title: 91st Academy Awards

text: The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: In October 2018, the Academy hired film producer Donna Gigliotti and television producer Glenn Weiss to oversee production of the 2019 ceremony. "Donna and Glenn will infuse new energy and vision into this 91st awards presentation, and we are excited about a broad-based creative relationship with these two artists", Academy President John Bailey said in a press release announcing the decision. Furthermore, AMPAS CEO Dawn Hudson added, "We're thrilled to work with someone as passionate about the Academy as Donna Gigliotti — an Oscar winner and multiple nominee. She and the now-famous Glenn Weiss are committed to making the most of the innovations we've embraced for our 91st Oscars." In response, co-producer Gigliotti expressed gratitude saying, "I'm grateful to the Academy and ABC for entrusting me with this very special opportunity. I'm sure it will prove to be a humbling, exhilarating and completely unique experience. Thankfully, I will have Glenn Weiss by my side every step of the way!" Weiss also released a statement which read, "I'm so looking forward to being back to help celebrate and honor the film industry and all the talented people behind this year's movies. And I am 'co-excited' to be co-producing this year's show with Donna Gigliotti!"


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: Two months later, Gigliotti and Weiss initially selected actor and comedian Kevin Hart to host the ceremony. However, he resigned from his position shortly after his selection after it was revealed that Hart made jokes that contained anti-gay slurs and language. He also added he did not want to be a "distraction" to the ceremony in light of the controversy. The following February, broadcaster ABC Entertainment chief Karey Burke announced that the festivities would proceed without a host. During an interview at the Television Critics Association press tour, Burke stated, "The main goal, which I was told, was the Academy promised ABC last year after a very lengthy telecast to keep the show to three hours. Producers wisely decided to not to have a host and to go back to having the presenters and movies be the stars, and that be the best way to keep the show at a brisk three hours."


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: Other people participated in the production of the ceremony. Production designer David Korins designed a new stage for the show. Randy Thomas served as announcer for the ceremony. Musician Rickey Minor was hired as music director and conductor. Queen + Adam Lambert performed a medley of the songs "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" as part of the program's opening number.


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: Due to the declining viewership of the recent Academy Awards ceremonies, AMPAS sought new ideas to revamp the show while renewing interest with the nominated films. In August 2018, the organization announced plans to add a new category honoring achievement in "Popular Film". The proposal was met with criticism because the award's implied focus on blockbuster suggested that artistic films and other non-mainstream pictures were not "popular with audiences". Furthermore, many viewed the creation of this new category to be a ploy to boost ratings and that it could hamper critically successful mainstream films from being nominated for Best Picture despite the insistence of AMPAS that such movies could be eligible for both categories. In light of the backlash, the Academy announced the following month that it would postpone implementation of the new category in order to seek additional input. AMPAS president John Bailey later admitted that the proposed category was intended to help improve viewership, and noted that the concept of a separate award for commercial film dates back to the inaugural awards ceremony, which had separate categories for "Outstanding Picture" and "Best Unique and Artistic Picture".


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: In an effort to shorten the ceremony, it was reported that only two of the nominees for Best Original Song, "All the Stars" and "Shallow", would be performed live. After a negative reaction from audiences and industry musicians, including Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of the music branch, the Academy backtracked and announced that all five Best Original Song nominees would be performed during the ceremony. "All the Stars" would not be performed, however, with "Variety" reporting that there were "logistics and timing issues" with its performers.


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: On February 11, AMPAS announced that the presentation of four awards categories, Best Cinematography, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Film Editing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, would occur during commercial breaks. They said that these presentations would be streamed so viewers could watch them live online, and that the winners' acceptance speeches would be replayed later in the broadcast. The decision received extensive backlash from audiences, and from filmmakers including Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle, Spike Lee, Joe Dante and Alfonso Cuarón (the latter of whom was nominated and won in one of the aforementioned categories). Four days later, the Academy reversed the decision and announced that all 24 categories would be presented live.


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: When the nominations were announced, seven of the eight films nominated for Best Picture had earned a combined gross of $1.26 billion at the American and Canadian box offices at the time. "Black Panther" was the highest-grossing film among the Best Picture nominees with $700 million in domestic box office receipts. "A Star is Born" came in second with $204.8 million; this was followed by "Bohemian Rhapsody" ($202.4 million), "BlacKkKlansman" ($48.5 million), "Green Book" ($42.3 million), "Vice" ($39.5 million), and "The Favourite" ($23 million). Box office figures for "Roma" were unavailable due to distributor Netflix's policy of refusing to release such figures.


