Liberty University 
The information on this page was last updated 7/16/2024. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Liberty University, Inc. is a Christian academic community in the tradition of evangelical institutions of higher education, with the primary mission of providing quality collegiate education.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Liberty University
1971 University Blvd
Lynchburg, VA 24515
Website: liberty.edu
Phone: 434-582-2000
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 540946734
CEO/President: Dondi Costin
Chairman: Tim Lee
Board size: 30
Founder: Jerry Falwell
Ruling year: 1974
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: No
Member of ECFA since:
Purpose
Liberty University will:
Emphasize excellence in teaching and learning.
Foster university-level competencies in communication, critical thinking, information literacy, and mathematics in all undergraduate programs.
Ensure competency in scholarship, research, and professional communication in all graduate programs and undergraduate programs where appropriate.
Promote the synthesis of academic knowledge and a Christian worldview in order that there might be a maturing of spiritual, intellectual, social and physical value-driven behavior.
Enable students to engage in a major field of study in career-focused disciplines built on a solid foundation in the liberal arts.
Promote an understanding of the Western tradition and the diverse elements of American cultural history, especially the importance of the individual in maintaining democratic and free market processes.
Contribute to a knowledge and understanding of other cultures and of international events.
Encourage a commitment to the Christian life, one of personal integrity, sensitivity to the needs of others, social responsibility and active communication of the Christian faith, and, as it is lived out, a life that leads people to Jesus Christ as the Lord of the universe and their own personal Savior.
Mission statement
Maintaining the vision of the founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, Liberty University develops Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world.
Through its residential and online programs, services, facilities, and collaborations, the University educates men and women who will make important contributions to their workplaces and communities, follow their chosen vocations as callings to glorify God, and fulfill the Great Commission.
Statement of faith
We affirm our belief in one God, infinite Spirit, creator, and sustainer of all things, who exists eternally in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are one in essence but distinct in person and function.
We affirm that the Father is the first person of the Trinity and the source of all that God is and does. From Him the Son is eternally generated and from Them the Spirit eternally proceeds. He is the designer of creation, the speaker of revelation, the author of redemption, and the sovereign of history.
We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity. Eternally begotten from the Father, He is God. He was conceived by the virgin Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. He lives forever as perfect God and perfect man: two distinct natures inseparably united in one person.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the Son and equal in deity. He is the giver of all life, active in the creating and ordering of the universe; He is the agent of inspiration and the new birth; He restrains sin and Satan; and He indwells and sanctifies all believers.
We affirm that all things were created by God. Angels were created as ministering agents, though some, under the leadership of Satan, fell from their sinless state to become agents of evil. The universe was created in six historical days and is continuously sustained by God; thus it both reflects His glory and reveals His truth. Human beings were directly created, not evolved, in the very image of God, as either biologically male or female from the womb. As reasoning moral agents, they are responsible under God for understanding and governing themselves and the world.
We affirm that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, though written by men, was supernaturally inspired by God so that all its words are the written true revelation of God; it is therefore inerrant in the originals and authoritative in all matters. It is to be understood by all through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, its meaning determined by the historical, grammatical, and literary use of the author's language, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
We affirm that Adam, the first man, willfully disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into the world. As a result, all persons are sinners from conception, which is evidenced in their willful acts of sin; and they are therefore subject to eternal punishment, under the just condemnation of a holy God.
We affirm that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the appointment of the Father. He fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all people, was buried, and on the third day He arose physically and bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He now intercedes for all believers.
