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Falwell Jr. lawsuit targets Prevo, Liberty board members

A legal complaint filed last week by former Liberty University President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. alleges that President Emeritus Jerry Prevo and members of Liberty’s executive committee received in excess of $1 million from the university “through a series of questionable self-dealing transactions that have the appearance of kickbacks.”

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg, Falwell’s amended federal lawsuit also alleges that “Liberty has forced out certain faculty and staff members and vendors simply because they are associated with or perceived to be closely associated with Mr. Falwell. Such faculty and staff include individuals with outstanding credentials and a track record of high performance, including several individuals who are African American.”

The university responded Tuesday that it would address what it called Falwell’s “improper and unsupported allegations designed to diminish former colleagues, family and friends and to discredit the university where he formerly served” in a legal filing “in due time.”

The allegations are part of an amended federal lawsuit against Liberty, Prevo and Falwell Jr.’s younger brother, university chancellor Rev. Jonathan Falwell. While the older brother did not accuse the younger Falwell of enriching himself via the university’s endowment, Jerry Falwell Jr. alleges that Jonathan Falwell went back on recusing himself from the legal dispute, which stems from Falwell Jr.’s claim that Liberty is improperly using the likeness, signature and name of their late father, university founder and televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr.

Jerry Prevo
Prevo

In July, Jerry Falwell Jr. and the Dr. Jerry L. Falwell Family Trust sued Liberty University in U.S. District Court for $5 million. Last week’s filing argues that the senior Falwell, who died in 2007, would not want his name or brand associated with “Liberty, at least as it exists in its current incarnation, under the control of a small group of members of the so-called ‘executive committee’ who have seized control of the university after Mr. Falwell’s resignation as president and chancellor of the university in August 2020.”

The amended lawsuit, filed Sept. 13, adds as defendants Jonathan Falwell and Prevo, who stepped down as Liberty’s interim president earlier this year but remains on the executive committee, the body to whom Liberty’s presidents and chancellors answer. Jonathan Falwell, who was named chancellor of the Lynchburg university in March, at the same time that retired Maj. Gen. Dondi Costin was named Liberty’s president, also serves as pastor of his father’s former church, Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Falwell Jr. resigned in late August 2020 under a cloud of controversy — including reports that his wife, Becki Falwell, participated in an affair with a young man she met at a Miami hotel, and that the Falwell family became financially involved with the man, Giancarlo Granda, over several years. While Falwell Jr. has acknowledged that his wife was involved in an affair that began in 2012, he has refuted reports — including allegations by Granda in news interviews, a streaming documentary TV series and a book — that Falwell watched Granda having sex with his wife. Amid the fallout, Liberty sued Falwell for breach of contract, a matter still underway in Lynchburg Circuit Court, and Falwell has sued the university for $8.5 million in retirement funds he says he is owed. Additionally, Falwell filed a $5 million federal suit over the university’s use of Falwell Sr.’s name and likeness in what Falwell Jr. calls a marketing effort.

Filed as part of Falwell’s second federal lawsuit against the university, the 55-page complaint alleges that “certain members of the executive committee and the board of trustees maneuvered to eliminate Mr. [Jerry] Falwell [Jr.] from the leadership of Liberty and wrest control over the university and its sizable $2 billion endowment … for their own benefit, without oversight by or interference from Mr. Falwell, who they knew would seek to protect the institution his father founded and stand in the way of their attempts to exploit Liberty for their own gain. Indeed, after Mr. Falwell left Liberty in August 2020, these members directed Liberty to dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars in self-dealing transactions, purportedly as ‘donations,’ to organizations controlled by these members and/or their close affiliates.”

Prevo, the complaint alleges, “sought for Liberty to improperly divert hundreds of thousands of his salary [as interim president] to his personal foundation, which Liberty eventually ceased to do on advice of counsel.” The suit also alleges that Prevo “racked up at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses associated with his use of Liberty’s corporate jet,” which the lawsuit says Prevo used “on numerous occasions” to fly between Virginia and his homes in Alaska and Arizona, based on public flight records. Earlier, when Falwell was president and Prevo served on the executive committee, the complaint alleges that Prevo “pressured Mr. Falwell for Liberty to pay thousands of dollars for Prevo’s grandson to receive training in flying planes at Liberty’s expense.”