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: Some media outlets received the broadcast positively. Chuck Barney of "The Mercury News" commented, "After months of bad buzz and embarrassing missteps, the 91st Academy Awards appeared to be on their way to an epic fail." He also remarked, "The show, as usual, had some rocky moments, but overall it was a lively, well-paced and entertaining affair." Television critic Matthew Gilbert of "The Boston Globe" wrote, "The hostless Oscar ceremony felt a little more streamlined and energetic than usual, as we were spared yet another predictable opening goof on the nominated movies, a monologue pretending to make fun of the stars, and short quips across the night that never quite land." "The Hollywood Reporter" television critic Daniel Fienberg quipped, "Sunday's Oscars telecast definitely confirmed that under the right circumstances, a host isn't a necessity." In addition, he said, "The show was not overwhelmed by montages or stunts or tributes, and it also wasn't weighed down by elaborately prepared presenter schtick."


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: Others were more critical of the show. Kelly Lawler of "USA Today" wrote, "The 2019 Oscar telecast lacked energy and comedy, and was treacherously dull. And maybe that could have been avoided if the Academy had done what it has (almost) always done, and procured a host." She also observed that the awards "were more like a press conference with movie clips in the middle". Television critic Hank Stuever of "The Washington Post" commented, "They kept all the speeches but lost any trace of the unpredictable magic. They opened with Queen (the actual band, fronted by their usual Freddie Mercury replacement, Adam Lambert) and a promise that 'We Will Rock You,' but we all know better. The Oscar telecast has never rocked anyone." He ended his review stating, "It's painful, year after year, to watch show business struggle to find a better way to put on a satisfying show."


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 29.56 million people over its length, which was a 12% increase from the previous year's ceremony. The show also earned higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 16.4% of households watching the ceremony. In addition, it garnered a higher 18–49 demo rating with a 7.7 rating among viewers in that demographic.


title: 91st Academy Awards

text: The annual "In Memoriam" segment was presented by Academy president John Bailey. The Los Angeles Philharmonic led by conductor Gustavo Dudamel performed an excerpt of "Leaving Home" from "Superman" by John Williams during the montage.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, but is incorporated in Delaware.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The company was formed in 1984 as Bell Atlantic as part of the break up of the Bell System into seven companies, each a Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC), commonly referred to as "Baby Bells". Headquartered in Philadelphia, it originally had an operating area from New Jersey to Virginia.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 1997, Bell Atlantic expanded into New York and the New England states by merging with fellow Baby Bell NYNEX. While Bell Atlantic was the surviving company, the merged company moved its headquarters from Philadelphia to NYNEX's old headquarters in New York City. In 2000, Bell Atlantic acquired GTE, which operated telecommunications companies across most of the rest of the country not already in Bell Atlantic's footprint. Bell Atlantic, the surviving entity, changed its name to Verizon, a portmanteau of "" (Latin for "truth") and "horizon".


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2015, Verizon expanded into content ownership by acquiring AOL, and two years later, it acquired Yahoo! Inc. AOL and Yahoo were amalgamated into a new division named Oath Inc., which was rebranded as Verizon Media in January 2019, and was spun off and rebranded to Yahoo after its sale to Apollo Global Management.


title: Verizon Communications

text: , Verizon is one of three remaining companies with roots in the former Baby Bells. The other two, like Verizon, exist as a result of mergers among fellow former Baby Bell members. SBC Communications bought the Bells' former parent AT&T Corporation and took on the AT&T name, and CenturyLink acquired Qwest (formerly US West) in 2011 and later became Lumen Technologies in 2020.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon's mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 120.9 million subscribers as of the end of Q4 2020.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 1983, the US Department of Justice came to a settlement with AT&T Corporation to breakup the Bell System. Bell Atlantic Corporation was created as one of the original "Baby Bell" Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) in 1984.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 1996, CEO and Chairman Raymond W. Smith orchestrated Bell Atlantic's merger with NYNEX. When it merged, it moved its corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to New York City. NYNEX was consolidated into the Bell Atlantic name by 1997.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Bell Atlantic changed its name to Verizon Communications in June 2000, when the Federal Communications Commission approved the US$64.7 billion merger with telephone company GTE, nearly two years after the deal was proposed in July 1998. The approval came with 25 stipulations to preserve competition between local phone carriers, including investing in new markets and broadband technologies. The new entity was headed by co-CEOs Charles Lee, former CEO of GTE, and Bell Atlantic CEO Ivan Seidenberg.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon became the largest local telephone company in the United States, operating 63 million telephone lines in 40 states. The company also inherited 25 million mobile phone customers. Additionally, Verizon offered internet services and long-distance calling in New York, before expanding long-distance operations to other states.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The name Verizon derives from the combination of the words "", Latin for truth, and horizon. The name was chosen from 8,500 candidates and the company spent $300 million on marketing the new brand.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Two months before the FCC gave final approval on the formation of Verizon Communications, Bell Atlantic formed Verizon Wireless in a joint venture with the British telecommunications company Vodafone on April 4, 2000. The companies established Verizon Wireless as its own business operated by Bell Atlantic, which owned 55% of the venture. Vodafone retained 45% of the company. The deal was valued at approximately $70 billion and created a mobile carrier with 23 million customers. Verizon Wireless merged Bell Atlantic's wireless network, Vodafone's AirTouch and PrimeCo holdings, and the wireless division of GTE. Due to its size, Verizon Wireless was able to offer national coverage at competitive rates, giving it an advantage over regional providers typical of the time.