We affirm that each person can be saved only through the work of Jesus Christ, through repentance of sin and by faith alone in Him as Savior. The believer is declared righteous, born again by the Holy Spirit, turned from sin, and assured of heaven.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit indwells all who are born again, conforming them to the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a process completed only in Heaven. Every believer is responsible to live in obedience to the Word of God in separation from sin. Doing so produces a distinctly Christian lifestyle of practicing virtues and avoiding sin. Among other virtues, followers of Jesus Christ will: show evidence of the Holy Spirit living within them such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and supremely, love; seek righteousness, mercy and justice, particularly for the helpless and oppressed; love and side with what is good in God's eyes and abhor what is evil in God's eyes; uphold the God-given worth of all human beings, from conception to death, as the unique image-bearers of God; treat all people impartially, seeing them as equals before God and worthy of salvation; pursue unity and embrace people of all tribes and tongues as part of God's design for humanity; uphold chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman; be people of integrity whose word can be fully trusted; give faithful witness to the Gospel; practice good works toward all; and live lives of prayer and thanksgiving. Sinful acts are prohibited by God and include but are not limited to: worship of idols or gods other than the Lord God of the Bible; denying Jesus Christ as eternal, as God's son in flesh, as resurrected, as Creator, as Lord or as Messiah who died for the sins of all people; rejection of Jesus Christ or rebellion against God; blasphemy; participation in devil worship, practice of the occult, astrology, fortune-telling, sorcery, or witchcraft; taking of innocent life; denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender; married persons sexually or romantically coupling with a person other than their spouse; sexual relations outside of marriage between one natural-born man and one natural-born woman; romantic coupling among persons of the same sex; prostitution; orgies; rape; drunkenness; use of profanity and vulgarity; injustice; making false statements; dishonest sales and exchanges of money; thievery; fits of rage; and illegal activity.
We affirm that God ordained three institutions with unique purposes in society: marriage, government and the church. God established marriage as a covenantal bond between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman to populate the earth, to raise and spiritually train children within a family, to provide the couple with intimate companionship, loving help and joy, and to serve as an illustration of the relationship of Jesus Christ to the church. God established civil government to protect its citizens, punish evil and reward good. God established the church as the entire body of believers with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone and the apostles as its foundation to evangelize, baptize and disciple people of all nations.
We affirm that a church is a local assembly of baptized believers, under the discipline of the Word of God and the lordship of Christ, organized to carry out the commission to evangelize, to teach, and to administer the ordinances of believer's baptism and the Lord's table. Its offices are pastors and deacons, and it is self-governing. It functions through the ministry of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to each believer.
We affirm that the return of Christ for all believers is imminent. It will be followed by seven years of great tribulation, and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from God in hell. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in heaven in fellowship with God.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
C
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Colleges/Universities
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 671 of 1123 | 96 of 128 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 550 of 1124 | 65 of 128 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 552 of 1124 | 69 of 128 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 749 of 1123 | 100 of 128 |
According to the organization's Form 990, it received $19,530,739 in government grants in 2023.
