career. It opened my eyes to how accessible it is to do medical missions and how there are so many organizations that

Eight students spent four weeks working on multiple floors of Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya.

Recent LUCOM graduate Megan Pizzo tends to a resident in Kenya.

In Eswatini, the students served across many areas of medicine.

with a heart transplant, she explained, but such a procedure is not available in Kenya. Pizzo said she was deeply affected by the reality that this young girl wouldn’t live a full life because of where she lived and how advanced the disease was.

“In the United States, we’re very lucky to have tons of technology and resources, we can basically order any tests at any time, but (in Kenya) everything is so limited, and you really have to think through what a patient can afford and if it’s even available,” Pizzo said. “I really got to see a whole different

Lynchburg, Va.

In Maitland’s words: “You don’t have to get on a plane and go across the world to serve people on the margins or underresourced individuals; they’re right under our noses.” This philosophy is modeled by the multiple ways LUCOM students serve their neighbors in the Lynchburg community each year. Student clubs and interest groups regularly donate time to Park View Community Mission, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, World Help (a missions organization), the Liberty Ridge Rehab Center, and other local organizations.

Maitland leads students from LUCOM’s Medical Outreach Interest Group in spending two Saturdays each month volunteering at Gospel Community Church’s food pantry ministry, Connecting Point. In addition to helping with the food and laundry services, the students check consenting visitors’ blood pressure and blood sugar and speak to them about living healthier lifestyles within their means. The students who participate are first- and second-year students with little to no clinical experience, making this simple service an opportunity for them to

see firsthand how they can impact people through healthcare.

“It rejuvenates their interest in medicine because as they’re sitting in a lecture hall all day learning biochemistry and anatomy and all of that, they’re not really putting that into practice yet, so this is a great way for them to do that,” Maitland said. “I think it’s a way for them to see vulnerable individuals and how they might serve them in the future.”

OMS-III Aaron Boeve spent two years volunteering at Connecting Point and said he has developed relationships with the “regulars” there.

“It is so awesome to have consistent interactions and relationships with people from the community. We get to share God’s love and help in ways that we’ve been practicing as medical students,” he said. “Missions are just as much for your nextdoor neighbors as for those on the other side of the world. God wants to use us right now exactly where we are. We are trying to utilize the skills that we have now, within the range that we’re able to work medically as current students, to show the love of God to the people around us.”

At the Connecting Point food pantry in Lynchburg, students offer tests for blood pressure and blood sugar and give advice on living healthier lifestyles.

Tenwek Hospital, Bomet, Kenya

Leading with Care Leading with Care

AS VIRGINIA’S SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES, JANET KELLY (’98) WORKS TO IMPROVE LIVES OF FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

BY ABIGAIL DEGNAN & MITZI BIBLE

About 15 years ago, Janet Kelly stopped outside a Chick-fil-A in Richmond, Va., and struck up a conversation with a young woman facing a crisis pregnancy. That talk turned out to be a pivotal moment in her personal and professional life, directing her next steps in an already successful career in state government and ultimately leading her into the role of a mother to a child in desperate need of a stable family to love him.

From being the first person in her family to attend college, to managing a statewide campaign, to serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth (2010-14) and now as Secretary of Health and Human Resources under Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Kelly sees her career as a calling. She follows God’s plan and direction even when the unexpected happens.

CARET-RIGHT Journey to Liberty

Kelly grew up in Alamance County, N.C. As she ended her junior year of high school with plans of enrolling at the Naval Academy, she injured her knee playing volleyball and was devastated knowing she wouldn’t be able to take on the physical demands of the training there.

Despite a few weeks of confusion and wondering why God would take this dream away from her, she said God worked through her disappointment. Her aunt and uncle in Lynchburg, Va., told her that their pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church, Liberty founder Jerry Falwell Sr., had announced that any graduates of Lynchburg Christian Academy (now Liberty Christian Academy) would receive a full academic scholarship to Liberty University.

“My dear aunt and uncle took in a very strong-willed, 17-year-old girl and let me live with them my senior year which allowed me to attend LCA and then attend Liberty all four years for free,” Kelly said.

Kelly pursued a bachelor’s degree in government with a minor in philosophy. She said she got “bitten by the political bug” early on in life, as her family would frequently talk about news around the dinner table and participated in politics in their small town. Liberty matched her interests well, and she met people who motivated her to share her passion for service through government.

“I was formed under some really solid philosophy classes for my minor and lessons in practical, political execution for my major,” she said. “Liberty was a very good place to stoke that interest.”

She recalls several “aha moments” during Convocation, when Falwell’s words were an inspiration.

“Dr. Falwell used to say, ‘Read the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other hand every morning,’” Kelly said. “He really impressed upon me the importance of being active in the public square and not shying away or being intimidated to speak out for what you believe. It was very formative for me to have that courage imposed on me at the time.”

Kelly said her faith became her own at Liberty.

“My philosophy professors helped me discern and articulate why I believe what I believe. I didn’t have an answer to every question, and doubt is a normal part of faith, but the ability to walk in confidence believing that God exists, He is good, He loves me, and He is able to turn pain into purpose was a profound gift. It still is.”

CARET-RIGHT Stumping & Serving

Kelly said she views her career in two halves — political campaigns first, then public service.

After graduation, Kelly headed to the state capital to help with several campaigns. She became the youngest female to successfully manage a statewide campaign when Bob McDonnell won his race for attorney general in 2005. She later served as chief operations officer for McDonnell’s successful gubernatorial campaign in 2009 and was asked to join his cabinet as Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Although Kelly said she always felt that she was fulfilling God’s calling in her life by helping people get elected on the right values, ideals, and truths, and by serving in the governor’s cabinet, she discovered in 2012 that God had even more planned for her and her family.

Remember the chance meeting with the woman outside Chick-fil-A? That was about two years earlier. She had become friends with the woman and kept in touch with her throughout the pregnancy and after the baby was born. Then she received a call for help.

“Her son was 18 months old, and my husband, Ryan, and I had been married for about nine days when we got a call (from a guardian ad litem) telling us that this little boy was going to go into foster care if we didn’t take custody.”

Kelly experienced many emotions as she considered being his foster parent. She was newly married and had taken on a demanding job in the governor’s cabinet. She knew it would be yet another big change for their family, and she wasn’t sure it was the right time or if her family was the right family to do it. But after speaking with her husband, they agreed to take the boy.

She remembered her daughter, age 9 at the time, had prayed that God would bring someone into their lives to show His love to.

“On top of my daughter’s prayer, I had recently come to a place of deep surrender,” Kelly said. “In a moment of gratitude for so many blessings, mostly for my amazing husband, I told God I would do anything He wanted me to do in return.

“I certainly didn’t intend for that prayer to be so drastically life-changing, but that’s really when this calling to serve the most vulnerable happened. I likely would not be Secretary of Health and Human Resources if that personal service had not happened first.”

And as often occurs when we pray, God answered in surprise abundance. Within days of saying yes, they found out they were expecting a “honeymoon baby.”

“Ryan became a husband, a stepdad, a foster dad, and a (biological) dad within 21 days,” Kelly laughed. “I joke that we’re still tired from that.”

When she thinks about how God brought the little boy into their lives, Kelly points to Scripture.

“It has always struck me that the parable of the talents immediately precedes the ‘one of the least of these’ parable in Matthew 25,” she added. “God gives you all these beautiful talents and gifts, so what are you going to do with them and how are you going to use what He has given you? The answer seems pretty obvious if you keep reading: ‘Whatever you do to one of the least of these, you do unto Him.’ That correlation is so convicting to me.”

CARET-RIGHT Stepping Up

The instantaneous welcoming of that little boy, named Ashton, into their home would not only lead to his adoption into their family but put Kelly on a path to advocating for children in foster care and youth in mental health crises across the commonwealth and the country. As Secretary of the Commonwealth, she, along with Ryan, launched Virginia Adopts: Campaign for 1,000, which matched 1,041 children with adoptive families and recruited additional support into the Virginia foster care system.

As she learned more about child welfare through her personal and professional roles, she was led to co-found America’s Kids Belong in 2015 and Virginia’s Kids Belong in 2017, both nonprofits that focus on improving the outcome for children in foster care.

“I certainly would not be in a position to help others without my son, without his mom, without that story, and without that experience,” Kelly said. “The level of blessing

is typically directly related to the level of surrender. That’s not to say the surrender or what comes after it is easy — usually it’s the opposite. But it’s been worth it.”

When her efforts began, Virginia was 50th in the nation in permanency (when children age out of foster care without a family). Today, Virginia is 47th, making steady progress in the fight for belonging for every child.

Also, as of July 1, 2024, Virginia has a formal kinship care program that requires frontline workers in the child welfare system to look for family members to place kids with, and it comes with financial resources to support those families, whether they are kin or “fictive kin” like Kelly herself, who had a previous relationship with the child’s family despite not being blood-related.

“We are one of tens of thousands of families who are kinship families,” she said. “If the official policy of the commonwealth is going to be that we need to keep kids out of foster care because we don’t think that’s what’s best for them, then we have to support those families who step up and say, ‘yes.’ AKB and VKB created beautiful partnerships between government, faith communities, and businesses to change the trajectory of kids in foster care.”

As Governor Youngkin’s Senior Advisor for Children and Families, Kelly led the Safe and Sound Task Force, helping to relocate hundreds of children sleeping in local social services offices and hotels to loving homes. To build on the task force, Youngkin launched Safe Kids, Strong Families in May, an initiative to unite and advance child welfare reforms across the state.

“I asked Janet Kelly to take on this most important task of finding a place for these children to call home,” Youngkin said following an event on May 15 where he announced the initiative and signed new child welfare reforms into law, as reported by the Virginia Mercury. “I remember the first time she came into my office and said, ‘Governor, tonight there are no children sleeping in offices.’ That was a moment. Today, we still have a few. But that is the absolute exception now — not the rule.”

In her work with Virginia First Lady Suzanne Youngkin, Kelly is also prioritizing the youth mental health crisis in Virginia by implementing support systems and preventative measures. In March, she visited Liberty with the First Lady and Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera for the event A Sisterhood Gathering Focused on WellBeing, which celebrated the progress that has been made and explained the hard work that

is still left to do. They also took the time to meet personally with students in roundtable discussions.

During the event, Kelly discussed the root causes of many mental health problems and the initiatives to battle them, like the Governor’s Reclaiming Childhood Task Force, of which she serves as co-chair. With 57% of teen girls reporting being chronically hopeless or sad, the task force was launched in 2024 to address the youth mental health crisis specifically by providing resources, tools, and empowerment for families.

“We want to affirm what parents already know, that an average of 33 hours a week on social media outside of school is too much, and it is hurtful to our kids,” Kelly said in an interview for this article. “It’s a mental health crisis, it’s a physical health crisis, and it’s a spiritual crisis. We have to do better by our kids, and it starts with parents being empowered with the right information to make better decisions.”

At the direction of the Governor, she has also worked to bring immediate care to individuals of all ages struggling with mental illnesses through multiple other initiatives, including the First Lady’s It Only Takes One fentanyl awareness initiative and Governor Youngkin’s transformational behavioral health plan, Right Help, Right Now, which ensures Virginians get immediate behavioral health support before, during, and after a crisis.

“If you had a serious mental illness three years ago, 988 (Virginia’s suicide and crisis lifeline) did not exist. Now it does, and if the crisis cannot be de-escalated — and the vast majority of calls are — we now have over 100 mobile crisis teams in the commonwealth, and the response time is less than an hour on average,” she added. “We also have crisis beds and chairs for those with extra mental health or substance use needs.”

As Kelly continues her work to improve the health and well-being of families across the Commonwealth, she said Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ has come to mean a lot to her over the years.

“To me, it means to love God, love people, love yourself and help others do the same. If you do those things, then you are more likely to be able to say ‘yes’ when you get a call to serve. Governor Youngkin highlighted something similar at Liberty’s Commencement address this year: the notion of ‘Here I am. Send me.’ When you say ‘yes’ from a place of health, that is when the beauty and joy and wonder of life really take shape.”

CAPITAL GAINS

LIBERTY STUDENTS EXPERIENCE WASHINGTON, D.C.

Throughout the year, Liberty University students across different fields of study are learning, building their résumés, and making an impact in the nation’s capital. This past school year, students engaged with diplomats, performed on music tours, visited historic landmarks and attractions, fought for the lives of the unborn, and more on their travels from campus to Washington.

Marking a significant milestone in their music careers, a group of School of Music students had the honor of performing at the White House Staff Easter Service on April 17. The service was part of the White House’s weeklong Easter celebration for Holy Week, hosted by the newly established White House Faith Office. The group represented many of the university’s premier worship teams, including LU Praise, Vessel, Shine, and E-41. They opened the hourlong church service, held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building by the White House, with “Because He Lives,” “In Christ Alone,” and “Living Hope.”

“This is honestly just the biggest blessing in the world,” said senior worship leadership student Graham Guy, who played acoustic guitar. “If somebody would have told me that (we would sing in the White House) when I applied to Liberty, I would probably have told them they were crazy, but what a cool opportunity. … Liberty and the Lord keep opening doors, and it’s just incredible.”

The time of worship preceded Easterthemed messages from prominent Christian leaders, including President of Samaritan’s Purse Franklin Graham, Senior Pastor of Free Chapel Jentezen Franklin, and Senior Advisor to the White House Faith Office Paula White. Notable White House staff attendees included White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Deputy Assistant

to the President Sebastian Gorka, and many other ranking members.

Two weeks later, LU Praise was invited to perform in the Capitol Building Rayburn Room at a special prayer event on April 30, the eve of the National Day of Prayer.

Over Spring Break, the Liberty University Symphony Orchestra toured the capital and surprised patrons at the Museum of the Bible with an impromptu performance in the main atrium. They also performed at McLean Bible Church and area Christian schools. With over 40 percent of the orchestra made up of non-music majors, the tour demonstrated the vast amount of talent that fills Liberty’s campus. Director of LUSO Dr. Zachary Bruno said the Museum of the Bible performance was an opportunity for students to represent Liberty and gain experience in front of a live audience.

“It was nice that we got to represent

the university to this wonderful crowd of generally Christian folks who may or may not have heard of Liberty University before,” he said. “We were able to give them a little taste of some of the performing arts repertoire that we have here in the School of Music and were able to worship the Lord with strangers.”

In January, the Spirit of the Mountain marching band was invited to perform in the Presidential Inauguration Parade, but the Presidential Inaugural Committee notified Liberty that the indoor venue would not be able to accommodate them due to weather-related changes. LU Praise was also slotted to perform alongside Billy Ray Cyrus during the Make America Great Again Victory Rally, but their performance was cut due to time (they did have the honor of rehearsing alongside Cyrus prior to the rally).

MUSIC AND WORSHIP

Top: During Spring Break, the Liberty University Symphony Orchestra toured Washington, D.C., where they performed at the Museum of the Bible and McLean Bible Church and visited the Kennedy Center.

Below: Liberty music students lead worship during the White House Staff Easter Service.

INSPIRING LEADERS

Liberty’s Standing for Freedom Center sponsored a trip to the capital for its Leadership in Action symposium on April 11 at the Museum of the Bible.

About 150 Liberty students gleaned from some of the nation’s leading Christian and conservative voices. Speakers included Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who addressed the dangerous influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); Joseph Kennedy, who was fired from his high school football coaching job in Washington state for praying after each game (the Supreme Court ruled he had the right to pray); Tim Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security special agent who was the subject of the movie “Sound of Freedom” and founded the anti-sex trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad; Texas Congressman Chip Roy; President of the Family Research Council Tony Perkins; President of Concerned Women for America and Liberty Board of Trustees member Penny Nance; Detroit-based Pastor Lorenzo Sewell; and former NFL player Jack Brewer, who participated in a panel on building biblical men in a culture that touts the alleged dangers of “toxic masculinity.”

Students learned about the Bible’s profound influence on America, including how it shaped laws surrounding religious liberty, the abolition of slavery, ideas about democracy, and more.