The lawsuit also states that two nonprofits connected to Prevo and his close friend and adviser, Franklin Graham, son of the late televangelist Billy Graham, received large payments from the university following Falwell Jr.’s resignation.

Jonathan Falwell. Photo courtesy Liberty University

In the fiscal year ending June 2021, according to the lawsuit, “Liberty paid $200,050 to Samaritan’s Purse,” a charitable organization led by Graham as president, and for which Prevo served as a board member. During the same fiscal year, the university paid $200,000 to Hope Partners International, “which is an organization that is, upon information and belief, controlled by Kirk Nowery, the former chief operating officer of Samaritan’s Purse,” and the next year, Liberty gave $414,960 to Hope Partners, “by virtue of its ties to Prevo and Graham.” William F. Graham IV, Franklin Graham’s son, serves on the Liberty board of trustees.

Prevo — whose appointment to the executive committee expires in 2025 and who served on the committee before becoming interim president in August 2020 — also benefited financially after his wife received “a substantial sum for her role as the wife of the president,” Falwell’s suit alleges. Liberty’s 990 forms disclosed that Carol Prevo received $39,824 in fiscal year 2021 and $53,574 in fiscal 2022 in compensation.

The lawsuit then lists payments of more than $100,000 that “Mr. Falwell has learned Liberty made” to organizations connected to two current members of the university’s executive committee and a former member of the committee who died in November 2021. The amounts are publicly available in Liberty’s 990 forms filed with the IRS for fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022. According to the complaint:

  • Liberty paid $100,000 during fiscal year 2020, which ended June 2021, to the ministry of university executive committee member Jerry Vines, a clergyman who lives in Georgia. “While designated as a not-for-profit on Liberty’s books, Jerry Vines Ministries is in the business of selling religious media through its e-commerce store,” the complaint says. The ministry has filed 990 reports to the IRS, as required of nonprofit organizations.
  • In the same fiscal year, Liberty paid $100,000 to Tim Lee Ministries, a nonprofit organization run by Lee, who is on the executive committee and chairs the board of trustees. Similarly to Vines, the suit alleges that Lee’s ministry runs an online gift shop and collects “speakers’ fees for Lee to appear at events.” The lawsuit also alleges that in the fiscal year ending June 2022, Liberty gave $76,000 to Wylie Preparatory Academy, “a school in Texas that Lee’s granddaughters attended.”
  • The late Harvey Gainey, who died in November 2021, served as vice chairman of the board of trustees and as a member of Liberty’s executive committee. The complaint alleges that between 2020 and 2021, “Liberty paid $125,000 in purported ‘donations’ to Gainey Foundation,” which operated Two Moose Camp in Montana, “which was allegedly run as a not-for-profit.” The suit says that after a trucking company owned by Gainey went bankrupt from “approximately $240 million in unpaid debts, he used Two Moose Camp to finance his lifestyle.” Falwell’s complaint adds that from 2018 through 2021, Gainey secured “annual contributions from Liberty” for students, staff and faculty to “‘visit’ his camp for a week” at costs of $30,000 and more. In 2008, Wachovia sued Gainey Corp. for $238 million.
  • Falwell’s complaint also alleges that “in the past two years, a significant number — at least 12 — members of the board of trustees have also received substantial payments from Liberty, all in different amounts, many in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, and one as high as in excess of $100,000.” The lawsuit claims that’s in violation of standards set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits Liberty, and requires that accredited educational institutions ensure that the presiding officer and a majority of voting members of their governing board “are free of any contractual, employment, personal or familial financial interest in the institution.”

The lawsuit also alleges that “at least a majority of the board of trustees” are “paid by Liberty, or … control organizations that Liberty has paid,” and some trustees and executive committee members “have been so bold to … deflect and distract from … their own questionable financial dealings” while alleging that Falwell “had committed unspecified financial wrongdoings.”