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 13% | 18% | 12% | 5% | 13% | 10% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 16% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 2% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 84% | 98% | 98% | 97% | 99% | 98% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 85% | 84% | 89% | 89% | 89% | 87% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 98% | 88% | 81% | 77% | 81% | 78% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 82% | 74% | 72% | 69% | 72% | 67% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 2% | 12% | 19% | 23% | 19% | 22% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 1% | 5% | 9% | 10% | 9% | 11% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 13% | 15% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 13% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.53 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.32 | 0.32 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 2.66 | 2.51 | 2.76 | 2.99 | 3.35 | 2.77 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.45 | 0.83 | 0.89 | 0.89 | 1.09 | 0.89 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 7.81 | 5.95 | 6.01 | 5.37 | 4.37 | 5.75 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.13 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.17 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 7.31 | 11.99 | 11.25 | 11.03 | 8.52 | 11.19 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 24% | 7% | 12% | 12% | 14% | 14% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 11% | 0% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 6% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 151% | 279% | 275% | 297% | 266% | 269% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Cash | $403,197,961 | $415,963,422 | $405,275,505 | $330,655,881 | $263,487,727 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $82,464,491 | $79,821,868 | $50,662,550 | $48,758,903 | $81,729,521 |
| Short-term investments | $1,173,230,771 | $948,263,818 | $860,248,918 | $627,288,983 | $784,840,644 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $1,658,893,223 | $1,444,049,108 | $1,316,186,973 | $1,006,703,767 | $1,130,057,892 |
| Long-term investments | $950,595,622 | $1,066,778,195 | $1,149,714,103 | $918,446,198 | $663,873,966 |
| Fixed assets | $1,524,523,736 | $1,455,225,612 | $1,450,534,059 | $1,419,694,279 | $1,308,955,036 |
| Other long-term assets | $23,112,706 | $25,550,509 | $14,595,838 | $22,650,108 | $24,494,530 |
| Total long-term assets | $2,498,232,064 | $2,547,554,316 | $2,614,844,000 | $2,360,790,585 | $1,997,323,532 |
| Total assets | $4,157,125,287 | $3,991,603,424 | $3,931,030,973 | $3,367,494,352 | $3,127,381,424 |
| Liabilities | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $107,357,656 | $94,597,467 | $84,372,367 | $88,680,388 | $68,688,052 |
| Other current liabilities | $171,622,594 | $145,827,603 | $160,581,155 | $141,750,772 | $127,695,672 |
| Total current liabilities | $278,980,250 | $240,425,070 | $244,953,522 | $230,431,160 | $196,383,724 |
| Debt | $0 | $191,542,554 | $194,994,010 | $197,589,939 | $202,536,441 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $29,562,639 | $32,653,814 | $30,144,590 | $29,753,358 | $31,760,591 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $29,562,639 | $224,196,368 | $225,138,600 | $227,343,297 | $234,297,032 |
| Total liabilities | $308,542,889 | $464,621,438 | $470,092,122 | $457,774,457 | $430,680,756 |
| Net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Without donor restrictions | $3,811,800,111 | $3,493,968,693 | $3,429,256,394 | $2,886,771,669 | $2,672,903,339 |
| With donor restrictions | $36,782,287 | $33,013,293 | $31,682,457 | $22,948,226 | $23,797,329 |
| Net assets | $3,848,582,398 | $3,526,981,986 | $3,460,938,851 | $2,909,719,895 | $2,696,700,668 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Total contributions | $30,915,325 | $29,324,690 | $44,452,653 | $16,444,061 | $24,340,904 |
| Program service revenue | $1,464,462,952 | $1,483,885,774 | $1,407,719,569 | $1,309,847,537 | $1,229,034,114 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $31,160,973 | $56,917,248 | $58,967,255 | $13,759,215 | $22,156,313 |
| Other revenue | $39,137,298 | $23,978,952 | $4,814,229 | $3,606,577 | $14,063,754 |
| Total other revenue | $1,534,761,223 | $1,564,781,974 | $1,471,501,053 | $1,327,213,329 | $1,265,254,181 |
| Total revenue | $1,565,676,548 | $1,594,106,664 | $1,515,953,706 | $1,343,657,390 | $1,289,595,085 |
| Expenses | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Program services | $1,165,835,693 | $1,143,275,406 | $1,041,993,560 | $969,960,646 | $868,723,138 |
| Management and general | $209,663,616 | $137,168,217 | $121,304,718 | $121,720,343 | $129,919,330 |
| Fundraising | $5,567,119 | $3,643,170 | $2,381,210 | $2,060,809 | $2,473,311 |
| Total expenses | $1,381,066,428 | $1,284,086,793 | $1,165,679,488 | $1,093,741,798 | $1,001,115,779 |
| Change in net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $184,610,120 | $310,019,871 | $350,274,218 | $249,915,592 | $288,479,306 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $184,610,120 | $310,019,871 | $350,274,218 | $249,915,592 | $288,479,306 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Mr Danny H Freeze Jr | Head Coach - Football | $3,833,429 |