“The speakers were very inspiring and really spoke on great topics I didn’t know about,” said senior history and public health student Lauren Sherlin. “Sen. Cotton was

very inspirational in his talk. Speaking on some of the struggles of being a believer while in a political position was encouraging. He talked about how we must step up and do what we know is right as Christians. Coach Kennedy’s story was also a great testimony of standing your ground even when you face hate and persecution for what you believe. He was fired, but God ultimately brought justice after a long while.”

MARCH FOR LIFE

More than 1,000 Liberty students proclaimed their support for the unborn at the 52nd March for Life on Jan. 24. Twenty buses left campus early that morning and arrived in time for the premarch rally featuring pro-life influencer Lila Rose, professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, President Donald Trump (via pre-recorded message), and an in-person keynote from Vice President JD Vance, who emphasized that Americans must adopt a holistic approach to supporting

the cause of life and to always remember the mothers who often feel like they have no other choice besides abortion.

For decades, Liberty has sponsored trips to the March for Life, the largest pro-life demonstration in the world with an average attendance of 150,000 people each year. In recent years, Liberty’s involvement has been sponsored by the Standing for Freedom Center.

Many students, like junior biomedical sciences student Colton Fitzgerald, attended the march for the first time in January.

“It was an honor to be able to stand up for the babies who have no voice yet and to be able to stand on the right side of history along with truth, science, and, most importantly, God,” Fitzgerald said. “It was refreshing to see so many people in support of the most fundamental human right: life. With so many others marching along with us, it gives me hope that I won’t only be the post-Roe generation, but also the generation that sees abortion abolished for good.” >>

DID YOU KNOW?

Multiple Liberty alumni are hard at work in the nation’s capital, including over 100 who are assisting members of Congress or governmental agencies, such as Jessica West (’22), special assistant to the deputy chief of staff at the White House; Lyndsay Keith (’10), chief White House correspondent for Merit Media; Isaac Apon (’16), White House creative director; Brent Robertson (’11), chief of staff for Sen. Roger Marshall-Kansas; Sarah Seitz (’07), legislative director for Sen. James Lankford-Oklahoma; and Ruth Ward (’15), chief of staff for Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson-Louisiana. Many others are involved in research and public policy, such as Ericka Morris (’12), deputy chief of staff to the president, The Heritage Foundation.

Students Rylen Bassett (left) and Josie Huyard, president and vice president of Liberty’s Freedom Center Society, speak at the Leadership in Action Symposium in April.

On two trips over the past school year, students from the Helms School of Government engaged with top diplomats at the Japanese, Chinese, French, and British embassies.

In October, students visited the French and British Embassies, where they learned about the critical role the U.S. plays in their national security interests. Leaders from both embassies touched on the most pressing issues facing the world today, including the war in Ukraine, unrest in the Middle East, China’s economic influence, and how each respective country partners with the United States — a vital ally — to combat terrorism. Students gleaned insights from Damien Cristofari, head

of the Political Section and senior counselor in charge of European Affairs at the French Embassy. At the British Embassy, students heard from a panel led by Sebastian Singh, first secretary at the embassy’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.

During the April trip to the Japanese and Chinese embassies, officials spoke to students about tariff reciprocity, the state of national security, and strengthening international relations with America. At the Japanese Embassy, students posed questions to the Deputy Chief of Mission Takehiro Shimada and learned about the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, the critical economic partnership Japan shares with America, and how U.S. tariffs on Japanese imports may affect

DID YOU KNOW?

each country’s economic prosperity. Students also toured the Chinese Embassy and learned of the country’s rich history and culture before meeting with Minister Qiu Wenxing and other ranking members.

Also in April, students from Liberty University School of Law’s Constitutional Litigation Clinic traveled to D.C. for a private listening party of the Supreme Court case Mahmoud v. Taylor for which they had submitted an amicus brief earlier in the spring semester. The brief argued for greater parental rights in public schools. The students were invited to a luncheon to hear remarks from Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel of Becket Fund, who argued the case before the Supreme Court on April 22.

Many students fulfill internships in Washington, D.C., through Liberty’s Washington Fellowship program, living in Liberty’s historic downtown housing as they work in the nation’s capital. Over the summer, students interned at the White House, Stand Together/Americans for Prosperity, FOX News, House Committee on Homeland Security, Institute of World Politics, Keel Point, America First Policy Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, Young America’s Foundation, U.S. Marshals Service, C3 Think Tank, VHC Health, and various congressional offices.

Japanese Embassy

British Embassy

Chinese Embassy

French Embassy

principal investigator of the fellowship.)

Three Liberty University Master of Public Health (MPH) students who are part of a fellowship program with the School of Health Sciences in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine attended the confirmation hearing for FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary on March 6.

Makary, a renowned surgeon and Johns Hopkins professor, had been an integral part of the yearlong fellowship as students joined him and his team to engage in high-impact research on healthcare policy. (Dr. Caitlin Hicks, an associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins, has replaced Makary as

For Miebaka Roberts, the confirmation hearing inspired a potential future career goal.

“As an MPH student, attending the FDA confirmation hearing was one of the most incredible experiences of my academic and professional journey,” he said. “I’m so grateful to have been part of the fellowship that made this possible. Witnessing such an important moment in public health leadership was beyond inspiring, and I couldn’t help but imagine myself in that very seat one day, answering questions from senators and being confirmed as the FDA commissioner, ready to shape public health policy.”

“ The opportunities we provide our students to travel to Washington, D.C., and see our federal government in action, visit historic landmarks, experience the culture, and learn from some of the country’s leading voices is like no other. We are Training Champions for Christ in all fields of study, and our graduates will take these valuable experiences into their future careers.”

DR. SCOTT HICKS

Liberty Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Parents’ Perspective WITH DALLAS AND AMANDA JENKINS

The Jenkins family of Midlothian, Texas, has had three children attend Liberty. Dallas Jenkins is the creator of the popular Christian television series “The Chosen,” and his wife, Amanda, is a writer. They were interviewed on campus last fall.

Q: What was your first visit to campus like?

A (Dallas): I was first on campus when I spoke in Convocation in 2017. I loved the people. … It feels intimate; it feels small even though the backdrop is so big. In every department, in every area of campus, people are there to make sure you feel warmed and welcomed and connected with. You realize this school is large for a reason — they do things better.

A (Amanda): I was totally wowed the first time we visited because it is one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. The resources and the department our son was specifically interested in made it a pretty easy decision for all of us. … Our other kids visited multiple places and couldn’t find another place that was prettier or had more options, and so it ended up being three children in a row who chose to come to Liberty.

Q: What did you want your children to experience in college?

A (Amanda): Liberty is a place where passion is on display all the time. I love how there is passion in the worship. That was a big deal to us when we were visiting; we wanted to see what we call the spiritual temperature, and we wanted that to be high. Liberty creates a place where kids feel safe to not only follow Jesus but also be excited

WATCH THE INTERVIEW:

about it. Sending kids to school is hard. It’s just hard. I never really felt like I was just ‘sending them off.’ I felt like I was sending them to loving, caring, involved adults who love Jesus and are experts in their field. It really became a very easy place to keep sending my children.

Q: What impact has Liberty had on your family?

A (Dallas): The biggest test of whether or not as a parent you are happy with the choice your kid made of (where to attend) college is Christmas Break, that first time that they come home from having been shipped off, after you’ve let the chicks out of the nest. All three of our kids came back closer to God, thriving with friendships, doing well in their relationships with their professors. They had not strayed from God having left our home; they were actually pressing in. They were finding their own

SEPT. 19-21, 2025

Dallas Jenkins has been a regular Convocation guest. In 2017, he joined WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels to promote “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.” In 2022, he joined a panel with three actors from “The Chosen” (above). Most recently, he promoted his 2024 film adaptation of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (a book he said he used to read to his own children) just ahead of its debut in theaters across the country in November. In that Convocation, he highlighted his desire to make Christian films that appeal to everyone, regardless of age. On his visits, Jenkins has also lent his advice to Liberty’s future filmmakers in the cinematic arts program.

SUMMER of ’25

Over the summer break, students from around the university continued representing the Lord and Liberty in competition, service, and real-world experience in their respective fields.

WE ASKED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, &YOU ANSWERED:

HOPE IN THE DARKNESS:

Eight students and two faculty members from the Department of Community Care & Counseling traveled to Athens, Greece, in June to work with several ministries in caring for women formerly and currently ensnared in prostitution. They served at a safehouse that provides shelter and counseling and helped teach life skills to women to support themselves financially after recovering from trafficking. The students also helped provide medical care for immigrants and packed and distributed meals to the homeless.

HITTING THE ROAD:

Two vehicle teams from the School of Engineering showcased their mechanical skills at national competitions. The Liberty Motorsports Formula SAE team raced at Michigan International Speedway in May, placing 35 out of 120 teams. The Baja SAE team came in at a program-best 42nd place out of 98 vehicles at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Md., in June.

TAKING OFF:

The School of Engineering’s Liberty Rocketry team competed in the International Rocket Engineering Competition in June in Midland, Texas. Its rocket, Trinity, reached an altitude of 9,691 feet with a nodamage recovery, landing the team in 57th place overall out of 143 collegiate entries from around the world. During the event, the students also networked with experts from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other aerospace companies.

LAW LESSONS:

Eight School of Law students were invited by distinguished trial attorney Mark Lanier to attend Lanier Trial Academy in Houston in June. Lanier is one of the foremost civil trial lawyers in the U.S. The academy featured sessions on how to communicate effectively during a trial, the use of AI for visual aids, the neuroscience behind persuasive techniques, factors in choosing a jury, and more. Students also participated in networking sessions where they connected with attorneys and vendors.

SUCCESS IN THE SKIES:

The School of Aeronautics’ two all-female teams, the Liberty Belles, finished second and fifth out of 18 collegiate teams in the 48th annual Air Race Classic in June, marking this year the best in program history. The teams departed Boone County Regional Airport in Harrison, Ark., and flew 1,900 miles to Felts Field in Spokane, Wash. The winning teams are not determined by the time it takes to complete the course but by the highest average speed above their designated handicap. The historic race was inspired by the Women’s Air Derby, which was founded in 1929 and featured Amelia Earhart among its competitors.

SPORTS ON MISSION:

A team of 13 Liberty University Club Sports student-athletes and staff embarked on a sports ministry trip with missionary partners in Vietnam in June. A key highlight of the trip was a twoday sports camp held at a church in a remote mountain village that served as a powerful platform for both athletic and spiritual impact, drawing over 100 youth.

RIGHT ON PITCH:

Three graduate students from the School of Business and School of Communication & the Arts finished runner-up at this year’s Effie Collegiate Competition in late May, where they showcased their “For Whatever’s Next” campaign to marketing executives at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. The competition challenged teams to create a fully integrated marketing campaign to reach the national Gen Z demographic about the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership.

ON TOUR:

In May, the School of Music’s modern worship band, Vessel, which regularly leads worship on campus and in churches, continued its ministry into the summer with a tour through Germany. The nine-member group led worship at Bible Seminary of Bonn and at several churches and schools throughout Cologne, Bornheim, Niedernberg, Lemgo, and Detmold.

UP CLOSE WITH HISTORY:

In the middle of May, eight students from the Department of History participated in a weeklong intensive course that involved organizing thousands of artifacts from Mead’s Tavern. Built in 1763, the tavern is the oldest standing structure in Central Virginia. Since being purchased by the university in 2015, the site has served as a living archaeological laboratory for students. With over 100,000 artifacts cataloged in boxes, the students helped research and document items, which included ceramic sherds, buttons, coins, and clay pipe fragments.

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

Technical studies program prepares students for in-demand careers

BY ABIGAIL DEGNAN

The value of a trades education is on the rise as the demand for skilled workers skyrockets across the country. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment in construction and extraction occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 202333. Data also points to an expected annual shortage of skilled tradesmen over the next decade at close to half a million.

An emphasis on trades training remains especially relevant as President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April to modernize American workforce programs and prepare citizens for the high-paying skilled trade jobs of the future.

With Liberty University’s longstanding commitment to match its educational offerings with current job market needs and provide hands-on, career readiness training across all programs, the school has renewed its focus on the skilled trades through its Technical Studies Department.

The department has many for-credit and non-credit options. Liberty students can pursue an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Technical Studies, select an area of study for an Interdisciplinary Studies degree, add a minor in the five trades — carpentry, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and welding — to enhance any bachelor’s degree, or choose technical studies courses as electives in their degree program. Those who don’t

wish to pursue a university degree can still seek industry-recognized certifications and launch their careers. Training curriculum is approved by the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), with courses taught at the Virginia Technical Institute in nearby Altavista.

After collaborating with VTI as partners for almost 15 years, Liberty acquired the educational components of the institute last year and has continued to grow its offerings, expanding its for-credit courses into the non-credit environment through the Center for Professional & Continuing Education. Students — especially adult students, military veterans, and employees looking to learn a skill or trade — can gain the skills necessary to quickly enter the workforce rather than spend several years earning a degree. Liberty partners with area businesses like Frito-Lay, BWXT, Moore’s Electrical & Mechanical, and many others that enroll their employees.

Degree-seeking students from different academic disciplines across the university also take technical studies courses. For example, students training to become pastors or missionaries may look to earn a trade for a bivocational ministry career. Interior design and theatre students might want to work on their carpentry skills for room and set design.

“We had one student who was a linguist,” said Dr. George Sherman, associate dean, who has taught the program’s core crafts skills course. “She was studying languages and intended to do missions work, but the place

she wanted to go wouldn’t accept her if she said, ‘I’m here to spread the news of Christ.’ But if she said, ‘I’m a carpenter,’ she’s in.”

Many technical studies graduates secure jobs immediately or even before graduation.

Savannah Houck (’25), a recent graduate of the welding program (pictured above), was offered a job welding aluminum pipe and titanium pieces for firearms with WK Industries in Alpharetta, Ga., two months before graduation. She credits her welding instructor, Travis Wood, with preparing her for the position.

“I was one of the top applicants, and once they saw who my professor was, they were extraordinarily impressed,” Houck said, noting that Wood is well-known in the industry. “They were like, ‘If you have that kind of background, then clearly you’ve been taught well.’ They were thoroughly impressed with my knowledge and competency for being fresh out of school.”

Like Wood, all of the technical studies instructors are industry experts with successful careers and remain dedicated to mentoring students.

“The instructors are working (in their fields) during the day and coming to teach the classes in the evening,” said Dwayne Melton, dean of the College of Applied Studies & Academic Success, which houses the Technical Studies Department. He noted that about 90% of the instructors are still working in their respective industries.

MATT

“They’re all industry professionals who are current with best practices.”

William Kline graduated with an Associate of Applied Sciences in Technical Studies in 2020. While he was in his first electrical class, a classmate who was already working for Enterprise Electrical Services Inc. was impressed with Kline’s work, told his employer, and a few weeks later, Kline was offered a position as a full-time electrician with the company. He was able to pursue his degree while working, and after graduation, he received his journeyman’s license and eventually became licensed as a master electrician. He now owns and operates his own electrical business, Legacy Electric LLC.

Because of how much he benefited from his time with Liberty, Kline returned in 2023 to be an adjunct instructor and give back to the program that launched his career.

“The structure and the intentions behind everything (in Liberty’s technical studies program) is such a healthy and positive way to do things. There’s no real ulterior agenda other than personal improvement all throughout,” he said. “I’ve had people light the way for me, and I wanted to finally take my position where I can help other people as well. I want to make sure these students are going out into the workforce and being respected by the community.”

David Sage, senior director of technical studies, said there are not many places where students can learn trade skills from a biblical worldview. As the program grows, Liberty will continue to raise up champions who can reflect Christ in the technical fields.

“The average tradesperson right now is 58 years old. In seven years when the graying workforce retires, the void is going to be much greater to fill. The character and the moral values that are taught here at Liberty will help our students rise above and take on those leadership roles.”

He said the program adequately prepares students to make their careers part of their ministry.

“As ambassadors going into that workforce, it is very important,” he added. “We can bring the Gospel not only to our coworkers and carry that Christian moral value into our leadership and be good disciple makers, but we also have the privilege of being invited into people’s homes and being able to show love there, too. It’s important for our folks to be empowered, to be Champions for Christ, and go into the marketplace to be a witness.”

Learn more at Liberty.edu/Trades.

