Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, has announced that it will separate the roles of … [+]
The Board of Trustees of Liberty University announced Monday that it will split the roles of chancellor and president going forward. The move comes just a little more than two months after Jerry Falwell ‘s resignation. Under Falwell’s leadership, the university, which was founded by his father, operated with him serving both as chancellor and president. His father had also held both leadership positions.
But last week, following two days of meetings, the Liberty Board voted to separate the two roles with the chancellor serving as the “University’s spiritual leader to ensure it is faithful to its Christian mission,” and the president “hired to administrate the academics, operations, and employees of the University.”
The Board named 10 trustees to a President and Chancellor Search Committee and charged them to begin the search process for selecting the candidates for the two senior leadership positions. The Search Committee will also use an advisory committee consisting of representation from students, faculty, and alumni, to provide input. It anticipates that the process for filling these positions will take over a year and will not begin “in earnest until the Board approves processes and job descriptions in a future meeting.”
The announcement of the administrative changes follows Falwell’s recent resignation after a series of embarrassing allegations and revelations about his sexual behavior. Falwell denied the allegations and last week filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming he was unfairly ousted, defamed, and his contract breached.
Falwell had led Liberty for 13 years before he resigned under pressure in late August amid a number of scandals, ending with him posting an Instagram photo of himself on his yacht with his pants unzipped in the company of a woman who was not his wife.
Falwell’s lawyers allege that Liberty defamed Falwell and breached the former president’s contract. “Mr. Falwell has suffered damage to his reputation, damage to his profession, humiliation, and anguish; lost business opportunities; and suffered other pecuniary damage,” according to the complaint.
Liberty University “would need to read and review a lawsuit before making comment, and as of this moment we have not been served,” the school’s senior vice president and spokesman, Scott Lamb, said in a statement to NBC News last week.
The lawsuit did not request a specific monetary amount sought for damages.
In addition to his highly publicized personal behavior, Falwell had also been in the political spotlight because of his outspoken support of Donald Trump. He was one of the evangelical leaders who helped Trump gain a strong, devoted following among the white evangelical community.
Currently, Dr. Jerry Prevo is serving as Liberty’s Acting President. Prevo has served on the Liberty University Board of Trustees since 1996 and had been the Board Chairman since 2003. He recently retired as the Senior Pastor of Anchorage Baptist Temple in Anchorage, Alaska, after serving as pastor there for 47 years.