In late August 2020, shortly after Falwell’s resignation, the board announced it would hire a forensic accounting firm to investigate the university’s finances while under Falwell’s purview. “Ultimately the investigation cost Liberty … millions of dollars, and has revealed nothing improper about Mr. Falwell’s actions at Liberty,” Falwell’s complaint says. However, the university’s general counsel, David Corry, disputed that assertion in a memo to trustees, calling it “obviously false.” Purportedly sent by Corry on behalf of board chairman Tim Lee to the board of trustees in response to the amended lawsuit, the memo was published Tuesday in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Liberty alumni group Save 71, which has advocated for reforms including the removal of Falwell and some longtime board members.

Falwell’s lawsuit also alleges that executive committee members gave Falwell an ultimatum to resign or face termination after Granda went public in a news story published by Reuters in August 2020. Falwell also alleges he was held to a different standard than “other high-ranking officials” at Liberty, including an unnamed former president who was sued by a former Liberty employee for sexual harassment but remained employed by the university, which settled with the former employee, and that a former divinity school dean and a former provost kept their jobs after they were alleged to have had extramarital affairs, according to the complaint. By contrast, Falwell “had not … engaged in similar misconduct or had any affair.”

Liberty spokesman Ryan Helfenbein released the following statement Tuesday: “In response to Liberty’s compelling motion to dismiss his complaint, Jerry Falwell Jr. filed an amended complaint containing improper and unsupported allegations designed to diminish former colleagues, family and friends and to discredit the university where he formerly served. These personal attacks have no place in a legal dispute over the use of a person’s name, image and likeness. Liberty will file the appropriate response to these claims in due time and defend its legal right to continue the use of Dr. Jerry Falwell’s name. Furthermore, we stand by our initial statement that Liberty University and its Board of Trustees have only sought to honor the visionary leadership of Dr. Jerry Falwell and the mission of training Champions for Christ.”

In a Sept. 14 order, Judge Norman K. Moon denied as moot Liberty’s request to dismiss the $5 million lawsuit. In Falwell’s original complaint filed July 27, he and the Falwell Family Trust sued the university, but as of last week, Falwell Jr. is the sole plaintiff and represents the trust, according to the suit.

In the leaked memo published by Save71, Liberty’s general counsel wrote to trustees, “Unfortunately, it seems Jerry Jr. wants to use this lawsuit as a vehicle to attempt to write his own misleading narrative on his resignation and issue a scathing critique on the Board, its Executive Committee and Jerry Prevo as his successor. It feels odd and inappropriate that all this is part of a lawsuit about use of Jerry Falwell Sr.’s name, but Jerry Jr. tries to paint … Liberty University after his leave of absence as being operated so inconsistently with the Jerry Falwell brand as to be disqualified from continuing to use it. To do this, he throws a lot of mud. On the other hand, his narrative attempts to burnish his own leadership abilities and excuse his behavior.

“Many of these new allegations are completely false and baseless. Others have omitted facts that would balance them out to be unremarkable. One regularly omitted fact is that Jerry Falwell Jr. made and presided over many of the decisions and types of decisions that he claims to now find fault with.”

The message continues, claiming that the accreditation organization “quickly rejected” Falwell’s allegations that its board members, having been paid by the university, are in violation of SACS rules.

“We do not see these new allegations added to the complaint as changing our trajectory for success in resolving the case fairly quickly,” Corry wrote in the leaked memo, which also included the prepared statement for media inquiries that was released by Helfenbein on Tuesday afternoon.

Lee, Vines, Jonathan Falwell and Corry did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday, and neither did an attorney for Liberty. Phone numbers listed for Prevo were out of service, and he was unable to be reached Tuesday.

Liberty University partners with Spirit in pilot pipeline program

Liberty University is partnering with Spirit Airlines in a pipeline program to land aeronautics graduates jobs as pilots amid a national shortage.

Spirit, a low-cost airline headquartered in Miramar, Florida, with presences at Richmond and Norfolk’s airports, announced the partnership Thursday. Liberty, which has an aeronautics school, is the 10th partner in the airline’s Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program.