SHOWCASING SKILLS

Technical studies students participated in the SkillsUSA Championships June 23-27 in Atlanta, the premier showcase of America’s most highly skilled career and technical education students. Three Liberty students ranked in the top 10 in plumbing, industrial motor control, and welding.

FROM LEFT: The Welding Fabrication team met with Ty Pennington, the Emmy Awardwinning TV host of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Left to right: Pennington; students Luke Peterson, Nathan Strock, and Adam Tweedy; welding instructor Travis Wood RIGHT: Student Grant Parker placed third in the SkillsUSA plumbing nationals.

WORLEY PRAYER CHAPEL BEAMS AND CROSS

LIBERTY MOUNTAIN SNOWFLEX CENTRE WALLS AND CEILING

MASTER OF HIS CRAFT

LONGTIME LIBERTY EMPLOYEE SERVES WITH HEART, SOUL, AND A LOT OF SAWDUST

BY TED ALLEN

FIELD HOCKEY LOCKER ROOMS, EAST CAMPUS FIELD HOUSE

JESSIE JORDAN

If you have spent any time on Liberty University’s campus, you’ve seen the handiwork of Dave Morgan. From the law school’s replica Supreme Courtroom, with its bench and lectern fashioned out of mahogany from Africa, to the wood beams, cross, and doors in Worley Prayer Chapel; the window-style mirrors and entrance doors in DeMoss Hall’s Grand Lobby; and so many beautiful handmade desks and tables, the university is a treasure trove of Morgan’s custom woodworking projects over the past 41 years.

When a former employee told him that his fingerprint is literally all over campus, Morgan said, “I never thought about it that way.” He retired on June 1, leaving a legacy at Liberty as he and the staff of 17 woodworkers he oversaw have advanced the university’s mission through their craftsmanship.

The functionality of the custom wooden works of art, some Morgan made with his own hands and some he planned and designed, is often subtle, like the acoustical ceiling panels that enhance the sound in the Tower Theater and display cases for trophies. Morgan’s team has supplied departments with vital storage spaces over the years: equipment cabinets in the School of Nursing, instrument cases in the School of Music, and the hundreds of lockers that serve Liberty’s student-athletes.

“The things that are interesting to me or the attention-getters probably aren’t as important as the fact that we did smart podiums, classroom tables, bookcases, and things like that, because they’re used day by day by day,” Morgan said. “They’re the things that are really making an impact, but they aren’t glitzy.”

The creativity and attention to detail shine through in many projects, like a biplane wing replica that hangs over the reception desk for the School of Aeronautics and the ornate frames on paintings portraying scenes from Christ’s life and death in the Montview Student Union, Alumni Ballroom.

Reflecting on the mountain of projects Morgan and his staff have completed, he said it is clear that his time at Liberty was divinely orchestrated.

Morgan moved with his wife, Kathy, from central Pennsylvania to Lynchburg in July 1981 so he could study residentially at the Liberty Bible Institute, later named the Willmington School of the Bible. After completing his two-year certificate, he >>

DEMOSS HALL GRAND LOBBY MIRRORS/WINDOWS

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY MACE

SCHOOL OF AERONAUTICS

LOCKER ROOM, LIBERTY FOOTBALL CENTER

>> enrolled in Liberty (then Liberty Baptist College) as a business major.

But he quickly realized his calling was to be a woodworker, not a pastor, evangelist, or businessman. He had experience from two woodworking jobs in Pennsylvania and had done a lot of reading to learn more about the craft.

“When I was hired at Liberty, I wasn’t thinking this was a long-term situation,” Morgan said. “I was thinking of finishing school and getting out of here. But we did so many special events, and the whole thing has evolved. I’ve told several people that I feel that I was put here (by God). There are a lot of guys that can do what I do, have more knowledge, and are better at it. I was privileged to be here. I feel it was my calling.”

Morgan actually launched his construction career at “The Old Time Gospel Hour,” the television ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church, where Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell was the founding pastor.

“When they were doing a lot of television (evangelism) here in the late ’80s and early ’90s, we did a lot of sets for the ‘Old Time Gospel Hour,’” Morgan said, noting he worked on the offices and a handful of pulpits used by Falwell over the years.

He and his crew also built sets for 22 consecutive productions of TRBC’s annual “Virginia Christmas Spectacular” — including its Living Christmas Tree, a multi-tiered platform bespeckled with flashing lights for its chorus to perch in — and the sets for several Liberty theatre arts productions, including “Big River,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Morgan’s workshop has relocated multiple times over the past four decades

as the campus grew and the staff handled more challenging requests. For the last 12 years, the team has worked out of the old Lynchburg Christian Academy gymnasium (next to the original TRBC).

“When I was hired, the shop consisted of a 10-inch table saw and a 10-inch radial arm saw and that was it,” he said. “The shop has been expanding, getting bigger and bigger, and now, considering that we’re 2,500 square feet with CNC (computer numerical control) machinery, we’ve come a long way, and we’re more and more involved than we used to be.”

In the earlier days, Morgan did a lot of work himself, but as campus and his cabinetry crew expanded, his expertise was called on for the planning and design phases. He held meetings with departments across the university to assess their needs.

Morgan remembers being told about a master plan of campus from the early 1980s that outlined Falwell’s vision.

“Everybody kind of laughed; you know like, ‘We’ll never accomplish it. It’s too much,’” Morgan recalled. “Sometime in the early 2000s, we reviewed the plan, and all but one building was in place.”

Morgan said the fulfillment of Falwell’s original vision, evidence of God’s blessings on the university, has reaffirmed his faith.

“Dr. Falwell had the vision, and it may not have surprised him (to see what it is today); it was pretty real to him,” he said. “To see what the campus is now compared to what it was when I first got here, with all the mud and a few buildings, it looks like a college campus now. For a lot of us, when things actually started falling into place, it was like, ‘Oh, this is real.’ It was like seeing the hand of Providence at work.”

Morgan said in the early years, Falwell often stopped by the workshop.

“He liked to be involved in construction,” Morgan said. “He was always visiting construction sites to see what was going on. He liked to be around things that were being built and going up.”

Looking back, Morgan said it was an honor to play a role in Falwell’s vision becoming reality.

“It’s nice to think you were a part of what was going on, that I had a small part in helping to get it accomplished,” Morgan said.

Woodworking is an art form, one that requires a tremendous amount of skill and patience, persistence to the point of perfectionism. However, as much as he looks to Jesus as the Author and Perfecter of his faith, Morgan has always been humble about his work and knows he is far from perfect.

“I’m nothing special, (but) I’m glad the Lord used me here,” he said. “There are some great people here, and that’s what makes Liberty great — people of faith, who abide by and live out their faith by the way they treat other people.”

Now that he has stepped down from full-time work, he leaves no regrets, but the sentiments are bittersweet.

“I have mixed feelings,” he admitted. “You can’t work someplace as long as I have and just walk away and think nothing of it. ... I’d like to cut back, I’d like to have a little less stress, but on the other hand, I still enjoy what I do.”

He’ll be working part time for a while and says he’ll “probably piddle at home making things.” He’s looking forward to spending more time with Kathy and their three sons (two are Liberty graduates) and two grandchildren in Lynchburg.

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DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR APOLOGETICS & CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT USES PAST TRAGEDY TO HELP STUDEN TS ANSWER DIFFICULT FAITH QUESTIONS

BY CHRISTIAN SHIELDS

For Liberty University alumnus Dr. Kevin Richard (’08, ’12, ’19), Lynchburg has always been home. And Liberty has always played an important role in his education; he went from preschool to Ph.D. through Liberty and its related ministries.

Now, as the new executive director of the Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement at the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity and an associate professor of theology and apologetics, Richard is the educator himself, using his own experiences to pour into the lives of Liberty students and help them answer some of life’s toughest questions through a biblical lens.

Richard attended Liberty Christian Academy from preschool to high school. He earned a B.S. in Biblical Studies, Master of Divinity in Theology, and Ph.D. in Apologetics from Liberty and played defensive end for Flames Football for five years. He even remembers performing on the Convocation stage in 1999 as an eighth grader with his Christian cover band, Ransom.

After finishing his Ph.D. in 2019, Richard moved to Norfolk, Va., with his wife, Nicole, to join a church plant and help the church start a coffee shop called Coalescence Coffee Company. By 2022, they had two children and were expecting their third — make that third and fourth. At a regular checkup, they were shocked to hear they were having twins. Their excitement was tempered slightly when one twin was measuring smaller and doctors were unsure if he would survive. In April 2023, Nicole went into labor and delivered the twins at 35 weeks into the

pregnancy, but she immediately went into cardiac arrest as a result of an amniotic fluid embolism and tragically passed away, leaving Richard to care for their four sons, including newborns Merik and Kieran. Merik, the smaller twin, defied the odds and although he has had multiple surgeries, he is living life as a normal toddler. Richard moved back to Lynchburg later that year to be closer to family.

In February, a few months after being hired as director, Richard shared his family’s story in Convocation, encouraging Liberty students to trust God in both the peaks and valleys of life. He spoke openly of the intense doubt he faced in the weeks and months following Nicole’s death.

“It’s not like I hadn’t thought those thoughts (of doubt) before or wrestled through those ideas,” he told the students. “I was an apologist at this point. We spend

something different in that moment where the doubt was palpable. I could just feel it in a way I had never experienced before. If I’m being honest with you, it was terrifying. What do you do in that moment?”

Richard shared three factors that helped him overcome the doubt and strengthen his faith in God’s goodness, starting with the hope of Christ’s resurrection.

“In that moment I was so thankful for the training I received at Liberty University and for the seminars that I had taken with Dr. Gary Habermas where we spent hours poring over the arguments for the resurrection and realizing we had good reasons to believe it was true,” he said. “In those moments of doubt, that’s what I turned to.”

Richard said the love he received from family and friends aided in his spiritual

Richard hugs Chancellor Jonathan Falwell before speaking in Convocation on Feb. 28.

JESSIE JORDAN

recovery. From bringing food to merely taking the time to talk with him, people continued to support him in his grief.

Third, he said he found comfort in God’s steadfast love for His children, demonstrated best in Christ’s resurrection and consequential defeat over death.

“We won’t always think the right things, think the perfect thoughts, or have the right response to emotions,” he said. “We will experience doubt. It’s not something we should hide from or be embarrassed about, but we should confront head on. Speak truth to that doubt. Think about the resurrection. Think about the goodness of God. Wherever you may find yourself today, remember that God has good plans for you.”

Richard said he accepted the position at Liberty so he could help prepare students for their own seasons of doubt. He said especially in light of all the competing worldviews one will encounter in today’s culture, he wants to guide students to the truth.

“Life’s hard, and there are things we have to navigate as human beings that can test our faith,” he said in an interview this past spring. “I see it as a valuable time to provide resources to students while they are here so they can answer those questions they either experience themselves or get asked by others going through something similar.”

CENTER FOR APOLOGETICS & CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT

The Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement, located on the second floor of the Freedom Tower, teaches students how to defend the Christian faith in a rapidly changing culture and address controversial issues in society from a Gospel framework with courage and grace. The center hosts

conferences and lecture series throughout the year and publishes the annual “Faith and the Academy Journal.” The August 2025 issue focuses on the resurrection.

Professors from different disciplines across the university serve as senior fellows at the center, and students can join the Student Fellowship program, where they meet to learn about cultural engagement from the senior fellows, read prevalent literature on contemporary culture, and have opportunities to do research and assist in running center events.

“The center is open to any student who wants to come and talk with somebody, whether that is a student fellow or myself,” Richard said. “It’s a space where someone can come and feel like they can ask hard questions and not feel judgment for asking them or wrestling with them. I guarantee all of us have wrestled with probably the exact

same question. We’re not afraid to work through it and ask those tough questions of God.”

Learn more about the center and read the Journal at Liberty.edu/ACE

The Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement hosted the annual Every Square Inch Conference in January. This year’s event tackled multiple topics like the role of technology and artificial intelligence in evangelism, the American cultural shift from Christianity to secularism, and the significance of Christianity in establishing cultural stability.

TOP: Richard played defensive end for the Flames for five seasons.

MIDDLE: Kevin and Nicole Richard with their two older sons, Soren and Findley

ABOVE: The Richard boys, Soren, Kieran, Merik, and Findley

JESSIE JORDAN

Class of 2025 Class of 2025

Whether it was the rousing speech from keynote speaker Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the exciting drone show over Williams Stadium, or the proud smiles of graduates as they crossed the stage to the loud cheers of their loved ones, Liberty University’s 52nd Commencement was filled with special moments and special people to celebrate the largest graduating class — over 32,000 —

with a spirit of victory and thankfulness to the Lord. Commencement Weekend, May 8-10, was packed with multiple campus events, including 28 degree presentation ceremonies Thursday through Saturday, a Welcome Fair, Alumni Reception, and Military Graduate Recognition Ceremony honoring over 7,000 service members, veterans, and military spouses.

“When I look around this stadium, I don’t see just caps and gowns. I see miracles. Some of you walked a hard road to get here. You’ve overcome losses, illnesses, career changes, and life detours you never planned. Yet, here you are as a testament to the power of a miracleworking God Who loves you and wants the best for you. Don’t try to take the pen from His hand; let Him write the story only He can.”

PRESIDENT DONDI E. COSTIN

JOEL COLEMAN

What a Show!

All eyes were on the skies as the Main Ceremony on May 9 came to an end and graduates and guests were treated to the first-ever drone show on campus. Aerial entertainment company Sky Elements, which has performed for the NFL, MLB, and NASCAR, operated 300 drones that graced the air above Williams Stadium depicting various Liberty- and graduation-themed

images. The 12-minute show featured narration from Liberty founder Jerry Falwell Sr. and colorful images of a rotating Earth, graduation cap, DeMoss Hall, the LU logo, Sparky mascot, and more that lit up the night sky to the tunes of Liberty’s alma mater, “Champions, Arise!,” the fight song, and the familiar intro to Convocation.

Senior Vice President of Marketing and

Communications Kristin Conrad said the university had been hoping to host a drone show for years, and the 2025 Commencement was the perfect time: “We wanted the show to be inspirational, celebrate our graduates, and also include elements from their student experience whether they attended on campus or online. We tied in creative elements that spoke to our founding and our mission.”

WATCH THE WHOLE SHOW:

DID YOU KNOW?

Liberty’s Commencement is the largest event in Central Virginia every year, with about 60,000 people converging on campus over three days.

Commencement Keynote,

VIRGINIA GOV. GLENN YOUNGKIN

The 74th Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin returned to campus in May to deliver the keynote address at Commencement.

“It is so humbling to be here with the amazing First Lady Suzanne Youngkin and my son Grant Youngkin and to have an opportunity to be back at this wonderful institution,” he said. “It’s an institution that is respected all around the world because it is rooted not in the temporal but in the eternal.”

The event marked his third visit to campus; Youngkin spoke at Convocation in Spring 2022 and at the Inauguration Ceremony for President Dr. Dondi E. Costin in Fall 2023.

During Commencement, Youngkin highlighted graduates’ accomplishments, including the more than 6,300 who were graduating with honors, 4,100 with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and 7,129 with military ties.

“With over 32,000 graduates, the Class of 2025 is not only the largest in Liberty’s storied history, it’s also one of the most impressive since Jerry Falwell Sr. had a vision and opened the doors of this school more than five decades ago.”

He thanked the graduates for setting an example of service to others, from helping residents recover from Hurricane Helene to protecting the lives of the unborn.

“You marched for life with me in Richmond, and you stood up for those who can’t stand up for themselves,” he said as the audience erupted into applause. “You partnered with organizations like Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Blessing;

you did more than aid those who have lost everything — you showed what it meant to be a Champion for Christ, and that is the utmost demonstration of love in action.”

He said there will be seasons when the graduates hear God’s call and can choose to respond, “Here I am. Send me,” like the prophet Isaiah and many Virginians throughout history, including Patrick Henry; Desmond Doss; Barbara Johns, who protested segregation at 16 years old; and Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, founders of Operation Smile.

“This faithful courage that says ‘Send me’ doesn’t just belong in the history books. It is also with us right here in Williams Stadium.”

