Liberty University

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University Gets Record Fine for Fudging Crime Stats

Liberty in Virginia must pay federal penalty of $14M, in part over sex assault investigations

(Newser) - Liberty University has agreed to pay an unprecedented $14 million fine for the Christian school's failure to disclose information about crimes on its campus and for its treatment of sexual assault survivors, the US Department of Education announced Tuesday. The fine is by far the largest ever levied under...

Liberty U Professor Arrested, Accused of Abducting Student

He's charged with sexual battery, too, as school faces lawsuit from 12 women

(Newser) - A professor at the conservative Christian Liberty University in Virginia has been accused of abduction and sexual battery of a student. William Atwell, an associate professor of American Sign Language, was arrested on Nov. 20 in connection with an accusation of sexual battery on Sept. 15 and abduction on Nov....

Report: Rape Ignored Under Liberty U's 'Purity Culture'

School discouraged reporting, ignored evidence: ProPublica

(Newser) - Liberty University ignored reports of rape and threatened to punish victims who reported such crimes for violating the school's moral code, according to reporting by Hannah Dreyfus of ProPublica . The evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Va., has a strict code of conduct known as "the Liberty Way,"...

Entire Liberty University Campus Is Locked Down

A week after classes started, school switches to virtual learning

(Newser) - Effective Monday, the entire Liberty University campus is under a temporary quarantine due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. and until recently run by his scandal-plagued son, reported 159 active coronavirus cases among students and staff as of Saturday,...

Falwell: Liberty's Goal Is to Ruin My Reputation

He wants to see university's lawsuit against him dismissed

(Newser) - Jerry Falwell Jr. is asking a court in Virginia to dismiss a lawsuit Liberty University filed over his headline-grabbing departure last year as leader of the evangelical school his father founded. Falwell claims in a court filing that much of Liberty's suit serves only to keep shaming him after...

Strangers Chat on Bus, Realize They Were in Same Orphanage

Liberty University students were adopted from orphanage in China a week apart

(Newser) - Two Liberty University students started chatting on a campus bus and realized they had met each other before—15 years previously and 7,000 miles away, in an orphanage in China. Sophomore Ally Cole says that when she started talking to Ruby Wierzbicki, they discussed their majors and home states...

Liberty Sues Falwell for at Least $30M

Filing cites moral failures, in violation of school policy

(Newser) - The school he used to run requires a commitment to Biblical standards of morality. When Jerry Falwell Jr. covered up his wife's affair with a pool attendant, who demanded money to keep the secret, he violated that agreement, a new lawsuit says. Liberty University sued its former president Thursday...

Liberty President on Massive Snowball Fight: 'I Messed Up'

University is making headlines for potential superspreader event

(Newser) - Liberty University is back in the news, this time because of a massive snowball fight in violation of the school's own coronavirus guidelines. The school had promoted Sunday's event in Lynchburg, Va., attended by hundreds of students who stood close together without masks. Photos uploaded to Facebook by...

Jerry Falwell Jr. Sues Liberty
Jerry Falwell Jr.
Sues Liberty
Oct 29, 2020 12:30 PM CDT

Jerry Falwell Jr. Sues Liberty

Says beloved school 'needlessly injured' his reputation

(Newser) - "Other than God and my family, there is nothing in the world I love more than Liberty University," says Jerry Falwell Jr. And yet he's suing the evangelical school his father founded for defamation and breach of contract, reports NBC News . Falwell resigned as university president in...

Thousands March in Washington for Trump

Many appear to be students from Liberty University in Virginia

(Newser) - Thousands of people packed the National Mall in downtown Washington on Saturday to pray and show their support for President Trump, the AP reports. The march, which stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the US Capitol, was held just hours before Trump was set to announce he was nominating a...

Falwell Jr's Wife Called 911: He's Lost 'a Lot of Blood'

But how much does alcohol play a role?

(Newser) - Jerry Falwell Jr's wife called 911 late last month saying he had lost "a lot of blood" in a mishap—but the details are somewhat contested, People reports. The call came only days after Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University amid a sex scandal. On the night...

