The university, founded by the late conservative firebrand Jerry Falwell, has earned notoriety for its staunchly anti-gay and anti-abortion stances, and it has become an important place for 2016 Republican presidential candidates to woo supporters.
At a time when anti-gay marriage laws are being struck down all around the country, there remains one bastion of academia that stands against the tide, and proudly: that college’s name is Liberty University, and it’s bigger than ever.
The Lynchburg, Va.-based school was founded by the late Jerry Falwell, who became famous in February 1999 when an article was published in the National Liberty Journal — his school’s paper — that claimed the purple Teletubby named Tinky Winky was carrying water for the gay movement. Falwell died in 2007, and there were more than a few people who celebrated the death of a man who railed against the gay movement, claiming it was in opposition to the Bible.
Now, it’s the largest university in Virginia, if you count distance learners among its ranks, ever since his son of the same name took the helm.
The younger Falwell has taken a bit of a different approach than his brash and flamboyant father, keeping Liberty largely out of the national spotlight while making it a key spot for Republicans hoping to win the White House — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared his candidacy there earlier this year.
Falwell said in an interview with the Associated Press that his father’s bold style of doing things is “not my thing.” He said while he would enjoy the aggressive activism of his father, he doesn’t think it would be in the interests of furthering the school, which is his main focus.
The university sites on a massive 7,000-acre campus, which is today filled with construction cranes working on a $500 million construction program to upgrade the campus, including a new library, athletic venues, and residence halls.
The university has links to many conservative supporters, including Hobby Lobby and Beverly and Tim LaHaye — the latter known for his “Left Behind” fictional book series.
Liberty’s ranks have swelled to 100,000 students, although there are just 13,500 who are on campus, with the rest being distance learners.
That’s a big change from the Baptist college’s humble beginnings in 1971. Falwell had built the college only as part of his larger ministry, which included constructing a megachurch and hosting the “Old Time Gospel Hour” to be broadcast around the nation. However, it was his politically conservative Moral Majority that perhaps had the biggest sway of all, claiming 6.5 million members.