But Youngkin also warned that God’s call isn’t always “comfortable” or “convenient,” and may come at unexpected times, even when you feel you are already fulfilling your purpose. He shared his own story of following God’s call in the middle of a successful 25-year business career.

“In 2020, I had what I thought was my dream job,” he said. “I was married to the love of my life for 26 years then, and we were raising our amazing four children. I thought I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and the Lord had other plans. He put a stop sign in my prayer life — a stop sign impossible to ignore.”

It was on a Friday night that year when Youngkin revealed those plans to his wife, plans to run for governor, and they prayed together for guidance, wisdom, and strength. Youngkin said they have never regretted it.

“Other than the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior and (the day) Suzanne said, ‘Yes,

I will marry you,’ I have never felt more purposeful in my life,” he said. “Each of you will have a different story. And I don’t know how your chapter will unfold or what your specific callings will be. … But I know this for sure: the Class of 2025, you are ready to hear the invitation, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I am so confident that you will stand up and say, ‘Send me.’”

In closing, Youngkin told the graduates that a Liberty education will set them apart, and he prayed for them.

“From this moment on, in every room you enter, you will be bringing the unique formation of a Liberty education, and what a blessing that will be to everyone whose path you will cross. The world needs your witness, it needs your intellect, it needs your promise, it needs your commitment. The world needs more Champions for Christ. Above all, it needs your faith, it needs your hope, it needs your love. And remember — the greatest of these is love.”

Youngkin was presented an honorary Doctor of Humanities during the ceremony.

ACROSS THE GENERATIONS

Over 26,000 members of the Class of 2025 earned their degrees through Liberty University Online Programs, and Liberty was honored to welcome different generations to Commencement.

VIRGINIA J. MORELOCK

94 Years old

Dr. Virginia J. Morelock, 94, of Orange County, Calif., is the oldest graduate in the class. She earned her Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction: Elementary Education last fall and was excited to attend Commencement and visit campus for the first time.

The mother of four taught elementary, junior, and senior high for over 30 years in the Los Angeles area, serving her last 15 years as a ninth-grade science teacher. Following retirement at age 62, she contented herself to a quiet life of quilting, but when her husband passed away in 2019, she decided to finish a degree that she had started so many years before.

She chose Liberty because of its discounts and support of military veterans

16 Years old

At an age when many teenagers are only beginning to apply to college, Noah Mansoor earned his bachelor’s degree at 16 and has even begun work on his master’s.

Growing up the youngest of six children in Oahu, Hawaii, Mansoor watched several of his siblings graduate college early and had a strong determination to do the same. He enrolled in Liberty University Online Programs in Summer 2024 and became a residential student last fall. After one semester, he had almost all the credits required to earn his B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with focuses in business and computational sciences and moved back home for the spring semester. He returned to campus for Commencement as Liberty’s youngest graduate earning a bachelor’s degree.

and their families (her husband served in the U.S. Air Force).

“I am tenacious,” she said after completing her degree last fall. “My kids encouraged me. I am one of those people where if I start something, I finish it. It may take me a while, but I’ll get it done.”

Now as a Liberty graduate, she hopes to inspire more current and future students to reach their own personal goals just as she did for so many children through the years.

“Whatever your dream is, don’t ever give up,” she said. “Keep working towards it, and if you persist, you will make that dream come true. You have got to be persistent.”

NOAH MANSOOR

Noah said he was drawn to Liberty and wanted to study on campus because of the school’s heavy emphasis on biblical values.

“Being young, I wanted to go to a very safe and good environment and definitely Christian,” he said. “It’s all about staying close to the Lord. I get my motivation and do my hard work through the Lord. I looked for the best Christian college out there, and that’s Liberty.”

“As a residential student, being around the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, you could see it shining through the people around me,” he added. “You can do all this hard work, but if you’re not right with God, nothing matters.”

He plans to return to campus this fall and continue pursuing his Master of Science in Cybersecurity.

Jerry Falwell Museum charts founder’s life, legacy, and a vision fulfilled

BY RYAN KLINKER

and during his early years of ministry is on display in the new museum space.

An old desk that Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell Sr. used as a child

The present standing of Liberty University as an epicenter of excellent faith-led education, impactful Christian outreach, and competitive athletics is the result of many steps of faith, big and small, made by countless leaders and pioneers over the decades, ultimately led by the vision and steadfastness of its late founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell. Charting the path that formed and grew Liberty and its related ministries, the Jerry Falwell Museum has settled into its new location on the lower level of the Hancock Welcome Center, filled with artifacts and information that can help visitors learn or reminisce about Falwell’s life, faith, and work.

“Something we hear a lot when people come here is, ‘I didn’t know that!’ I love it when people say that,” curator Michelle Marttila said. “It’s great when visitors can come here and learn something new about Liberty or our founder or Thomas Road Baptist Church (where Falwell was the founding pastor). I think coming here reminds them that the Lord can answer prayer and lead them. As we learn more about the history ourselves, we’re always in awe of our founder, the vision the Lord gave Him, and his faithfulness in the Lord.”

The museum’s new home makes it an ideal stop on a visit to campus, located just a few steps away from where the Champion Center is currently being constructed.

The museum first opened in the Grand Lobby of DeMoss Hall in 2003, on Falwell’s 70th birthday, and has grown thanks to donations from the Falwell family, alumni, and friends from around the world. There’s something to discover around every corner: a pulpit Falwell used from the 1980s until 2006, an original Sparky mascot suit, a camera from the “Old Time Gospel Hour” television program, and a replica of the bridge that students used to get to Treasure Island, an island on James River in downtown Lynchburg where some dormitories and athletic facilities were located in Liberty’s early years.

Marttila said some of her favorite recent additions are a communion set used at Thomas Road Baptist Church in the 1950s

(when services were held inside an old soft drink bottling company) and a desk from Falwell’s childhood that he still used in his early years of ministry.

While many of the exhibits will remain the same throughout the year, a large glass display case will feature themed selections that rotate in and out over time, such as Commencement regalia from across the decades and artwork by Macel Pate Falwell.

The evolving display will feature pieces usually stored in the Jerry Falwell Library Archives & Special Collections.

Display, and the Jerry Falwell Library Archives & Special Collections. Learn more at Liberty.edu/Museums

Some museum pieces with ordinary appearances carry special stories. Nissi Cui (’85) was a student who, after speaking with Falwell on campus one day, shook his hand and walked away only to look down to see a folded $100 bill in his palm. He never spent it, carrying it for all these years as a symbolic reminder of the faithfulness of God and Falwell’s giving heart. In 2022, he contacted Marttila, saying he felt the bill belonged to Liberty, and donated it to the museum to be displayed as a reminder to others.

“That’s one of so many stories of how our founder encouraged people and made an impact on their lives,” Marttila said.

An alumna herself, earning a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1991 and master’s degree in counseling in 1997, Marttila said she feels a responsibility and privilege in her role as curator. She began >>

Many museums and special displays on campus are open to the public, including the Rawlings Scriptorium, Chaplains Museum, Liberty University Art Museum (see Page 39), Creation Studies

>> working with the museum in 2013 and became curator in 2022.

“Having met a lot of the people who have gone to Heaven like Jerry and Macel Falwell and seeing the work that they have done, I’m honored to be someone who can continue educating people about our history and sharing what has happened,” Marttila said. “It truly is an honor, and we just want to make sure the legacy is alive for future generations. That’s what keeps me coming in every day.”

The throughline of the museum’s contents, Marttila said, is a story of prayer. She cited a landmark moment in Liberty’s early history: a snowy prayer gathering

in 1977 in which Falwell led students and faculty in prayer seeking God’s provision for the first campus buildings.

“I remember how Jerry Falwell would ask us for prayer requests and would always follow up with us. I really learned about the power of prayer and fasting from his example,” she said. “In being here on campus, I’ve seen answers to prayers, and a lot of alumni can attest to that. There are the students from the 1970s who were there at the prayer meeting in the snow, those who have seen the miracles of money coming in and paying off debts, and those who have watched the rise of the campus we have today.”

“The Lord used one man, an ordinary man with an extraordinary vision, who was faithful in seeking the Lord and taking the steps to pursue that vision,” Marttila added. “I think those who come here to the museum can be inspired by that, and they can be motivated to do what they can for the Kingdom of God.”

The Jerry Falwell Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, contact the museum at JerryFalwellMuseum@liberty.edu or (434) 582-7578. You can also visit the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Called to Serve

Jesus gave us everything needed to live the model Christian life within His Word and His own example. One of the great lessons He taught and modeled was the importance of serving others. In Matthew 20:26-28 (CSB), Jesus tells us, “It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

There are many influences and pressures on all of us today to seek out “things” for ourselves. To look out for self over others. This is not a foreign concept as it is an innate part of our sinful, human condition. But Jesus makes it clear this fleshly desire to elevate self is counter to God’s plan for us. We must fight the natural proclivity to focus on ourselves and seek out opportunities to help those around us. This is what Jesus stated in Matthew 20:26-28. Not only did He tell us to do this, but He also modeled it.

In John 13:13–17 (CSB) we read, “You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you

an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you. Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

Jesus had just done the unexpected as He washed His own followers’ feet after they had shared a meal. He did so to teach a valuable lesson. It is incumbent upon us all to find ways to serve others to share the love of Christ with the world. At Liberty University, this concept has always been baked into the academic experience for every student.

From our earliest days at LU, students are expected to discover service opportunities within the local Lynchburg community. It is part of that academic journey for every student and is a requirement for graduation. This is not done for purely “checking the box” for a degree completion plan. It is done to instill lifelong habits of serving others for the purpose of reaching people with the Gospel. My dad made this a foundational element of every student’s experience from day one.

Last year, our LU students served over 450,000 hours through their CSER (Christian/Community Service) connections. These same students

prepared and packed about 272,000 meals (in partnership with World Help) to be distributed in Haiti. On one day in April, over 2,000 students served in many different organizations throughout Lynchburg in our annual Serve Lynchburg event (see Page 36). We also had 582 students travel in 41 different short-term mission trips through LU Send. And, over 100 students served in disaster relief efforts in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse (see Page 34).

We take service seriously at LU. Why? Because Jesus taught it, modeled it, and commanded it. And as 1 Corinthians 4:2 teaches us, it is required that stewards be found faithful. We want to be faithful stewards of the gifts and opportunities afforded us by our Creator. He called us to make a difference, He called us to love others, He called us to reach them with the only message which can save them … the Gospel. Let us all be found faithful!

Jonathan Falwell has spent his lifetime associated with the ministries of Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church. He has served as Liberty’s chancellor since March 2023 and as senior pastor at TRBC since 2007.

Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell visits with children on a missions trip to El Salvador in 1983.

Chancellor Jonathan Falwell joins over 1,000 students in packing meals for families in Haiti during a campus event in February.

JESSIE JORDAN

IN TIME OF NEED

Students restore hope to California wildfire victims

Last January, the deadly Eaton and Palisades wildfires ravaged over 37,000 acres near Los Angeles, Calif., leaving at least 29 dead and destroying more than 16,000 structures. Families lost their homes as whole neighborhoods were left unrecognizable.

Liberty University’s LU Serve Now disaster relief initiative kicked into gear, sending a team of 12 in April to join Samaritan’s Purse in widespread recovery efforts.

Wearing hazmat suits, the team spent a week sifting through the rubble and searching for sentimental family heirlooms spared by the flames.

Through this daily selfless service, the Liberty students found opportunities to share the love of Christ with homeowners.

“I wasn’t sure how what we were going to be doing would be that impactful, but seeing how the homeowners reacted to us, working with a smile on our face, for free, in the sun, it broke them down in such a

way that they were so open to why we were there. That was really special,” sophomore Jonathan De Klerk said.

Finding everything from wedding bands to other cherished treasures like an Emmy Award, a torch carried in the 1968 Olympics, or even family members’ remains, Liberty’s team helped provide a small spark of hope for individuals who had lost almost everything they owned. Praying with the homeowners on site and presenting them with a Bible, the students had the chance to be a light in a dark, tragic time.

“Most of the homeowners embraced us almost immediately … we were taking time out of our lives to be there and that hit them immediately of why we were doing that,” junior Leah Kelley said. “The initial interaction we had with them opened the door to them wanting to share their stories and tell us what they had been through. They wanted us to walk alongside them.”

Waking up before 6 a.m. each morning

to prepare for a full day of work, the group said the Lord gave them the strength to overcome fatigue and serve faithfully.

“We had way too much energy for the work we were doing,” De Klerk said. “It was not normal. We were just going at it eight hours a day. By the last two days, we were slowing down a little bit, but we were still really motivated. It was amazing to see.”

LU Serve Now not only sends teams in the timely aftermath of disasters but also remains dedicated to ongoing recovery efforts even years later. The week before the LA trip, another team arrived in Lahaina, Hawaii, to assist Samaritan’s Purse in rebuild efforts from the 2023 wildfires that decimated the region. This was Liberty’s third time sponsoring a trip to Lahaina; two teams were dispatched in 2023.

During the 2024-25 academic year, 10 LU Serve Now teams assisted homeowners recovering from hurricane damage in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

JESSIE

JORDAN

JESSIE JORDAN

JESSIE

LOVING THY NEIGHBOR

Over 1,300 students, faculty, and staff participated in Liberty University’s eighth annual Serve Lynchburg day in April, spreading out to 96 different locations in the city and beyond, from local churches to food banks, schools, libraries, community centers, and more.

Freshman Hope Vranes spent the day at Lynchburg Grows, a local urban farm that provides fresh produce to the community and meaningful jobs for those with disabilities.

“I admire and appreciate that Liberty has such an emphasis on service, because then it can really show God’s love and shine His light toward the Lynchburg community and other communities,” she

said. “It shows that we as Liberty students really care about the community and want to share God’s love with them.”

Members of Liberty’s executive leadership, including President Dondi E. Costin and Chancellor Jonathan Falwell, served at various locations, where they encouraged students and thanked them for their selfless work.

“Service is a key feature of our curriculum,” Costin said. “At Liberty University, you get to understand service is not a box you check; it’s who you are and what you do. The fact we do it all year long is amazing. … This is a oneday snapshot that shows the community and students what we get to do for the

rest of our lives, and that is to serve other people.”

Falwell added, “It’s a privilege for Liberty University as an institution to have a positive impact on our community, not only for the good work we do today and Christian service throughout the year, but also to make a Gospel imprint and impact.”

Liberty has been built on a longstanding tradition of Gospel-centered community service, in part through the LU Serve Office, which organizes Serve Lynchburg and multiple experiences throughout the year, including students’ required Christian/Community Service (CSER) and domestic and international humanitarian aid and disaster relief trips.

HIGH-LEVEL RESEARCH GROUP EXPLORES ADVANCEMENTS IN FLUID DYNAMICS

A group of Liberty University mechanical engineering students has been conducting research in fluid dynamics — the study of the movement of liquids, gases, and solid particles and how they interact with their surrounding environment — to advance technological applications ranging from blood circulation and brain injury therapy to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors.

The F.L.U.I.D. group (which stands for Flow at Liberty University for Innovation & Design) began in 2019 and conducts research for external companies out of Liberty’s CERE building, led by School of Engineering Professor Wayne Strasser, P.E., who serves as the faculty advisor and research mentor.

“F.L.U.I.D. is made up of brilliant graduate students from all over the world, along with dozens of talented undergraduates from right here at LU,” Strasser said. “In the last year, we have presented our work at international conferences, participated in internships, won awards, and published papers in leading fluid dynamics journals. In doing so, we have advanced humanity’s understanding of key fluids-related topics, such as how fuels break apart in rocket engines, how to prevent a chemical reactor from exploding, why small flaps on sharkskin help sharks maneuver, and how to design medical devices to help us breathe.”

Strasser said God’s majestic, purposeful

creation involves intricate fluid physics in everything from waterfalls and rivers to hurricanes and erupting volcanos. These flows inherently involve complex interplay between the multiple phases — liquids, gases, and solid particles. Studying these interactions has important applications to our everyday lives and bodies, from medicine to nearly every industry, including chemical, energy production, transportation, and food distribution.

“Within these mixtures of phases are intricate tug-of-war challenges between forces, such as surface tension, gravity, and pressure. Our research is focused on understanding these interactions, harnessing their benefits, and managing their dangers for these industries. In the F.L.U.I.D. group, we answer these questions as we dive deeply into the Creator’s physics.”