“Liberty University offers a premier pilot training program designed to provide graduates with the skills to lead in the aviation field, and Spirit’s growth creates opportunities for those graduates to achieve their dreams with us,” Ryan Rodosta, Spirit Airlines’ senior director of flight operations and system chief pilot, said in a statement.

Liberty students pursuing an aviation degree can apply for the program after finishing their sophomore year and with a recommendation from a faculty member. If successful in Spirit’s interview process, they will receive a conditional offer of employment, mentorship and an electronic flight bag, which can help perform basic flight planning and offers digital documentation tools. After reaching federal minimum requirements for co-pilot certification, students must complete the Spirit-funded and approved airline transport pilot certification training program and jet transition course. Graduates who meet all the requirements will be offered a position as a first officer with the airline.

“This partnership is a major step in creating exceptional opportunities for our graduates, providing selected Liberty trained aviation professionals with a unique pathway directly to Spirit once they fulfill the necessary training and experience,” Rick Roof, dean of Liberty’s School of Aeronautics, said in a statement. “Spirit will gain access to pilots with exceptional technical skills and the character to be difference-makers in the aerospace industry, while Liberty Aeronautics graduates can become a member of the Spirit team where they will join a recognized leader in quality of life while flying some of the most advanced aircraft in the skies.”

Liberty did not immediately respond to requests from Virginia Business for more information.

The partnership comes as airlines face criticism over snarls that have caused travel delays across the country on several occasions in recent years, including from a national shortage of pilots that forced airlines to cut flights. An expected wave of pilot retirements was also exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which airlines offered early retirement and buyout packages in an effort to save money. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 16,800 openings for airline and commercial pilots annually during the next decade to replace those exiting the workforce, including retirements.

Manufacturing 2023: KATHERINE WILLIAMS

On July 1, Williams succeeded CEO Gary Mignogna, who became Framatome’s board chairman upon his retirement after 45 years leading the nuclear reactor and fuel manufacturer.

Williams has worked for the U.S. subsidiary of French nuclear reactor manufacturer Framatome (formerly Areva NP) for more than 20 years and manages all of the parent company’s financial activities in North America. With 16,000 employees worldwide and 1,430 in Virginia, Framatome designs and provides equipment, services and fuel for nuclear power plants.

In May, Framatome announced it was committing $400,000 to relaunching its Nuclear Technology Academy at Central Virginia Community College, starting in fall 2023 with 30 participants. In 2021, Framatome started an independent subsidiary, Framatome
U.S. Government Solutions, which focuses on nuclear projects for federal agencies.

Before joining Framatome, Williams worked in financial management at DuPont, Westinghouse Electric and Duke Energy. Although Framatome has long had a major presence in Lynchburg, its North American headquarters moved to Lynchburg from Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2018. Williams serves on the board for the National D-Day Memorial Foundation, as well as several corporate boards associated with Framatome.

Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: REX D. GEVEDEN

Before joining BWXT in 2015 as its chief operating officer, Geveden was an executive at Teledyne Technologies, as well as a chief engineer and associate administrator at NASA, where he ran support contracts for the International Space Station and helped develop next-generation lunar vehicles. In 2017, he became CEO of the Lynchburg-based manufacturer of nuclear components and fuels that also builds the reactors powering the Navy’s Ford-class aircraft carriers.

In April, a joint venture led by BWXT won the company’s largest single contract, an up-to-$45 billion order from the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up a decommissioned nuclear production site in southeastern Washington state. The Hanford Site Tank Farms has 177 underground waste storage tanks with 54 million gallons of nuclear waste produced by plutonium production.

In December 2022, BWXT began producing nuclear fuel that will power the first microreactor built and operated in the United States, under a $37 million award from the Idaho National Laboratory.

A Fortune 1000 company, BWXT has approximately 7,000 employees across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. In fiscal 2022, the company reported $2.23 billion in revenue.

Education 2023: MAJ. GEN. DONDI E. COSTIN (U.S. AIR FORCE, RET.)