Jerry Falwell Jr. Made One Big 'Miscalculation'
Jerry Falwell Jr.
Made One Big
'Miscalculation'
longform
Sep 1, 2020 11:00 AM CDT

Jerry Falwell Jr. Made One Big 'Miscalculation'

He figured that as long as he kept Liberty U flush with cash, his own behavior wouldn't matter

(Newser) - When Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as leader of Liberty University amid a sex scandal , critics were quick to call him a hypocrite. But that's not quite right, writes CNN religion editor Daniel Burke. Falwell never claimed the religious authority of his famous father. "He never pretended to be...

'All Facets' of Falwell's Reign at Liberty Under Investigation

Evangelical university considers adding a spiritual leadership position

(Newser) - An outside firm will conduct a sweeping investigation of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s presidency of Liberty University, the evangelical school announced Monday. Falwell resigned last week, taking $10.5 million in severance with him, after a business associate said that he'd had an affair with Falwell's wife,...

Former Liberty Student: Becki Falwell Initiated Sex When I Was 22

He says she performed oral sex on him, 'was the aggressor'

(Newser) - Liberty University students who have premarital sex face expulsion. But one former Liberty student says that the wife of the school's then-president, Jerry Falwell Jr., in 2008 performed oral sex on him when he was 22 and staying over at the Falwells' home after a band practice with their...

Here's How Much Severance Falwell Is Getting

$10.5M, because he's resigning from Liberty University in good standing

(Newser) - Jerry Falwell Jr. has officially resigned from Liberty University, and he told the Washington Post on Tuesday night that he'll get $10.5 million in severance, as specified in his contract. That's because he resigned in good standing, without being formally accused of or admitting to any wrongdoing....

The 'Other Man': Falwell Changed After Trump's Win
The 'Other Man': Falwell
Changed After Trump's Win
the rundown
Aug 25, 2020 9:09 AM CDT

The 'Other Man': Falwell Changed After Trump's Win

Evangelical figure became 'drunk on power,' alleges Giancarlo Granda

(Newser) - The news about Jerry Falwell Jr. has finally clarified : The evangelical leader tells the Wall Street Journal that he is indeed out as president of Liberty University in Virginia. Falwell says he submitted his resignation to the school's board Monday night after conflicting reports about whether he had or...

Falwell Reportedly Is Resigning From Liberty U

But there appears to be a snag over final negotiations

(Newser) - Some confusion Monday evening on the fate of Jerry Falwell Jr.: An official with evangelical Liberty University said he had agreed to resign amid allegations about his wife's sexual relationship with a much younger business partner, the AP reports. But after the report surfaced, Falwell denied that he'd...

Liberty Picks Interim Leader After Putting Falwell on Leave

Jerry Prevo has been a pastor in Alaska, active in politics and opposed to LGBT rights

(Newser) - Liberty University in Virginia announced Monday that its board had chosen an interim president days after Jerry Falwell Jr. began an indefinite leave of absence during an uproar over a photo he posted on social media. Jerry Prevo, who has served as chairman of the school's board of trustees...

Falwell Takes Leave After Controversy Over Photo

Liberty University asks president to step aside, at least temporarily

(Newser) - Jerry Falwell Jr. has agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence as president and chancellor of Liberty University, the private school his father founded. The university said Friday that it made the request of Falwell, “to which he has agreed, effective immediately." No reason was given, the...

Falwell: Uh, About That Photo
Falwell: Uh, About That Photo
Aug 5, 2020 6:20 PM CDT

Falwell: Uh, About That Photo

The president of Liberty University responds to uproar over 'unzipped pants' photo

(Newser) - Jerry Falwell Jr.'s last apology was about a face-mask joke . This time, an unexpected photo: "I've apologized to everybody," Falwell said on WLNI 105.9FM, a Virginia radio station. "And I've promised my kids I'm going to try to be—I'm...

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