title: Verizon Communications

text: During its first operational year, Verizon Wireless released Mobile Web, an Internet service that allowed customers to access partner sites such as E*Trade, ABC News, ESPN, Amazon.com, Ticketmaster, and MSN, as well as the "New Every Two" program, which gave customers a free phone with every two-year service contract (this program was shut down in 2011). In another partnership with MSN in 2002, Verizon Wireless launched the mobile content service VZW with MSN and a phone that utilized the Microsoft Windows operating system.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In August 2000, approximately 85,000 Verizon workers went on an 18-day labor strike after their union contracts expired. The strike affected quarterly revenues, resulting in Verizon Wireless' postponement of the company's initial public offering (IPO) (the IPO was ultimately cancelled in 2003 because the company no longer needed to raise revenue for Verizon Wireless due to increased profits), and created a backlog of repairs. This strike did not involve all company employees, as mostly line technicians and user technicians of the company are union.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon launched 3G service in 2002, which doubled the Internet speed of the time to 144kb per second. In August 2002, Verizon began offering local, long-distance and mobile calling, as well as Internet service, in a bundle. It was initially only available to customers in New York and Massachusetts.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In June 2003, Verizon Wireless backed an FCC-issued portability requirement that permitted consumers to take their phone numbers with them across carriers. The company gained 1.5 million new subscribers the following quarter, partially due to the rule change. In April 2004, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added Verizon Communications to its stock market index. Verizon replaced telecom competitor AT&T, which had been a part of the index since the Great Depression.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On December 22, 2004, mail servers at Verizon.net were configured not to accept connections from Europe by default in an attempt to reduce spam email that was originating from the region. Individual domains would only be unblocked upon request.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2004, Verizon launched its Fios Internet service, which transmits data over fiber optic cables, in Keller, Texas. The company launched Fios TV in September 2005, also in Keller. Twenty percent of qualified homes had signed up by the end of 2004. By January 2006, Fios offered over 350 channels in eight states, including 20 high-definition television channels and video on demand.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2005, Verizon launched VCast, a multimedia service that allowed people to download apps, music, ringtones, and videos.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2005, Verizon began negotiations to purchase long-distance carrier MCI, who accepted the company's initial $6.75 billion offer in February but then received a higher offer from Qwest Communications. Verizon increased its bid to $7.6 billion (or $23.50 a share), which MCI accepted on March 29, 2005. The acquisition gave the company access to MCI's million corporate clients and international holdings, expanding Verizon's presence into global markets. As a result, Verizon Business was established as a new division to serve the company's business and government customers. The FCC approved the deal on November 5, 2005, valuing it at $8.5 billion. Verizon's 2006 revenues rose by as much as 20% following the purchase.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In May 2006, "USA Today" reported that Verizon, as well as AT&T and BellSouth, had given the National Security Agency landline phone records following the September 11 attacks. That same month, a $50 billion lawsuit was filed by two lawyers on behalf of all Verizon subscribers for privacy violations and to prevent the company from releasing additional records without consent or warrant. Protesters staged the National Day of Out(R)age due in part to the controversy. In 2007, Verizon stated that it fulfilled only "lawful demands" for information, but also acknowledged surrendering customer information to government agencies without court orders or warrants 720 times between 2005 and 2007.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In February 2007, Verizon added a new service to V Cast called V Cast Mobile TV, which took advantage of Verizon's multiple cellular technologies (such as EV-DO) allowing people with high-end devices to watch TV on their device.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In March 2007, Verizon won a lawsuit against Vonage for patent infringement. The three patents named were filed by Bell Atlantic in 1997, and relate to the conversion of IP addresses into phone numbers, a key technology of Vonage's business. The company was awarded US$58 million in damages and future royalties. Vonage later lost an appeal and was ordered to pay Verizon $120 million.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In May 2007, Verizon acquired Cybertrust, a privately held provider of global information security services.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In September 2007, Verizon Wireless reversed a controversial decision to deny NARAL Pro-Choice America a short code through which the organization could text consumers who had signed up for messaging from the group. The company had initially refused the group access to a code by reserving the right to block "controversial or unsavory" messages.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In November 2007, Verizon opened its networks to third party apps and devices for the first time, a decision that allowed it to participate in the FCC's 2008 700 MHz auction of "open access" spectrum. During that auction, the company bid $9.4 billion and won the bulk of national and local licenses for airwaves reaching approximately 469 million people. Verizon utilized the increased spectrum for its 4G service.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In June 2008, Verizon Wireless purchased wireless carrier Alltel for $28.1 billion. The acquisition included 13 million customers, which allowed Verizon Wireless to surpass AT&T in number of customers and reach new markets in rural areas.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In October 2010, Verizon Wireless paid $77.8 million in refunds and FCC penalties for overcharging 15 million customers for data services. The company stated the overcharges were accidental and only amounted to a few dollars per customer.