A retired 32-year Air Force veteran who served as the branch’s chief of chaplains at the Pentagon, Costin became president of Liberty, one of the nation’s largest Christian universities, in August.

Costin, who received master’s degrees in counseling and religion from Liberty, retired from the Air Force in 2018 to become president of Charleston Southern University in South Carolina. He also served as vice president of the Big South Conference Executive Committee.

Costin steps into the presidency at a critical time for Liberty, which has been through high-profile controversies in recent years, including the 2020 ouster of former President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr., son of Liberty’s late founder. Falwell and the school have been embroiled in dueling lawsuits. During the same period, Liberty settled an unrelated lawsuit brought by 22 anonymous women — former students and staff members — who alleged that school officials discouraged them from reporting sexual assaults.

Costin replaces Liberty’s interim president, Jerry Prevo, who stepped in for Falwell Jr. in 2020. Jonathan Falwell, the younger son of Liberty founder Jerry Falwell Sr., is now the university’s chancellor.

Virginia’s largest university by enrollment, Liberty had 95,000 students in 2021, most of whom were online students.

Lynchburg center to lift entrepreneurs

Months before its opening in late summer or early fall, Lynchburg’s new Center for Entrepreneurship already has gathered about 15 applications from local business owners and professionals seeking to mentor those launching or looking to grow their own companies.

That’s a positive sign, says Stephanie Keener, executive director of the Lynchburg region’s Small Business Development Center. In April, she also became director of the hub, which will provide a central location to offer support and technical services for the region’s startups and small businesses.

“I literally had somebody, actually, when I mentioned that we had the [mentorship] form up and ready to go, she said, ‘Oh, I’m gonna do that right now,’ pulled out her phone and started filling out the application,” Keener says.

In March, GO Virginia announced it awarded $240,192 to the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance to create the center; Amherst, Bedford and Campbell counties, Lynchburg and the towns of Altavista, Amherst and Appomattox also contributed a combined $187,035. The Center for Entrpreneurship will operate in the alliance’s downtown Lynchburg building in a 3,000-square-foot space previously occupied by CloudFit Software, an IT and cybersecurity company that launched with the organization’s help and recently outgrew the space.

CloudFit’s growth is something Luke Towles, senior vice president of Pinnacle Financial Partners, would like to see replicated by businesses helped by the new center. “It’s got the potential for incubation,” says Towles, board chair for the center.

The center will provide free and low-cost support to 30 entrepreneurs, with the goal of those businesses generating 42 jobs during the next two years, says Megan Lucas, the alliance’s CEO and chief economic development officer. It will offer coworking space, planning, training and services including web design, legal, financial and human resources support.

In February, the business alliance formed the 140 Fund, a revolving low-interest loan fund for entrepreneurs that will help the center’s participating businesses.

To attract entrepreneurs, Lucas says, the center will conduct extensive marketing and communications campaigns, while also relying on the alliance’s existing network for outreach. Companies can contact the center to participate and will be chosen by the board of directors.

“From muffins on Main Street to manufacturing,” Lucas says, “the center will be an additional resource center for individuals who are thinking about starting a business, who are in business, or who are transitioning a business.” 

Lynchburg transformer manufacturer to add 149 jobs

Industrial power equipment manufacturer Delta Star Inc. will invest $30.2 million to expand its manufacturing operation and headquarters in Lynchburg, creating an estimated 149 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday.

The company will add 80,000 square feet of mobile power transformer manufacturing space to its 300,000-square-foot facility located at 3550 Mayflower Drive and will consolidate its headquarters and office functions in an adjacent 14,000-square-foot corporate building.

“Delta Star has been a valuable and reliable employer in the City of Lynchburg for more than 60 years,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Manufacturing is a major economic driver across the commonwealth, and we are proud that this industry leader’s products are not only ‘Made in America’, they are also ‘Made in Virginia.’”

Founded in 1908, Delta Star established its Lynchburg facility in 1962 and later moved its corporate headquarters to the plant. The manufacturer has more than 915 employees, of whom approximately 460 work in the Lynchburg facility. Virginia competed with California and Pennsylvania for the project.