The field is more specifically called computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, and Strasser’s students use it to perform calculations and analyze and solve problems involving fluid mechanics using computer models.

Graduates who were part of the F.L.U.I.D. group said the work helped them transition seamlessly into their professional fields.

Eric Turman (’20, ’22) has worked for General Motors for the past three years, currently as an advanced propulsion engineer on the drive systems and motors team developing the next generation of

drive units and hybrid transmissions. He is based out of the Warren Tech Center, GM’s main engineering division in Detroit with 22,000 employees.

He said his research at Liberty was “a good learning process of trying to understand a problem intricately and then … to figure out a solution.”

“I got a good understanding when I was working under Wayne (Strasser) of ‘How do you take a really complex topic and then figure out how to make it make sense (and) make others understand and see the value in it?’”

Reid Prichard (’19, ’24), is a thermal hydraulics core design engineer for nuclear reactors at BWXT Advanced Technologies’ headquarters in Lynchburg, Va.

“Liberty’s Ph.D. program is a challenging one and you have to work hard, and it absolutely pays off,” he said. “It really prepared me for success at BWXT, and I don’t think I would be as self-driven and confident to take the reins and start taking on big projects without it.”

ABOVE: Engineering Professor Wayne Strasser shows the F.L.U.I.D. group research on display at the CERE building.

BELOW: Ph.D. student Rob Kacinski demonstrates computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research he is conducting for a medical device manufacturer.

THE ARTS AT

The 2025-26 academic year will bring outstanding art exhibits, theatre productions, and music performances to Liberty University’s campus — all open to the public. Come experience and admire the work of our God-gifted, talented student and faculty artists.

THEATRE

“Into the Woods” (Alluvion Stage Company, Liberty’s professional theatre company) Sept. 12-28, Tower Theater

“Murder on the Orient Express” Oct. 17-26, Black Box Theater

“A Tale of Two Cities” Nov. 7-22, Tower Theater

“Anne of Green Gables” Feb. 13-22, Tower Theater

“The Marvelous Wonderettes” March 26-April 4, Black Box Theater

“Funny Girl” April 17-May 3, Tower Theater

For showtimes and to purchase tickets, call (434) 582-SEAT (7328) or visit Liberty.edu/Tickets

oin the Tower Club to provide financial assistance to students in the Department of Theatre Arts. To learn more, email theatre@liberty.edu or call

MUSICAL PERFORMANCES

Wind Symphony Concert* Oct. 3, Center for Music and the Worship Arts, Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Jazz Orchestra Concert* Oct. 7, Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Concert of Praise Oct. 13, Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Songwriter Café* Oct. 23, LaHaye Event Space, 7:30 p.m.

Concert Choir & Chamber Singers* Oct. 30, Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

University Chorale & Women’s Chorus* Nov. 4, Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Commercial Music Showcase* Nov. 11, Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.

JESSIE JORDAN

RYAN ANDERSON

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM

Fall Annual — Faculty Exhibition Aug. 28-Oct. 3

Senior Show Oct. 16-Nov. 6

MFA Show Nov. 13-28

Christmas Marketplace (student work available for purchase) Dec. 4, 4-7 p.m.

Works from the Permanent Collection Jan. 29-March 5

Senior Show March 12-April 2

Spring Marketplace April 9-April 17

MFA Show April 23-May 7

Housed within the art museum, the Barbara A. Engstrom Art Gallery regularly features Engstrom’s paintings in addition to glass and sculpted figures and photography collected from her travels to 99 countries.

Exhibitions are free. Open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. Visit Liberty.edu/ArtGallery

Faith, Health,

&WellBeing:

INTRODUCING LIBERTY UNIVERSITY’S GLOBAL CENTER FOR HUMAN FLOURISHING

Today’s generations live in a highly complex and ever-changing world. From COVID-19 to political unrest to AI advances to the impact of social media, mental health issues and challenges are soaring. In fact, 23 percent of adults in the United States, or nearly 60 million people, experienced a mental illness in the past year. One in five youth reported a major depressive episode, and more than half did not receive treatment.1

An exciting development in the midst of this sea of change is the resurgence of faith in everyday life. According to a recent report from Barna, 66 percent of adults in the United States now say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that remains important in their lives. This marks a 12-point increase since 2021 and reflects growing spiritual engagement, with Gen Z and millennials emerging as the primary drivers of this resurgence.2

Even more, there is a growing evidencebase indicating a connection between a person’s Christian faith and virtually every aspect of human health and well-being.

There is an overwhelming amount of objective scientific research now showing that those with a strong religious faith, who are living out a life that exemplifies a Champion for Christ, do better in every aspect of what we call “human flourishing” — more happy and satisfied with their lives, better mental and physical health, greater meaning and purpose in life, greater character and higher values, better social relationships with family and friends, and even greater financial and material stability (or at least greater contentment with whatever they have).

The Global Flourishing Study (GFS), a five-year longitudinal study conducted by the Gallup Poll involving over 200,000 adults from 22 countries representing all major continents, has recently released Wave 1 results collected in 2022 (with four more annual waves of data collection planned). These results, reported in 34 studies, were recently published in a special issue of “Nature,” one of the most prominent science journals in the world.3 At a cost of $43.4 million, this study coordinated by the Harvard School of Public

Health, Baylor University, and the Center for Open Science is examining every aspect of flourishing mentioned above with the goal of determining the characteristics of those from around the world who are truly flourishing, i.e. living an abundant life (John 10:10), in spite of whatever aversive conditions they may be facing.

Among the characteristics being measured is religious involvement. In each of the studies reporting results in “Nature,” the religious characteristic examined was frequency of religious attendance. The initial cross-sectional findings indicate that those who are more actively engaged in a religious community, whether currently

1. Mental Health America. (2024, December). State of mental health in America report 2024. Mental Health America. https://mhanational.org/wp-content/ uploads/2024/12/2024-State-of-Mental-Health-in-America-Report.pdf

2. Barna Group. (2025, April 7). Belief in Jesus rises, fueled by younger adults. Barna. https://www.barna.com/research/belief-in-jesus-rises/

3. Nature. (2025, April 30). Global flourishing study – Wave I. Nature. https://www.nature.com/collections/eaeicjffaf

or during their childhood (up to age 12), are experiencing significantly greater flourishing in every domain of mental, social, and physical health, and greater psychological well-being, better social relationships, greater meaning and purpose in life, greater optimism, more volunteering and helping of those in need, more charitable donations, better health behaviors, better self-rated health, and even greater financial well-being, despite having a lower household income.

The mission of the new Global Center for Human Flourishing (GCHF) at Liberty University is to create an environment throughout the university for students, faculty, and staff that is characterized by flourishing in all of the aspects described above. We are currently planning to conduct several randomized controlled trials over the next decade to examine the impact of a series of programmatic activities on individual flourishing, institutional flourishing, and spiritual commitment, all based on the two Great Commandments that Jesus emphasized in the Gospels. The interventions will focus on (1) deepening a relationship with God, (2) loving your neighbor through kindness, (3) expressing appreciation to others, (4) being grateful, (5) strengthening character, (6) becoming more forgiving, (7) becoming

AUTHORS:

Tim Clinton, Ed.D., LPC, LMFT Director, GCHF

Ron Hawkins, Ed.D., D.Min., LPC Associate Director, GCHF

Harold G. Koenig, MD, MHSc Duke University

more humble, and (8) attention to the physical body and brain health.

Each of these are established interventions with a strong evidencebase demonstrating an impact on shaping disciples for Christ and thereby enhancing human flourishing (both on an individual and community basis). Once we identify the most effective interventions from the above studies (and publish the results in academic peer-reviewed journals), we plan to implement these programs throughout the Liberty University community. The goal of the GCHF is to not only demonstrate that a focus on such program activities can create a flourishing environment at Liberty — making it a leader in redefining human flourishing through a faith-informed perspective — but also encourage the implementation of these programs at other Christian universities and hopefully at secular universities throughout the country and world, advancing God’s Kingdom work here on earth for this generation and many to come.

The accomplishment of these goals will require a team effort from everyone (faculty, students, and staff) at Liberty University. With that and with God’s grace and blessings, we look expectantly to the road ahead.

To learn more, visit Liberty.edu/GCHF

FACULTY & STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS

>> LEADERSHIP HONOR

Liberty University President Dondi E. Costin was presented the 2024 Leadership Achievement Award by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates. The award exemplifies the Air Force core values of “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.” Costin is a retired Major General with 36 years of service in a military career that culminated as a senior leader in the Pentagon, where he served as Air Force Chief of Chaplains.

>> TOP TEACHER

Professor of Psychology Dr. Brianne Friberg was honored in May with the Conference USA Faculty Achievement Award for outstanding teaching, research, service, and scholarly work. She has contributed to the area of developmental science with emphases on risk, resilience, and developmental disorders. Her research with students has included parenting, cumulative risk, and college student well-being.

>>PROFESSOR EMERITUS

After over 15 years of teaching at Liberty University School of Law, F. Philip Manns Jr. was named the school’s first professor emeritus. The title was awarded during the law school’s Commencement degree presentation ceremony on May 10.

>> FULBRIGHT SPECIALISTS

David Leffler (top), a discovery and access librarian at the Jerry Falwell Library, served as a Fulbright Specialist at the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology in Namangan, Uzbekistan, last fall, where he helped modernize the institute’s library. Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Christopher Rhoades served as a Fulbright Specialist last spring at Metropolitan University in Budapest, Hungary, where he led a workshop on human behavior in cross-cultural engagement.

>> COURT TRAINING

Professor of Psychology Dr. Brian Kelley has helped inform practices for addressing substance use disorder and mental illness in Virginia’s judicial system by creating training curriculum for the specialty dockets, including the recovery court, family court, veterans court, and mental health court. He has traveled to the Supreme Court of Virginia in Richmond to work with judges and other administrators.

>> PRESERVING HISTORY

Angela Rice, dean of the Jerry Falwell Library, was appointed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to the State Historical Record Advisory Board to assist in the preservation, organization, and accessibility of historical state records.

>> FINANCE AWARD

School of Law Dean Dr. Timothy Todd received the 2024 Best Research Award from the Financial Planning Association in April for his contributions to advancing financial planning practitioners and the profession. He also received the award in 2023.

>> LITERARY REVIEW

An article by Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Dr. Song (Joseph) Cho titled “The Protoevangelium in John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’” was accepted for publication in the journal “Steinbeck Review” from Penn State University Press.

>> FOCUS ON SAFETY

Chief of Police Gerald Irwin (top) and Director of Emergency Management & Community Engagement Jeffrey Hurtak were keynote speakers at the University of Notre Dame’s Unified Response Symposium in June. They showcased Liberty’s innovative approach to public safety and emergency response during large-scale events and how it has positioned the university as a national leader among higher education institutions.

2024-25 PRESIDENT’S AWARD for EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING

This award recognizes professors who have promoted significant student learning, evidenced by creative and innovative approaches to teaching, the effective use of instructional technology, and exceptional pedagogical skill, and whose impact on student faith, thought, and character advances Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ

DR. DAN BERKENKEMPER College of Arts & Sciences

DR. VIRGINIA DOW College of Arts & Sciences

DR. CHELSEA MILKS College of Arts & Sciences

DR. HANNA BYRD School of Music

DR. SHERRI WALKER School of Nursing

40 YEARS OF ‘BIBLICAL SENSE’ LESSONS

ECONOMICS PROFESSOR FROM TAIWAN TRACES INCREDIBLE FAITH JOURNEY

Whether teaching students to be good stewards of God’s provision or finding hope during the dark times of his own life, Liberty University School of Business Professor Dr. Andrew Light points to the Bible for answers.

Light said he grew up poor by American standards, but his family had the necessities for a simple life in Tainan County, Taiwan. His parents did not practice any faith. A friend invited him to a Christian church as a teenager, but like other children of the culture, Light’s studies were his focus, and passing entrance exams to attend quality schools took priority. He attended the esteemed National Taiwan University, where he met his wife, Susan, in the economics program. After graduation, Light was working at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research when he decided to explore Ph.D.

programs in the United States.

But before he left for the U.S., he made an even larger decision than the one to fly across the Pacific. In 1979, he experienced a period of depression and could not bring himself to share his struggles with anyone and didn’t know where to look. Something stirred him to grab a Bible, and he began reading the book of Matthew. He spent each night searching for an answer to his problem.

“By God’s mercy, He used His Word to answer my questions and heal my troubles and help me make the decision to follow Him,” Light said, noting that 2 Corinthians 7:10 brought answers to his deep troubling questions.

Having saved enough for a plane ticket and two pieces of luggage, Light made his way to Virginia Tech on a teaching assistant scholarship. A year later, he transferred to Ohio State to study alongside Susan, where he completed his Ph.D. in economics.

In 1985, following a one-year teaching job at Ohio State, both he and Susan were hired to teach at Liberty. From the time he started at Liberty, Light has carried out his passion for teaching Christian principles in economics and business. He spent a year reading through the Bible and taking notes on every mention of money, stewardship, and related topics, essentially creating an index that he adapted into a textbook, “Biblical Sense Economics,” that he now uses in his class.

“I tell my students, ‘You can forget about

common sense economics, but you cannot forget about biblical principles because they can help you for the rest of your life,’” Light said.

Across his 40 years at Liberty, he said he has witnessed the Spirit of the Lord do wonders on Liberty Mountain, from a school that struggled financially in the 1990s to a prominent Christian university known for its world-class academics and facilities.

“When I look back at my (40 years), I see the work of God and the faith of (Liberty founder) Dr. Jerry Falwell. He was so faithful, and he always said Liberty is God’s school. You can see God’s hand on this school. I get along really well with my colleagues because we all share the same standards, and we are all Christians. It is a special place to be.”

Like many other professors at Liberty, Light makes a point to collect students’ prayer requests during class. Whenever a student visits his office, Light hands them a copy of Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest,” a favorite book of his and Falwell’s. Over the years, the Lights have sought out opportunities to welcome and mentor international students from Taiwan and China, inviting them to church and opening their home.

Light said he has no plans to retire soon from teaching, and his reason is simple: “God keeps telling me to stay here and keep teaching. As long as He keeps saying that, I’ll stay.”

Light teaches an economics class in 2006.

BIGGER & BETTER

Liberty University’s Hydaway Lake, located at the Hydaway Outdoor Center on Liberty Mountain, has long been a student favorite. From swimming and fishing, to canoeing, kayaking, and even a giant waterslide, the lake has something for all students to enjoy.

In the past few years, the lake has undergone a major expansion, growing from 5.6 to 31 acres. After years of environmental studies, crews began clearing the land in Spring 2021 and construction began on a new dam. The new expanse was full by last spring, and the lake is now open for student use.

The expansion features a newly constructed pedestrian bridge and an extended beach area and boat launches. The Hydaway Outdoor Center provides equipment for students to check out (bikes, canoes, kayaks, fishing equipment, and more; visit Liberty.edu/CampusRec). Students can still take advantage of the trails around the lake, part of the vast Liberty Mountain Trail System.

Hydaway Lake is a jewel in the crown of scenic recreational amenities on Liberty’s several thousand acres of mountain property, which also includes the Liberty University Equestrian Center, Liberty Mountain Gun Club, Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, Astronomical Observatory, and Hydaway Outdoor Center Disc Golf Course.

LIBERTY HOLDS SUMMER CONVOCATIONS IN TEXAS, NORTH CAROLINA

“It was great to see the Liberty crew down here in Texas and to be with fellow alums that I haven’t seen in several years,” said Rodney Ashby (’93), a former member of the Flames Baseball team who attended the Convocation at First Baptist Dallas Worship Center.

Over the summer, Liberty University’s Office of Spiritual Development took a campus favorite cross country with Convocation on the Road, an event that provided students, alumni, and members of the local community in two major cities the chance to experience a Liberty Convocation service right in their own backyard.

Members of Liberty’s executive leadership joined the Liberty Worship Collective in Dallas, Texas, (June 13) and Raleigh, N.C., (June 20) to lead a time of worship and deliver an encouraging message from the Word. The events gave participants a glimpse of the work done weekly on campus to advance the Great Commission through the university’s mission of Training Champions for Christ.