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On February 4, 2010, 4chan began receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers that they were having difficulties accessing the site's image boards. Administrators of the site found that only traffic on port 80 to the boards.4chan.org domain was affected, leading them to believe the block was intentional. On February 7, 2010, Verizon Wireless confirmed that 4chan.org was "explicitly blocked" after Verizon's security and external experts detected sweep attacks coming from an IP address associated with the 4chan network. Traffic was restored several days later.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In August 2010, the chairmen of Verizon and Google agreed that network neutrality should be defined and limited.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In December 2010, Verizon introduced its 4G LTE network in 38 markets, as well as airports in seven additional cities. The company planned on a three-year continuous expansion of the 4G service.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Between 2005 and 2010, Verizon divested wireline operations in several states in order to focus on its wireless, Fios internet and Fios TV businesses. It sold 700,000 lines in Hawaii in 2005, and spun off lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in January 2007, which were then purchased by FairPoint Communications for $2.72 billion. Verizon also shed its telephone directory business in 2006.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In May 2009, the company spun off wirelines in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin into a company that then merged with Frontier Communications in a deal valued at $8.6 billion. In 2016, Verizon sold its wireline operations in Texas, Florida, and California to Frontier.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On January 27, 2011, Verizon acquired Terremark, an information technology services company, for $1.4 billion. Ivan Seidenberg retired as Verizon's CEO on August 1, 2011, and was succeeded by Lowell McAdam.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Verizon for its tax avoidance procedures after it spent $52.34 million on lobbying while collecting $951 million in tax rebates between 2008 and 2010 and making a profit of $32.5 billion. The same report also criticized Verizon for increasing executive pay by 167% in 2010 for its top five executives while laying off 21,308 workers between 2008 and 2010. However, in its Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2012, Verizon reported having paid more than $11.1 billion in taxes (including income, employment and property taxes) from 2009 to 2011. In addition, the company reported in the 10-K that most of the drop in employment since 2008 was due to a voluntary retirement offer.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In June 2012, Verizon purchased Hughes Telematics, a producer of wireless features for automobiles, for $612 million as part of its strategy to expand into new growth areas in its wireless business. The same month, Verizon's E-911 service failed in the aftermath of the June 2012 derecho storm in several northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., with some problems lasting several days. The FCC conducted an investigation and released a report detailing the problems that led to the failure in January 2013. Verizon reported that it had already addressed or was addressing a number of the issues related to the FCC report, including the causes of generator failures, conducting audits of backup systems, and making its monitoring systems less centralized, although the FCC indicated that Verizon still needed to make additional improvements.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In July 2012, the FCC ruled that Verizon must stop charging users an added fee for using 4G smartphones and tablets as Wi-Fi hotspots (known as "tethering"). Verizon had been charging its customers, even those with "unlimited" plans, $20 per month for tethering. As part of the settlement, Verizon made a voluntary payment of $1.25 million to the U.S. Treasury.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In August 2012, the Department of Justice approved Verizon's purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum from a consortium of cable companies, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, for $3.9 billion. Verizon began expanding its LTE network utilizing these extra airwaves in October 2013.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In December 2012, Verizon officially shut down V Cast and all of its components. Following this, Verizon introduced Viewdini, a TV and movie streaming app. They also made a deal with the NFL to have an app where people could watch live NFL events. This deal expired in 2017.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On June 5, 2013, "The Guardian" reported it had obtained an order by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and approved by the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that required Verizon to provide the NSA with telephone metadata for all calls originating in the U.S. Verizon Wireless was not part of the NSA data collection for wireless accounts due to foreign ownership issues.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In September 2013, Verizon purchased the 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, previously owned by Vodafone, for $130 billion. The deal closed on February 21, 2014, and became the third largest corporate deal ever signed, giving Verizon Communications sole ownership of Verizon Wireless.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On January 14, 2014, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC's net neutrality rules after Verizon filed suit against them in January 2010. In June 2016, in a 184-page ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld, by a 2–1 vote, the FCC's net neutrality rules and the FCC's determination that broadband access is a public utility rather than a luxury. AT&T and the telecom industry said they would seek to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On January 22, 2014, the "Wall Street Journal" reported that Verizon received more than 1,000 requests for information about its subscribers on national security grounds via National Security Letters. In total, Verizon received 321,545 requests from federal, state and local law enforcement for U.S. customer information. In May 2015, Verizon agreed to pay $90 million "to settle federal and state investigations into allegations mobile customers were improperly billed for premium text messages."