| Mr Ritchie L McKay | Head Coach - Basketball | $1,463,960 |
| Dr Jerry Prevo | Trustee/President | $1,024,218 |
| Mr Ian McCaw | Director of Athletics | $889,099 |
| Dr Robert Ritz | Chief Fin. Officer/Treasurer | $647,656 |
| Mr David Corry | General Counsel/Secretary | $479,649 |
| Mr James Chadwell | Head Coach - Football | $479,629 |
| Dr Ronald Kennedy | EVP for Enrollment & Marketing | $459,649 |
| Dr Scott Hicks | Provost & Chief Academic Off. | $434,588 |
| Mr Scott Jackson | Head Coach - Baseball | $430,823 |
| Dr Mark F Horstemeyer | Dean, School of Engineering | $408,877 |
| Dr Shawn Akers | Online Provost | $390,674 |
| Mrs Cindy Gaebe | SVP of Fin.& Chief Invest Off. | $344,047 |
| Mr Don Moon | FORMER OFFICER | $326,053 |
| Mr John Gauger | Chief Information Officer | $318,659 |
| Mr Daniel Deter | VP of Major Construction | $317,489 |
| Rev Glenn Clary | EVP of Strategic P'ships | $313,386 |
| Mr Steve Foster | EVP of Human Resources | $304,548 |
| Mr Craig Pettitt | VP of Real Estate Management | $290,808 |
| Mr Charles Spence | SVP of Campus Facilities & Tra | $290,573 |
| Mr Shon Muldrow | SVP of Inclusion, Divers & Eqy | $288,982 |
| Mr Daniel Applewhite | Deputy Gen. Counsel/Asst. Secy | $263,482 |
| Dr Lawrence Hine | Senior VP of Student Affairs | $253,312 |
| Mr Scott Spear | VP of Finance & Administration | $210,586 |
| Pastor Jonathan Falwell | Trustee/Chancellor | $208,510 |
| Mr Matthew Cooper | VP of Student Financial Svcs | $180,546 |
| Mr Chris Johnson | Former Key Employee | $151,743 |
| Mr Anthony Beckles | Trustee/Online Chair | $124,185 |
| Mr Gilbert Tinney Jr | Trustee | $74,599 |
| Dr David Rhodenhizer | Trustee | $51,712 |
| Mr Jeffery S Yager | Trustee | $46,486 |
| Dr Brian Autry | Trustee & Adjunct Professor | $44,000 |
| Dr John Borek Jr | Trustee & Adjunct Professor | $40,600 |
| Mr Chris Rhodenhizer | Trustee | $32,675 |
| Dr Don Crain | Trustee | $22,575 |
| Evangelist William F Graham | Trustee | $11,900 |
| Evangelist Tim Lee | Trustee | $10,599 |
| Mr Galen Peel Sr | Trustee | $1,385 |
| Mr Duke Westover | Trustee | $1,125 |
| Dr Gene Mims | Trustee | $510 |
| Mr Carroll Hudson | Trustee | $510 |
| Dr Allen McFarland | Trustee | $500 |
| Ms Penny Nance | Trustee | $500 |
| Mr Jeffrey F Benson | Trustee | $347 |
| Mr Richard Osborne | Trustee | $317 |
| Mr John Heath | Trustee | $260 |
| Mrs Gaye Overton Benson | Trustee | $250 |
| Dr Dwight Reighard | Trustee | $135 |
| Dr Jerry Vines | Trustee | $135 |
| Dr Richard G Lee | Trustee | $135 |
| Dr Harold Rawlings | Trustee | $125 |
| Mr Will Tinney | Trustee | $125 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2023
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 7/16/2024. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
Standing on the shoulders of more than two millennia of Christian scholarship, Liberty University emphasizes the pursuit of knowledge in every discipline. A world-class liberal arts university with 15 schools and colleges, Liberty offers more than 750 programs from the certificate to the doctoral level ranging from medicine, biology, chemistry, and engineering to design, music, religion, law, and more.
Founded in 1971 in Lynchburg, Va., Liberty has grown from a small college of 154 students into a university with a residential student body of over 15,000. Preparing students to be doctors, educators, ministers, lawyers, aviators, counselors, engineers, and more, Liberty is committed to developing tomorrow's leaders - men and women of character whose impact will extend beyond their professions to change the world around them.
Through those founding years, students and faculty were inspired to influence the moral and ethical course of America. Subsequently, the school's name officially changed to Liberty Baptist College in 1976 and the colors were changed to red, white, and blue. The college achieved full accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in 1980.
By 1985, the school had become recognized as a fully accredited university, adding programs and garnering recognition from both mainstream culture and the world of academia. Liberty also pioneered a distance learning program that year, launching what is now known as Liberty University Online.
With the passing of the founder in 2007, his son, Jerry Falwell Jr., became chancellor and president of the university. At the 2007 Commencement ceremony, just days after his father's passing, then Cancellor Falwell proclaimed, "We have prepared for this transition for 15 years or more. All is well at Liberty."
Liberty's journey has been one of facing giants, making the impossible possible, watching fervent prayer move mountains, and Training Champions for Christ.