In all, over 2,500 registered for the two events.

President Dondi E. Costin spoke at the Dallas event, challenging those in attendance to live extraordinary lives for Christ. Chancellor Jonathan Falwell shared how he has seen the blessing of God on Liberty over the years.

Falwell and Vice President of Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge were featured speakers at The Summit Church (Capital Hills campus) in Raleigh.

After the events, individuals had the chance to connect with staff from the Alumni Relations Office, the Office of Spiritual Development, and Flames Club,

as well as meet university leadership.

Junior Gaius Aristidle, who was serving as an intern with The Summit Church, said Falwell’s message provided muchneeded encouragement at a challenging time in his life.

“It was powerful,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I had that kind of worship, so this was a way to reconnect with Liberty and have the excitement to go back on campus.”

For Liberty alumna Wendy Warlick (’18), her favorite part of the evening was singing New Life Worship’s “Great I Am.” She regularly attends The Summit Church and said she was grateful for the chance to reconnect with her alma mater at her home church.

“I just love it. Convo is my happy place, and (seeing) Liberty Worship Collective was amazing,” said Warlick, whose son graduated from Liberty this past year.

HOPE FOR CHURCH REVITALIZATION

BY DR. RUSTY SMALL

Church buildings still dot the American landscape today. For some time, there has been a growing sense of unease in the Christian community that many of the established churches, which have long been the backbone of American Christianity, may be faltering. Evangelicals have dedicated themselves to good, Gospelcentered tasks, including international missions, theological training, cultural engagement, and church planting, among others. However, the time has come to shift focus back to the most essential and urgent need: the health and flourishing of the local church.

In 2019, a tipping point was reached among Protestant churches, with 3,000 new churches being started but 4,500 closing. For a long time, the solution to counteract the loss of churches was to plant new ones. However, in 2019, it became clear that we were struggling to plant churches at a faster rate than the rate that established churches were closing. The unfortunate adage that discourages many from attempting church revitalization was “it is easier to birth a baby than to raise the dead.” Since Jesus was raised from the dead, and Christians live in the power of resurrection, there is indeed hope for new vitality to sweep over the local church in America. A dying, struggling church is not the kind of witness to Christ that we should desire. To address the need to support the established church, four primary shifts are currently underway.

TRAINING PASTORS IN CHURCH REVITALIZATION

Seminaries and divinity schools are training pastors with the skills needed for church revitalization. Pastors who lead church revitalization genuinely care about their congregation. Their main focus is to love the people and help the church grow in healthy, steady ways. They gently but firmly guide the flock. Pastors are also not solely focused on church growth as the only sign of success. They find joy in faithful pastoral work, simple acts of care and compassion, and preaching, all

while focusing on the overall health of the church and the well-being of the staff.

SEIZING UPON NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Church consultants and congregations are reassessing the potential of this moment. With many churches in decline,

once difficult conversations are now taking place. Churches are receptive to help from outside, with some requesting consultations, partnering with different churches, and even donating property to support new church plants. New approaches are emerging with an open hand to foster greater collaboration.

DEVELOPING NEW APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING

Plans for church revitalization are being developed with a unique humility, assessing each church’s situation and charting a customized path toward vitality for each church. Gone are the days when

a few simple programs could be inputted for the church to grow numerically. Pastors and congregants cannot rely on prepackaged ideas or quick fixes to turn their church around. Therefore, churches are being assessed based on their unique histories, strengths, community opportunities, and available resources in a much more personalized manner. Plans are being developed that align with a tailored analysis of each church. This approach to understanding the distinct situations and pathways to vitality in various church contexts is breathing its fresh air into congregations, demonstrating the diverse beauty of the bride of Christ.

RENEWED DEPENDENCY UPON GOD

With no easy answers, and the older, typically more reliable church growth models now faltering, a new reliance on God, the transforming power of the Gospel, and the empowering Holy Spirit are filling congregations. The book of Acts becomes a more straightforward guide as we see the early church not propelled by cultural winds but rather by confronting and transforming culture. The faithful, vibrant, Spirit-filled early church proclaimed the Gospel boldly and lived winsomely, and “Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). It is my prayer that this reality will become normal again.

Dr. Rusty Small is a Professor at the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, a Church Revitalization Strategist for the Southern Baptist Convention of Virginia, and Lead Pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Appomattox, Va., where he led a revitalization effort more than a decade ago. He authored “Church Revitalization: A Pastoral Guide to Church Renewal” (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2023), in which he outlines the theory and practice of church revitalization.

LIBERTY TO HOST 2026 COLLEGIATE DAY

Liberty University will serve as the host site for the 2026 Collegiate Day of Prayer broadcast on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 8 p.m. EST in the Vines Center. The two-hour event will unite campuses, churches, and ministries in the local community, across the nation, and around the world in prayer for college students.

OF PRAYER

‘GO FLAMES, GO GOD’

HISTORIC, IMPACTFUL SEASON FOR LIBERTY SOFTBALL

If you followed Liberty University Softball this past season, you no doubt heard Head Coach Dot Richardson shout “Go Flames, Go God!” on the field and in media interviews. Richardson and the players even wore shirts with those words during postgame press conferences.

The saying became a mantra of sorts for a historic season that was spirit-filled from the first pitch and saw the team go further than it had ever gone before.

After winning their second consecutive Conference USA title in an 8-0 thrashing of Jacksonville State University in the championship game, the Lady Flames became the first team in the country to knock out a national No. 1 seed from its NCAA Regional in the Super Regional era (since 2005), taking down the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. The victory placed

Liberty at an NCAA Super Regional for the first time in program history. Midnight finally struck for Liberty’s Cinderella run, however, when the Lady Flames dropped two games to Oregon in the best-of-three series, ending their journey to the Women’s College World Series.

But with their remarkable athletic prowess on display this past season, perhaps the members of the 2025 Lady Flames Softball team may also be remembered for their dedication to glorifying God through their sport.

In the regional final against the Aggies, catcher Savannah Jessee hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 3 before teammate Rachel Roupe hit a three-run blast to score the eventual game winner. Following the game, Jessee said that focusing on the team’s mantra of “Go God” helped her maintain her

composure at the plate.

“I just thought about how blessed we were this weekend, all that we’ve come through and all we’ve done to show the world who we are as a university and school for softball,” she said at the postgame press conference. “I just gave it all to the Lord. I had been (hitless) for the entire weekend and hadn’t been seeing the ball well. I was trying to stay present on the defensive side and got my pitch and was able to deliver.”

Big victories came on and off the field as the Lady Flames placed their love for Christ at the forefront. Their passion was demonstrated through their faithfulness in leading prayers on the field after each game and inviting their opponents to join them, in praising God during postgame interviews (victory or defeat), and by allowing the love of Jesus to radiate through their lives.

The Lady Flames celebrate a victory over No. 1 Texas A&M at the NCAA Division I Regionals on May 17.

“First, all praise to the Lord. God is so faithful,” Richardson told national media after the win over Texas A&M to advance to the Super Regionals. “When I say that, I say it because you saw a battle out here with Texas A&M and Liberty. It was amazing to watch the talent all the girls have. That’s what the Lord says, when you have your talents, put them out to show. Look at the battle. … I am proud of our team at Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world that is supporting Training Champions for Christ. To be able to have the resources and faith and support we have for our programs, we are so blessed.”

Through this commitment to the mission, the Lady Flames have found success in sharing Christ’s love with others, including student-athletes from conference rivals.

Days before Liberty was set to compete in the 2025 Conference USA Softball Championship in Bowling Green, Ky., Richardson was approached in an elevator by a player from Jax State who asked her to baptize her and some teammates. The following evening, Richardson presented the Gospel to over 60 people around a hotel pool before facilitating the baptisms of 26 players, including players from LU, Western Kentucky, Sam Houston, and Jax State.

In an interview with Liberty News, Richardson called the night “powerful and unbelievable.”

“The Holy Spirit took over — the tears, the joy, the excitement, and the humility. I told her (the Jax State player who approached her), ‘Look how God has worked through you. Look how He has called you to Him. With you wanting to be baptized and being bold to ask for it, look how many others have done the same.’”

Richardson said victory on the field

is only secondary to the joy of having a relationship with Jesus.

“This is the biggest victory of all. No matter what happens in this tournament and beyond, the victory is in Jesus. That’s what life is about: getting to know Him, continuing to seek Him, and growing closer to Him. No matter what we do, whether it’s competing in a sport or in business or in our lives, it’s really all about accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior and following His commands and being obedient. Baptism is one of those callings.”

She said the team represents Liberty’s mission in their sport and understands the responsibility that comes with it.

“We are blessed to be at Liberty. With Liberty across the front of our jerseys,

DID YOU KNOW?

people know we stand for Christ and for Training Champions for Christ, and that’s powerful. There’s also a calling for us to make sure we’re playing for something more than just wins and losses. We’re playing to glorify Him, and that should be the goal for all of us.”

OUT ON TOP

In addition to winning the conference crown, making their fifth straight appearance in NCAA Regionals, and advancing to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time, the Lady Flames broke several program records and earned several accolades for the 2025 campaign:

CARET-RIGHT The Lady Flames concluded the 2025 season ranked Top 25 in all four major polls.

CARET-RIGHT Liberty is one of two teams outside of the Power 4 Conferences to appear in each of the last five NCAA Regionals (2021-25).

CARET-RIGHT Senior Rachel Roupe was named the top defensive right fielder in NCAA Division I softball, being honored with the 2025 NCAA Division I Rawlings Gold Glove Award presented by the NFCA. She was named to the D1Softball All-American Team as a second team selection and was named CUSA’s Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Michael L. Slive Female Athlete of the Year.

CARET-RIGHT

Softball Coach Dot Richardson is an NCAA National Champion and two-time Olympic Gold medalist. She won the 1982 national title with UCLA before earning back-to-back first-place finishes on the world’s stage at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Richardson scored the deciding run on a two-run homer in Team USA’s 1996 matchup against China.

Head

Catcher Savannah Jessee (left) and third baseman Rachel Craine

Head Coach Dot Richardson reacts to the game-ending strikeout on May 18 that sent Liberty to the Super Regionals for the first time in program history.

BURNING BRIGHT

During the last two seasons, Liberty Athletics has experienced comprehensive success unlike any other span of time in the 50plus year history of the department. Fifteen of the 20 NCAA Division I athletic programs have won a regular season or tournament championship during the last two years, resulting in 25 total conference titles.

The Flames and Lady Flames closed the 2024-25 year with 13 conference championship titles and multiple accolades on the field and in the classroom. Liberty’s Club Sports teams also made their mark, with 33 competing on the national stage.

Here’s a look back at some highlights from the spring.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

In a rematch of the 2024 CUSA Women’s Basketball Championship Final, No. 1 seed Liberty turned the tables on two-time defending champion Middle Tennessee, the No. 2 seed, claiming a 53-48 victory for its first CUSA title and punching its ticket to March Madness as a No. 13 seed. Liberty rallied from a 17-point deficit early in the fourth quarter before falling to regional host Kentucky 79-78 in the opening round.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The No. 1-seeded Flames won their first Conference USA title, topping No. 2 seed Jacksonville State 79-67 in the 2025 CUSA Championship Final to punch their seventh ticket to March Madness. Liberty was the No. 12 seed and fell to No. 5 seed Oregon in the first round. In June, former Flames guard Taelon Peter was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft, becoming the highest pick in program history.

DID YOU KNOW?

Liberty was one of only three schools in the country to have both its men’s and women’s basketball teams claim regular season and tournament championships in the 2024-25

CROSS COUNTRY

For the first time since 2012, Liberty University swept the men’s and women’s cross country conference titles. The Lady Flames enjoyed the largest margin of victory (66 points) in CUSA Cross Country Championships history, while the Flames pulled out their first conference championship in 11 years.

TRACK & FIELD

The Lady Flames swept both the indoor and outdoor CUSA titles, and the men finished second at the CUSA championships. For the 10th consecutive season, Liberty was represented at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with Paola Bueno (women’s hammer), Kellen Kimes (men’s hammer), and Allie Zealand (women’s 1,500). Bueno placed 16th overall to earn second team All-America honors. Meredith Engle finished 12th in pentathlon at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships to earn second team All-America honors. She also won the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 Award at the event.

DID YOU KNOW?

MEN’S LACROSSE

Liberty earned its third Atlantic Lacrosse Conference title in five seasons by trouncing Tennessee 16-8. The No. 1 Flames then dethroned No. 5 BYU 15-10 in the semifinals and defeated No. 3 Georgia Tech 17-12 to clinch their first Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championship title, stretching their program-best win streak to 19 games.

SOFTBALL

The Lady Flames advanced to the program’s first NCAA Softball Super Regional after defeating No. 1 host Texas A&M 6-5. They were eliminated by Super Regional host Oregon. Liberty finished 50-15 and received Top 25 rankings from all four major postseason polls (read more on Page 50).

Liberty was one of 11 FBS non-Power 4 schools to finish inside the Top 100 of the 2024-25 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, which ranks college athletics programs overall across the country.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

Capturing its seventh conference championship in a row, the Lady Flames earned the 2025 ASUN title. Sophomore Kamryn Cannings (100 free) and freshman Aly Bozzuto (200 breast) competed in the NCAA Division I nationals in Federal Way, Wash.

DIVISION I WOMEN’S HOCKEY

The Lady Flames bested Minot State University 2-1 to win their fifth Women’s Midwest College Hockey Championship and went on to win their seventh ACHA national championship with a 2-1 double-overtime triumph over Maryville (Mo.) University. Assistant Captain Zosia Adamek was named tournament MVP. All five of Liberty’s hockey teams (men’s DI, DII, and DIII and women’s DI and DII) qualified for national championships.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

The Lady Flames earned their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance after scorching Coastal Carolina 14-8 in the ASUN Women’s Lacrosse Championship Final. Liberty fell to No. 8 host Johns Hopkins in the first round.

MEN’S SWIMMING

Liberty captured its fifth consecutive Eastern Regional championship title before finishing second for the third year in a row at the College Club Swimming National Championships. Graduate Matt Davidson and freshman Xander Williams earned gold medals in the 50-yard backstroke and 200 butterfly, respectively. The Flames’ 800 relay team recorded a first-place finish; the other four relays placed second.

ROWING

Three boats from the men’s and women’s rowing teams recorded strong finishes at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tenn., headlined by a first-place finish from the Women’s Novice 4 squad.

GYMNASTICS

The Lady Flames placed second out of 22 Level 9 teams at the National Association of

DISC GOLF

The top DI women’s squad repeated its first-place finish at the College Disc Golf National Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., while the four men’s squads all finished in the top 10 percent of their respective fields.

SKI & SNOWBOARD

The Lady Flames ski team earned gold medals in both the rail jam and slopestyle competitions at the United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships. The men’s ski squad finished third in rail jam and fourth in slopestyle.

MEN’S WRESTLING

Freshman Matox Allen captured an individual title at 157 pounds to pace the Flames’ wrestling team to a fourth-place finish at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Grand National Championships. The Flames also recorded a third-place finish at the NCWA National Duals.

Listen to the Official Liberty Flames Athletics Podcast featuring regular updates throughout the season and engaging player and coach interviews. Available at LibertyFlames.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM

Eight programs were recognized by the NCAA for perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, a Liberty Athletics record: men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s lacrosse, women’s swimming & diving, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball. Both NCAA and Club Sports student-athletes achieved new milestones with cumulative gradepoint averages of 3.40 for the spring semester.

NBC SPORTS BROADCASTER SHARES ADOPTION STORY

For as long as he can remember, sports have played a role in the life of Liberty University alumnus Pat Doney (’07). At 4 years old, he was the ball boy for the football team at Liberty Christian School in Huntington Beach, Calif. He played basketball, football, and baseball in high school. He studied sports broadcasting at Liberty and has enjoyed a career that has taken him to the top tiers of the sports world, from the Super Bowl to the World Series and the Olympics.

In an interview with “Flames Central,” Liberty’s sports TV program, Doney, now a sports anchor and reporter for NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth, and his wife, Sheleena (’07), shared about the path God has led their family on, including the blessings of adoption and caring for a child with special needs and how they have learned to faithfully serve as beacons for the Gospel in all areas of their lives.