“The Commonwealth of Virginia offers a unique set of advantages such as transportation access, business-friendly attitude at both state and local levels, [and] exceptionally well-executed and supported workforce development and recruitment programs,” Delta Star CEO Jason Greene said in a statement. “Lastly, the significant economic development and growth of the Lynchburg region through numerous programs, projects and investments have made a lasting impact.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Lynchburg and the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance to secure the project. Youngkin approved an $850,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Lynchburg with the project. Delta Star is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. Delta Star will also use the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a discretionary incentive program offered by VEDP and the Virginia Community College System that provides free customizable workforce recruiting and training services for eligible businesses locating or expanding in Virginia.

BWXT wins potential $45B DOE contract

A joint venture led by BWX Technologies Inc. has won a federal contract worth up to $45 billion — its largest ever — from the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up a decommissioned nuclear production site in southeastern Washington state, the Lynchburg-based nuclear components and fuel supplier announced Monday.

The Hanford Site Tank Farms has 177 underground waste storage tanks with 54 million gallons of nuclear waste produced by plutonium production, according to a 2021 federal report. The Department of Energy awarded the 10-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract (ITDC) to Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure LLC (H2C), a joint venture led by BWXT’s Technical Services subsidiary that includes Amentum Environment & Energy Inc. and Fluor Federal Services Inc.

“This is the largest single contract award in our company’s history and is a stair-step achievement as we strengthen our leadership position in environmental restoration at highly technical projects across the nation,” BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said in a statement.

The federal government produced plutonium for more than 40 years, from 1943 to 1987, at the Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington. The DOE is repurposing the site to treat tank waste from the production period in an environmental cleanup. The site has 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 159 underground tanks, according to the DOE.

Low-activity radioactive waste will be removed and treated and eventually turned into a glass product through the vitrification process, which mixes the waste with glass-forming materials and heats it to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit so the waste bonds with the glass. Vitrification will occur at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, which contractor Bechtel National Inc. is constructing. Bechtel completed construction on the first phase of the facilities in January 2021, and the multiyear testing and commissioning period has begun.

Under the ITDC contract, H2C will operate tank farm facilities; design, construct and operate waste-receiving facilities and treatment capabilities; operate the eventual Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant; and oversee core project functions, including project management and environment, safety, health and quality functions.

Fortune 1000 company BWXT has roughly 7,000 employees and 14 major operating sites across the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Hurt & Proffitt acquires Gretna civil engineering firm

Lynchburg-based civil engineering firm Hurt & Proffitt (H&P) has acquired Gretna-based Reynolds-Clark Development, according to a news release.
H&P Chief Financial Officer Matthew Leslie declined to disclose the value of the deal. The company has added Reynolds-Clark’s five employees to its workforce, bringing its total personnel to about 150. Reynolds-Clark will be now be known as Hurt & Proffitt and remain in Pittsylvania County. The company’s founders, President Gretchen Clark and Vice President Tim Reynolds, have been named vice presidents at H&P. Clark will also serve as director of site permitting, and Reynolds will add director of land development to his responsibilities.
Both companies serve clients throughout Virginia and North Carolina.
“We are excited about the opportunities that the combined forces of our two firms will hold for the future,” H&P President Wiley “Bif” Johnson said in a statement. “Our industry is rapidly changing and growing. This acquisition will allow us to meet those changes head-on and allow us to broaden our services.”
Founded in 2004, Reynolds-Clark specializes in site and utility design, stormwater management and environmental planning.
“Moving forward, clients will continue to maintain relationships with the individuals they have worked with in the past,” Clark said in a statement.
Reynolds said that the combination of the firms will give H&P “more depth” for clients.
H&P was started in 1973 and also has offices in Blacksburg, Roanoke and Wytheville.

Liberty University appoints new president, chancellor

Liberty University’s board has appointed retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Dondi E. Costin as its next president and Pastor Jonathan Falwell as chancellor, with both men starting in those posts before the 2023-24 school year, the Lynchburg-based private Christian university announced Friday.