Pat first visited Liberty’s campus for College For a Weekend and attended basketball and football games before he decided to enroll and pursue a degree in broadcasting. Starting out as a production assistant with 90.9 The Light, the on-campus student radio station, Pat eventually took on additional roles, such as host of a weekly talk show, sports

editor at the “Liberty Champion” (the university’s student-run newspaper), and baseball play-by-play announcer alongside Liberty Flames Sports Network broadcaster Nick Pierce.

Pat and Sheleena met at the beginning of his sophomore year at Liberty’s Block Party. They married soon after graduation and moved several times over the next few years before finally settling down in Dallas in 2013, when Pat accepted the job with NBC. Their daughter, Barlow, was born that year.

In 2014, the couple began looking into the possibility of adopting a child, something that had been on their hearts for a while. Eight months after sending in their paperwork, the couple received a call that their adopted son had been born. Rushing to the hospital, Pat and Sheleena met Hudson for the first time at 1 day old.

“It was just one of those life-changing moments that you see this baby that’s there and immediately realize, ‘This is our son,’” Pat told Flames Central. “Even though my wife did not (actually) give birth to him in that moment, he is forever a part of the Doney family now.”

Six months after taking Hudson home, the Doneys began to notice that he was not progressing at the same rate as other children his age. A trip to the pediatric

neurologist confirmed their worst fears: Hudson had cerebral palsy.

In the weeks, months, and years that followed the diagnosis, Pat and Sheleena adapted to the new reality of caring for a child with special needs.

“One thing that I tried to continue to lean on is that God doesn’t make mistakes,” Pat said. “There’s a reason that Hudson is a part of our life. There is a reason that God has us in this circumstance. There is a reason that out of all the families that the (adoption) organization could have given Hudson to … God chose our family for that.”

“I don’t think there’s a better gift that you can give in life than to give someone

a family who doesn’t have one,” he added. “(Adopting Hudson) completely changed the way that we see the world and we see life. We don’t see our two children as being our biological daughter and our adopted son. We just see our two kids, and he has become an immediate part of our family.”

Now 9 years old, Hudson lives life as a typical third grader, only with some additional challenges. He eats through a feeding tube and takes multiple medications every day to prevent illness. Although he cannot speak verbally, he communicates through Tobii DynaVox speech technology. He relies on a wheelchair and uses a KidWalk mobility system to walk during PE class.

“There are so many different things that we have been able to see and that he’s been able to do that have surpassed the expectations from when we received the diagnosis when he was 6 months old,” Pat said. “And it’s amazing to see his joy through the whole process as well. He’s one of the happiest kids you’ll ever meet. His laugh is infectious. Everybody loves Hudson. He’s probably the most popular kid in his elementary school.”

“(Hudson is) a blessing to everyone he meets,” Sheleena added. “He goes to Gen Ed class at school, like it’s truly amazing. He is probably one of the smartest kids I know. ... He makes friends with everybody. Everybody loves him. He’s a joy, like he really is so joyful in such hard circumstances.”

Through his job with NBC Sports, Pat covers everything from high school football to professional Dallas teams like the Cowboys, Mavericks, and Stars. He has covered two Super Bowls, the Texas Rangers in the 2023 World Series, and the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In a previous position, he covered the University of Kentucky and their 2012 NCAA Basketball Championship win and two consecutive Kentucky Derbies.

No matter where he finds himself, Pat faithfully uses his platform to share his Christian walk and demonstrate the love of Christ to others.

“To see the platform and the opportunity God has given me, I just don’t want to mess it up,” he said. “I’m trying to do everything I can to live in a way that He wants me to live. I’m trying to be the best example that I can possibly be. It’s hard, and there are challenges for sure. I’m so thankful for the opportunities God has given me.”

Despite the incredible success he has found in his career, he said those moments pale in comparison to his Christian faith and love for his family.

“I love my career. I love my job. But there’s no question to me, my family is number one,” Pat said. “And there’s nothing like getting to see my kids grow up and to become the people that they are. I’m so proud of them.”

Throughout everything the family encounters in life, one prominent theme in all circumstances is joy. Instead of allowing a difficult situation like Hudson’s cerebral palsy to negatively affect them, the Doneys choose instead to trust God’s plan.

“I wish (Hudson) did not have to go through this every single day. I wish that he did not have this diagnosis,” Pat said.

“It’s not my job to fully understand that. It’s my job to live my life full of joy and to try and be different, to try to be salt in the earth, try and be light in the darkness, and do everything that I can, and our family can, to make a difference and to use this for His glory.”

“Flames Central” is a weekly Emmy Award-winning sports program featuring in-depth stories focusing on Liberty University athletics and the intersection of faith and sports. Watch more inspiring stories from “Flames Central” at LibertyFlamesCentral.com or on ESPN+. You can also tune into the “Flames Central Podcast” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

TELLING STORIES WITH AN ETERNAL PURPOSE

BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOSHUA COOLEY (’96) CHARTS CAREER PATH IN SPORTS, MINISTRY, AND PUBLISHING

From co-authoring the memoir of a Super Bowl MVP to writing Christian children’s books, New York Times bestselling author and Liberty University alumnus Joshua Cooley (’96) uses his talents to reach the masses with the Gospel.

While still in high school, Cooley knew he wanted to join his love for sports with his passion for writing. During his sophomore year at Liberty, he jumped at the opportunity to cover NCAA Division I sports for the student newspaper, the “Liberty Champion,” and eventually served as sports editor. After graduating with his journalism degree, Cooley worked at local weekly newspapers in his home state of Maryland and eventually served as sports editor at the Baltimore Examiner.

In 2007, Cooley felt called to step back from his journalism career and pursue a job where he could spend more time with his children. He spent the next 14 years as

BY CHRISTIAN SHIELDS

editors from Focus on the Family.

“God really dropped that in my lap,” Cooley said. “It was wonderful; that started my book publishing journey. It’s a hard business to get into. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to break in, but God opened the door.”

Seven years later, Cooley found his largest publication success to date when he coauthored the memoir of former NFL quarterback Nick Foles, who was fresh off

winning Super Bowl LII MVP honors after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory. The book, “Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure, and Overcoming the Odds,” went on to be a New York Times bestseller.

“Having the opportunity to write a memoir on a Super Bowl MVP was an incredible experience,” Cooley said. “Looking back, I can see how God orchestrated things remarkably, weaving the opportunity together in ways that I wasn’t even aware of at the time. It was literally heaven-sent. And Nick is the real deal. His faith is authentic, and his Christian walk is genuine. It’s a privilege to tell the stories of humble, God-honoring believers like that.”

As he seeks to reach the next generation through his writing, Cooley uses the expertise he developed as a children’s minister and his personal experiences as

Joshua Cooley has a passion for sharing the Gospel with children around the country. A former children’s minister, Cooley has published two children’s picture books.

Devotional” (Tyndale House, 2014), “The One Year Devotions with Jesus” (Tyndale House, 2015), and “Creator, Father, King: A One-Year Journey with God” (Tyndale House, 2020). Last year, he published his first children’s book, “I Can’t Believe My Eyes!,” which helps young kids believe in a God they can’t see. Earlier this year, he released “Empty! Celebrating a Risen Savior,” another picture book that explores the wonders of Jesus’ resurrection. He currently has seven more books scheduled to release over the next few years.

“When I write for kids, I try to put myself in the mind frame of what my kids would have understood at that age,” he said. “I have four teenage daughters ages 13-19. They are a little older. When I’m writing for kids, I still remember what my daughters thought about and what they could and couldn’t grasp at certain age levels. … It’s super helpful as a kids writer to have kids of your own because you can kind of enter that world.”

No matter his audience, Cooley approaches every project with the objective of praising God and bringing others closer to Him.

“The way I talk about God’s love to a 3-year-old might be a little different than the way I talk about it to an adult, but the truth of God’s love doesn’t change,” he said. “He’s still all-loving. He’s still holy. He’s still good. He’s still all-powerful. It’s just trying to connect with that audience in different ways to tell them about the God who doesn’t change.”

“Getting to share through books about this God who loves us and has moved heaven and earth to be with us through Jesus is really remarkable,” he added. “He’s called me to play a very small part in His big plan; that’s a huge honor and privilege, and I love to be able to do that.”

Aside from publishing, Cooley works primarily as a freelance writer and editor. He is currently the editor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ magazine and enjoys

writing/editing projects for many wellknown Christian publishers, including Tyndale House, HarperCollins Christian, David C Cook, New Growth Press, Awana, and others. His writing has appeared in nearly 40 different print and online publications. He also speaks at Christian schools, conferences, church retreats, and summer camps.

As Cooley looks back over his successful career, he credits his alma mater for helping him fine-tune his skills. He still has a copy of almost every article he wrote for the “Liberty Champion.”

“I’m grateful for the biblical-based center of the university where we aren’t just telling stories as writers and authors, we’re telling stories with an eternal purpose,” he said. “When I first got into journalism and working at secular newspapers, I loved it, and it was fun. But I was just telling regular sports stories about the game last night, or this star athlete. That only takes you so far.”

“The stories I really love telling are the ones I learned to tell at Liberty, which were based on something eternal — God’s love for us through His Son, Jesus. When I can weave faith and sports together, that’s my sweet spot,” he added. “I really love that. Not just faith and sports, but faith and life. That’s been a real blessing to get that training early on at Liberty and then still be able to do that many, many decades later.”

ALL in the FAMILY

MEET THE ZABIKS

Family’s story comes full circle as mother, daughter graduate with nursing degrees

When Nancy Zabik and her daughter Autumn Zabik walked across the stage at Liberty University School of Nursing’s degree ceremony on May 10, it was a shared moment of accomplishment. But it wasn’t the first time they had crossed a graduation stage together — 22 years ago, Nancy was 9 months pregnant with Autumn, on her due date, when she earned her associate degree in nursing.

Autumn completed the residential Bachelor of Science in Nursing: PreLicensure (BSN), and Nancy, currently a pain management nurse in Michigan, earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing for RNs: Post-Licensure through Liberty University Online Programs.

Not knowing they’d finish their respective programs at the same time until last year, the mother-daughter duo was happy to share the experience and recognize one another’s accomplishments during Commencement.

“I’m so proud of my daughter for doing this program with such grace and ease,” Nancy said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her. I have the privilege to walk across the stage with my daughter who already went across the stage with me before. It wasn’t my plan, but it was God’s plan. I feel so honored, and it is so rewarding.”

“It makes it that much more special to me and that much more exciting to do something like this with my mom,” Autumn added. “I know how hard she’s worked, and it’s so rewarding and special to see as a daughter.”

Nancy had earned her associate degree from another Christian college and said returning to study nursing again through a Christian lens was a refreshing reminder.

“In the nursing field, you do get a very skewed worldview as time goes on, when

you’re not constantly surrounded by that Christian worldview,” she said. “Having classes with the Christian worldview brought things back into perspective for me. That was a very welcomed breath of fresh air to see my work through a biblical perspective again.”

She said she appreciated the convenience and flexibility of the online program. She took one class each term and was able to balance her education, her job, and roles as a wife and mother.

Autumn said she feels well prepared to follow in her mother’s footsteps and those of her older sister, Grace Culp (’22), also a graduate of Liberty’s nursing program.

“Liberty has a rigorous nursing program, and I feel like I am ahead of peers of mine who went to other nursing schools,” she said. “I’ve worked in the hospital back home for a couple years now, and I feel better prepared and more confident in my skills than the people that I work with

who are also in nursing school.”

With nursing, the ability to be resilient is invaluable, and Autumn said her experience at Liberty has taught her how to lean on God when times are hard.

“My biggest takeaway in general from Liberty is the (knowledge) that the Lord will sustain me and that He will provide enough for me and more,” she said. “Throughout college, struggling with trying to juggle a job, being in nursing school, having friends and a social life, and everything else causes anxiety. But God has taught me for the past four years that He will sustain me, not only through college but for the rest of my life. I’ve been resting in that fact.”

Autumn said her professors explained and demonstrated the importance of being a nurse with a Christ-led mindset.

“Working with people who are sick and need help has really taught me how to be compassionate, and it has also taught me that while they need physical healing, they also need spiritual healing,” she said. “It is such a blessing to know that I can tend to their physical needs, just like any other nurse in the hospital, but that God has placed me there specifically and only I can tend to their spiritual needs as He’s intended me to. Hopefully my patients will see Christ through me.”

The Zabiks are one of many Liberty families who span generations. Share your family’s Liberty story by emailing news@liberty.edu.

SIMON BARBRE

FLORIDA FAMILY DONATES SHOW HORSE TO EQUESTRIAN PROGRAM

One of the newest members of Liberty University’s equestrian program hails from Belgium and is well-established as a champion in the sport.

His name is Bernoulli (aka “Icey”), a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding who was bred in Europe before being brought to the United States to compete in U.S. Equestrian Federation-sanctioned shows.

Former owners Chris and Jackie Cottone donated the show horse, valued at $250,000, last fall when their daughter, Anabella — who formerly trained Bernoulli — left home to attend college in Florida, and the family knew they weren’t going to be as involved in

showing him.

Chris Cottone, vice president of Greentree Financial Group Inc., in Plantation, Fla., has been a regular speaker at Liberty’s annual CEO Summit, and when he was in town for the summit in late September, he visited the Liberty University Equestrian Center and met Suzanne Flaig, the center’s director and head coach of the Hunt Seat equestrian team.

“It was such a pleasure getting to know Coach Flaig and the wonderful equestrian program at LU,” Chris Cottone said. “The student riders we met there were amazing, and we knew right away that LU would be the perfect destination for Bernoulli. We

LOOKING BACK

There are so many beautiful places to visit on Liberty’s campus that you might miss something during a quick visit. But one site you won’t be able to miss is the LU Monogram on Liberty Mountain. Visible from virtually any spot in Lynchburg, the monogram stretches 3 acres and offers spectacular panoramic views of the city, Blue Ridge Mountains, and campus. Regarded as one of the best sunset spots in Lynchburg, the site

are so happy to hear how he is adapting and getting loved and cared for.”

The Liberty Mountain Equestrian Center, a 380-acre venue that features a total of 72 stalls, currently has 28 horses that it uses for programming, along with another eight in some form of semi-retirement. The university also houses several horses belonging to residential and commuter students through its boarding program. The center features a 300-by-120 indoor riding arena that is one of the largest in the state.

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

TAKE IN THE VIEW

is also a favorite for picnics for students and families. Hikers enjoy the peaceful resting spot as they make their trek along the Liberty Mountain Trail System. (The monogram is accessible from Monogram Road at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre or from the Dirty Ridge Trail at Snowflex that leads to the Peak to Peak Trail.)

Originally constructed in 2007, the monogram received a facelift in 2022

to match Liberty’s branding, with rocks stained in LU’s classic red, white, and blue. RGB lighting was also added, so the monogram can be lit up in different colors for holidays, special events, and in celebration of a Flames victory. Current plans call for a new gazebo at the site.

Have you visited the LU Monogram? Send us your photos at news@liberty.edu.

CLASS NOTES

1970s

’75 RANDY GILLIAM, of Telford, Tenn., a graduate of the Willmington School of the Bible, continues to preach and minister to others through revivals, prophecy conferences, and pulpit fill-ins.

’77 BLANE PEARSON, of Crestview, Fla., retired as a church business administrator after 35 years, serving many years as a certified church administrator.

1980s

’86 RICHARD ROSSI, of Valley Village, Calif., co-authored the bestselling novel “Lucy and the Lake Monster” alongside Kelly Tabor. The book was recently adapted into a faith-based family film that garnered 15 prestigious film festival awards.

’88 TIM ALBURY, of Watertown, Mass., was named Chief Financial Officer of Konovo, a technology-first healthcare intelligence company.

1990s

’90 MICHAEL MONTORO, of Westminster, W.Va., is the assistant athletics director for football communications at West Virginia University, which was awarded a 2024 Super 11 Award from the Football Writers Association of America as one of the 11 best performing College Sports Communications Departments

MAKING HEADLINES

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

in NCAA Division I FBS. Montoro’s team also won the award in 2020, 2022, and 2024.

’92 ANDREW PROVENCE, of Fayetteville, Ga., a former NFL player and member of Athletes in Action, shared the message at a pregame chapel for the Atlanta Falcons.

’93 MICHAEL GEE, of Midland, Mich., was promoted to Digital Marketing Fellow in addition to his role as Marketing Transformation Leader at the Dow Chemical Company, a global leader in the chemicals industry.

’98 SCOTT PLEASANTS, of Canton, Ga., is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at First Baptist Atlanta, where he oversees IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital strategy, and technology-driven ministry initiatives.

2000s

’09 KEVIN JONES, of Lynchburg, Va., joined the Liberty University Institutional Effectiveness and Research team as an Assistant Director of Assessment. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity and is completing his Ed.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

2010s

’10 ALEXANDRIA FAULKENBURY, of Columbia, S.C., published her debut novel, “Somewhere Past the End,” with Apprentice House Press in May.

’10, ’18, ’22 KWAME FRIMPONG, of Atlanta, Ga., published the book, “Parent Child Sex Talks: Raising Sexually and Relationship Smart Kids.” Frimpong grew up in Ghana and has pursued his passions for church planting and healing broken relationships.

’11 AMY GAYHEART, of Fairborn, Ohio, serves as Superintendent of Fairborn City Schools. She spent 27 years with Fairborn City Schools as a teacher and administrator.

’12 MIKE HAYNES, of Sterling, Va., launched

KIMBERLEY JACKSON (’11)

Kimberly is the founder and CEO of United Community Solutions, a behavioral health clinic in Chesapeake, Va. Through her leadership at UCS and community outreach efforts, including a clean water project in Ghana, she was appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to the Virginia Board of Social Work. She holds a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling from Liberty.

G Shades in 2012, a youth ministry curriculum company that serves churches across North America, equipping leaders with Gospelcentered sermon series, video messages, and ministry resources.

’12 PATRICK M. ANDREWS JR., of Lynchburg, Va., recently published the second edition of his memoir, “Never, Never, Never Quit!: Don’t get bitter, get better!,” about his inspirational story of overcoming the challenges of a traumatic brain injury.

’12 MATTHEW WILLIAMS, of Mahwah, N.J., is a freelance writer and has been published in the news outlet “American Thinker.”

’13 GERARD CARROLL, of Waldorf, Md., was hired as Director of Student Discipleship at Riverdale Baptist School, responsible for assisting middle and high school students. He also teaches high school.

’13 JUSTIN TILGHMAN, of Kinston, N.C., founded Balanced Coaching, an international life and leadership coaching practice that emphasizes self-awareness, emotional resilience, and faith-centered leadership. He recently accepted the role of Pastor of Development at Grace Fellowship Church in Kinston.

’14, ’20 LARYSSA BRANDT, of Tucson, Ariz., passed her physician assistant board exam.

’14 SHARON MYERS, of Florence, S.C., married Stevie Williams on Feb. 9, 2025, in Richland County, S.C.

’14 DR. KRISTY SOMERVILLE-MIDGETTE, of Lynchburg, Va., was named Superintendent of Lynchburg City Schools in May. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership and administration from Liberty.

’15 KUWANTU CAMMON, of Oklahoma City, Okla., serves as a visual art teacher for Oklahoma City Public Schools and has received several honors, including the 2025 Oklahoma Education Award for Arts Excellence from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, 2025 Oklahoma Art Educators Association Elementary Art Teacher of the Year, and 2025 Britton Elementary Site Teacher of the Year. He was a finalist for the 2025 OKCPS District Teacher of the Year.

SARAH GREEN (’20)

Sarah was selected as a John S. Nolan Fellow for the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. She is a tax controversy attorney at the global law firm Dentons, vice chair of the ABA Standards of Taxation Committee, and has been recognized in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America” in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

’15 DOMINIQUE DOVE, of Lynchburg, Va., a government appellate attorney for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of her exceptional non-combat service.

’15 LAURA HABIGHORST, of Hermitage, Mo., was elected President-Elect of the American Society for Pain Management Nursing in October 2024. She will serve as President from 2026-28.

’15 JUSTIN MOORE, of Oklahoma City, Okla., was appointed Secondary School Headmaster at Christian Heritage Academy in Del City, Okla., after previously serving as an academic counselor.

’16 ANGELA BUFF, of Marion, N.C., was promoted to coding supervisor in February 2025 at Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C. She also serves as a visiting professor in the Health Sciences Department at DeVry University.

’16 QUINCY HAYNES, of Virginia Beach, Va., a United States Army veteran, published the book, “I Believe,” with Lulu Press Inc.

’17 DIRK DEATON, of Noel, Mo., is a member of the Missouri House of Representatives and was named Chairman of House Budget Committee for the 103rd General Assembly.

’17 DANIEL REDDY, of Halifax, Va., a fourthyear Ph.D. candidate in analytical chemistry at Queen’s University at Kingston in Ontario, Canada, received three major recognitions in his field: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

in Analytical Chemistry, 2025 Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Future Leader, and the 2025 ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Summer Graduate Fellowship.

2020s

’20 CHERISA JEREZ, of St. Cloud, Fla., published her debut novel, “At the Island’s Edge,” with Lake Union Publishing.

’21 NICHOLAS PEREZ, of Modesto, Calif., published “The Gospel According to the Trinity” through Wipf and Stock Publishers.

’22 JAMIE TEACHENOR, of Hendersonville, Tenn., was inducted into the Missouri Music Hall of Fame. Teachenor authored the official anthem for the U.S. Space Force and previously served in the Air Force. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

’22 JONPAUL CLAYTON, of Houston, Texas, married his wife Chi-Ching Chu on May 17, 2025. He also holds a position with an insurance brokerage firm based in Houston and writes throughout the nation.

’22 JERONIMO GIL, of Buckeye, Ariz., retired from the Los Angeles Police Department and currently runs the night security crew at PING Golf.

’23 MICAH ADAMS, of Lynchburg, Va., was one of two recipients of College Sports Communicators’ 2025 Videographer of the Year awards. Since graduating from Liberty

with a bachelor’s in digital media, Adams is now the Director of Digital Media for University of Lynchburg’s athletics program.

’23 LUCAS MEINDERDING, of Norfolk, Va., published a children’s book, “Space Kid,” based on a song he wrote and recorded several years ago.

’23 DR. DANA WALKER, of Richmond, Texas, was awarded the Texas Best 2025 Children’s Health Book award by the Texas Authors Institute for her book, “I Got a New Hearing Aid.” The book is part of her “I Got a New” series, which focuses on children with special needs.

’24 GRANT CLOVER, of Escondido, Calif., completed a short film, “Portrait of a Smile,” which has won 19 awards and been shown at 22 festivals. The crew includes the Emmy-winning sound designer of “The Queen’s Gambit,” the score producer of “The Witcher,” and a colorist of “Outer Banks.”

’24 MICHAEL AUSTIN COLLINS, of Bally, Pa., graduated with a Juris Master from Liberty University School of Law after many years of serving in the Kentucky National Guard as a fire support specialist.

’24 LAURIE THOMPSON, of Anderson, S.C., designed a course with Liberty Associate Professor of Religion Dr. Chris Hulshof titled, “A Theology of Pain, Suffering, and Disability,” which she now teaches at Anderson University. She also published a book, “DisabilityInclusivity: Creating Awareness to Change the Current Trajectory.”

AARON HALL (’23)

Aaron plays the lead role of David in Sight & Sound Theatre’s “David” in Branson, Mo. “David” marks the third production he has performed in since joining the company in 2023; he performed in “Queen Esther” and “Miracle of Christmas.” He is one of four performers who share the role of David during the show’s long, stamina-heavy run, with over 400 shows from March 8, 2025, to Jan. 3, 2026.

KATHERINE CRAIG (’25)

Katherine won the undergraduate category of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers’ Global Technical Paper Competition at its annual conference May 31-June 3 in Atlanta. Her research was titled, “A Tale of Two Queues: A Simulation-Based Comparison of Priority Queuing at Universal Studios and Walt Disney World Theme Parks.” In June, she started an internship at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

IN MEMORIAM

ALUMNI

VICKI LYNN CROMLEY, of Cleveland, Ohio, died March 11.

TAMARAH DAVIS (’21), of Biloxi, Miss., died March 12.

KAYLA FROMMELT (YOUNGBLOOD) (’23), of Georgetown, Tenn., died Feb. 9.

TRINKLE PATTON

JOHNSTON JR. (’74), of Powder Spring, Ga., died April 22.

BOBBY JONES (’81), of Rowlett, Texas, died March 10.

ASHLEY NICOLE KELLY (’13), of Lynchburg, Va., died Feb. 15.

ELAINA LAWRENCE (’24), of Mullin, Texas, died May 3.

TRACI LUMAN (’88), of Macon, Ga., died March 14.

BOB LUTZ (’81), of Palm Harbor, Fla., died June 25.

BRYAN LYTTLE (’99), of Forest, Va., died April 1.

RICHARD NEWCOMB (’94), of Fincastle, Va., died June 17.

STEVEN PATTERSON (’80), of Athens, Tenn., died Feb. 16.

DR. JACK DINSBEER (1929-2025)

MIKE PLUMMER (’86), of Surfside Beach, S.C., died April 22.

STEVE POSTON (’81), of Pamplico, S.C., died April 15.

NADINE ROBERTS (’82), of Union Bridge, Md., died June 3.

KENNETH ROCHFORD (’25), of Dakar, Senegal, died June 6.

DANNI RIVERA (’11), of Lynchburg, Va., died April 30.

ALLEN SATTERLEE (’09), of Lawrenceville, Ga., died May 28.

JONATHAN “TYLER” SIGLER (’18) of Charles Town, W.Va., died May 7.

EDITH YOLANDA SLACK (’15), of Louisville, Ky., died June 15.

THOMAS SMITH (’80), of Palmyra, Va., died May 11.

MARK TOTTEN (’80), of Logan, W.Va., died June 12.

MEREDITH WHITE (’24), of Palmyra, Va., died April 21.

KATRINA WILEY (’14), of Woodbridge, Va., died March 24.

PHILIP “BRYSON” WOOD (’84), of Kingsport, Tenn., died May 14.

Dinsbeer died on Feb. 12 at age 95. He was a close friend and supporter of Liberty and its related ministries for many decades, serving on the Board of Trustees. As a youth director at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Dinsbeer mentored the young Jerry Falwell Sr. when he came to the Lord at the church in 1952 and received the call to ministry. Dinsbeer remained a mentor to Falwell and close friend of the Falwell family. He served as pastor of University Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., for 47 years.

JOHNNY HUNTON (1927-2025)

Hunton died on Jan. 19 at age 97. He was the third head coach for Liberty Baseball (1991-97) and helped usher in a new era when it became an NCAA Division I program in 1992. Hunton played baseball at Maryland and signed with the New York Yankees out of college, playing three seasons of minor league baseball (1952-54). He was active in the Hope Aglow Prison Ministry and served his country in the Navy during World War II.

DR. JOHN D. MORRISON (1951-2025)

Morrison died on May 23 at age 73. He was a professor in the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity for 38 years before retiring in 2021. He taught honors undergraduate theology surveys and graduate classes in modern and contemporary theology and soteriology. He was one of the first dedicated professors in the Ph.D. in Theology & Apologetics program. Morrison authored multiple books and more than a dozen articles on Christology, Karl Barth, the Trinity, Scripture, and theological methodology.

DR. DAVID ROCKABRAND (1969-2025)

Rockabrand died on May 2 at age 55. As an associate professor of biology, he taught immunology, microbiology, and biomedical ethics. He came to Liberty in 2020 after a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, where he focused on medical microbiology and global health and conducted work on disease surveillance, enteric vaccines, and clinical and anatomic pathology in the U.S., West Africa, and the Middle East.

DR. GARTH E. RUNION (1941-2025)

Runion died on June 3 at age 84. He served Liberty for many years in several roles, including vice provost for academic administration, associate vice president for institutional effectiveness, and professor of mathematics. Runion dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge and the service of others. He was a devoted educator, mentor, and academic leader who leaves behind a legacy of excellence in higher education. He is remembered fondly by colleagues, students, and friends who were touched by his wisdom, humility, sense of humor and unwavering dedication.

BOARD UPDATES

Trustees approve 2025-26 operating budget, hear updates on construction, academics, and spiritual growth opportunities for students

The Liberty University Board of Trustees held its spring meeting April 8-9, where members heard reports of God’s continued material and spiritual blessings on the university and made significant decisions impacting its future.

Chancellor Jonathan Falwell and Vice President of Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge reported on the spiritual hunger exhibited by students this past academic year. Voluntary attendance at Campus Community hit its highest weekly average, and about 8,000 students participated in six 24-hour prayer sessions. Christian service, LU Serve Now, LU Send, longterm study abroad and LU Shepherd Office interactions were all reported to be on track for levels of spiritual engagement like never before. Trustee Dr. Jerry Vines, who is the grandfather of a current student, spoke of Liberty’s spiritual emphasis: “There is not a university on the planet with a spiritual development program anywhere close to what we see at Liberty.”

During a break in the board session, Trustee Dr. Richard Lee told a group of vice presidents that he was not only pleased to hear of Liberty’s fiscal stability but also its spiritual strength. He recalled that his only reason for being on the board

is his promise to Liberty’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, that he would help safeguard the university within strong guardrails to ensure it was ever faithful to its Christian mission. Echoing that theme, Chairman Tim Lee said Liberty’s spiritual strength and devotion to Christ among the students, faculty, and staff is the “heartbeat of our mission and our purpose as a university.”

“I commend Chancellor Falwell and President Costin for their steadfast leadership and dedication to impacting the next generation of Champions for Christ,” he said. “The board is committed to supporting and resourcing Liberty students who will transform the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

President Dondi E. Costin engaged the board in a discussion on balancing the competing pressures of maintaining Liberty’s place as a frontrunner in Christian higher education, the reality of rising costs, and a continued commitment to invest in faculty and staff with increased pay and benefits, all while preserving accessibility and affordability for students by keeping tuition as low as possible.

As the board approved the 2025-26 operational budget and a robust capital expenditure spending plan, administrators and trustees agreed to prioritize strategic plan objectives, plan for unexpected challenges, and continue using excess revenue to grow the endowment as good stewards of God’s resources.

“Liberty continues to take bold steps in pursuit of the future God has in store for His university,” Costin said. “As we advance our mission of Training Champions for Christ, invest in our faculty and staff, faithfully steward capital resources, and serve our students with excellence, we

can’t wait to see what the Lord does next.”

The capital expenditures budget will fund 40 construction projects in progress from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Even as inflation impacts the cost of building materials and trade labor, the budget reflects a trend of spending less on capital projects relative to recent years, a testament to the spectacular campus that students enjoy today.

New major projects include construction of a campus fire station near the intersection of Odd Fellows Road and Liberty Mountain Road, in partnership with the city of Lynchburg, and the addition of a data center to support the diverse infrastructure powering Liberty’s academic and administrative operations. Electric infrastructure improvements will also enhance the campus’ backup power supply. The university has begun renovating the former Nationwide building to make way for the Collaborative Healthplex on Graves Mill Road, which will house a diverse group of medical professionals and serve as a one-stop shop for patient medical services and student clinical placement opportunities. In addition to completing the showcase Champion Center this fiscal year, many smaller projects will add to the student experience by improving residence halls and recreation facilities.

Recognizing the ultimate reason for their service, board members continued their tradition of interacting with students during their visit. Trustees ate at ReberThomas Dining Center and took a break from their meeting to attend Convocation.

Other board business included reports from the various board committees on their work, an update on key metrics tracking five-year Strategic Plan progress, approval of changes to nine new academic programs, and authorization to confer degrees to the Class of 2025.

The Board of Trustees holds two on-campus meetings each school year. There are 31 current board members, three of whom attended their first meeting in the spring since being elected last fall: Dr. Jeannie Rivers (surgeon), Dr. Jimmy Scroggins (pastor), and David Rice (business owner).

Trustees took time to meet with students in the Reber-Thomas Dining Center.

KJ JUGAR

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