Costin, who earned two master’s degrees from Liberty, is currently president of Charleston Southern University in South Carolina, which he has led since 2018, and also president of the Big South Conference. He served in the Air Force for 32 years, ending his career as the military branch’s chief of chaplains while stationed at the Pentagon. Costin replaces Liberty’s interim president and former board chairman, Jerry Prevo, who will transition to president emeritus, according to Liberty’s announcement.

“As one whose life and ministry have been profoundly shaped by Liberty University, I can think of no educational institution with more global impact than my two-time alma mater. I am beyond grateful to the board for entrusting me with this extraordinary opportunity,” Costin said in a statement. “Vickey and I look forward to locking arms with the Liberty family as we honor the university’s past and drive toward its future. With God’s help and for his glory, the very best days of our great university are still ahead of us.”

Costin has two doctorates from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and five master’s degrees, including one in counseling from Liberty and one in religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also a decorated combat veteran and as president of CSU, Costin oversaw construction of several new buildings and expansion of its academic offerings, including South Carolina’s only four-year aviation program, multiple doctoral programs and an engineering program in the university’s College of Science and Mathematics, according to Liberty’s announcement.

Falwell, who will remain as senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, is the brother of former Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr., who became Liberty’s president and chancellor in 2007 and resigned in 2020 amid a highly publicized personal scandal. Both are the sons of the late Jerry Falwell Sr., who founded Liberty in 1971 as Lynchburg Baptist College and was the university’s first president and chancellor, as well as the founder of Thomas Road Baptist. A two-time Liberty alumnus, Jonathan Falwell is currently Liberty’s executive vice president for spiritual affairs and campus pastor, and previously held the title of vice chancellor for spiritual affairs.

According to a 2022 Vanity Fair feature, the Falwell brothers were divided politically over Falwell Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump’s presidential bid in 2016, with Jonathan Falwell supporting U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, as well as having very different personalities and temperaments. Earlier this month, Falwell Jr. filed a federal lawsuit against Liberty over $8.5 million in retirement benefits he alleges he is owed.

Both Falwell and Costin will report independently to the university’s board of trustees. Executive recruiting firm CarterBaldwin led an eight-month national search on behalf of the presidential and chancellor search committee, which was chaired by the late Gilbert “Bud” Tinney Jr., a board member who died at the age of 85 in February.

“With CarterBaldwin’s objective help, we looked near and far, and we believe we have found the right leaders at the right time for the future of Liberty University,” Board Chairman Tim Lee said Friday. “The combination of President Costin and Chancellor Falwell not only bring the gravitas and experience necessary to lead the university exceptionally well, but with perfect cultural alignment.”

Prevo, a former pastor of Alaska’s Anchorage Baptist Temple, stepped in as interim president in August 2020, when Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president and chancellor after media reports of controversies, including allegations that he had knowledge of an affair between his wife and a young man who also was their business partner briefly. Falwell has denied that allegation, but the university sued him for $10 million for breach of contract. He also has countersued, seeking the return of some legal documents, a revolver he kept in his desk and other personal items he says the university has not allowed him to collect since banning him from Liberty property. Those lawsuits are still underway in Lynchburg Circuit Court. The university also launched a third-party investigation of the university’s finances and real estate dealings during Falwell’s tenure in late 2020, but no report has been publicly released.

In addition to the Falwell Jr. scandals, Liberty was sued by 22 anonymous women — both former students and staff members — who alleged that Liberty “intentionally created a campus environment where sexual assaults and rapes are foreseeably more likely” and discouraged victims from reporting their assaults. In May 2022, 20 of the plaintiffs settled their lawsuits against Liberty, and the U.S. Department of Education announced the same month that it is investigating the university over claims of Title IX misconduct.

Despite the controversies, Liberty has remained financially healthy, with an endowment of $2.169 billion in fiscal year 2022, and the university is set to pay off more than $189 million in taxable bonds in April, according to paperwork filed March 1 by the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. NA.

Virginia’s largest university by enrollment, Liberty has grown into an online-learning juggernaut, with 95,148 students enrolled in 2021, most of whom study remotely, according to the university.