title: Verizon Communications

text: In late October 2014, Verizon Wireless launched the technology news website SugarString. The publication attracted controversy after it was reported that its writers were forbidden from publishing articles related to net neutrality or domestic surveillance. Although Verizon denied that this was the case, the site (described as being a pilot project) was shuttered in December.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In August 2015, Verizon launched Hum, a service and device offering vehicle diagnostic and monitoring tools for vehicles. On August 1, 2016, Verizon announced its acquisition of Fleetmatics, a fleet telematics system company in Dublin, Ireland, for $2.4 billion, to build products that it offers to enterprises for logistics and mobile workforces. On September 12, 2016, Verizon announced its acquisition of Sensity, a startup for LED sensors, in an effort to bolster its IoT portfolio.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In October 2016, Verizon was accused by Communications Workers of America of deliberately refusing to maintain its copper telephone service. The organization released internal memos and other documents stating that Verizon workers in Pennsylvania were being instructed to, in areas with network problems, migrate voice-only customers to VoiceLink, a system that delivers telephone service over the Verizon Wireless network, instead of repairing the copper lines. VoiceLink has limitations, including incompatibility with services or devices that require the transmission of data over the telephone line, and a dependency on battery backup in case of power failure. The memo warned that technicians who do not follow this procedure would be subject to "disciplinary action up to and including dismissal". A Verizon spokesperson responded to the allegations, stating that the company's top priority was to restore service to customers as quickly as possible, and that VoiceLink was a means of doing so in the event that larger repairs had to be done to the infrastructure. The spokesperson stated that it was "hard to argue with disciplining someone who intentionally leaves a customer without service".


title: Verizon Communications

text: In November 2016, Verizon acquired mapping startup SocialRadar, whose technology would be integrated with MapQuest.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On January 26, 2017, the "Washington Post" reported that Verizon was in talks to merge with Charter Communications.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2017, Verizon partnered with Alley to develop a number of coworking spaces under the name "Alley powered by Verizon".


title: Verizon Communications

text: On March 13, 2017, Verizon was sued by New York City for violating its cable franchise agreement, which required the provider to pass a fiberoptic network to all households in the city by June 30, 2014. Verizon disputed the claims, citing landlords not granting permission to install the equipment on their properties, and an understanding with the government that the fiber network would follow the same routes as its copper lines, and did not necessarily mean it would have to pass the lines in front of every property.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On April 27, 2017, Verizon invested $10 million in Renovo Auto, an autonomous vehicle company based in Campbell, California.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On December 10, 2018, Verizon announced that 10,400 managers had agreed to leave the company as part of a "voluntary separation program" offered to 44,000 employees, resulting in a cut of around 7% of its workforce. At the same time, the company announced a $4.6 billion write-off on its media division, citing "increased competitive and market pressures throughout 2018 that have resulted in lower-than-expected revenues and earning."


title: Verizon Communications

text: On January 17, 2019, Verizon announced that it would offer anti-spam and robocalling features free of charge to all customers beginning in March.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In April 2019, Verizon began rolling out its 5G mobile network, which was active in 30 cities by the end of the year. Unlike other U.S. carriers, Verizon only uses millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum for its 5G network. While capable of very high speeds, mmWave has limited range and poor building penetration.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On May 15, 2020, Verizon acquired videoconferencing service BlueJeans in order to expand its business portfolio offerings, particularly its unified communications offerings. While the price of the acquisition was not announced, it is believed to be in the sub $500 million range. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In September 2020, Verizon announced its plans to acquire TracFone Wireless (a business unit of Mexican telecom business America Movil) for $6.25 billion. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 22, 2021 and closed the following day.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In October 2020, Verizon collaborated with Apple to bring 5G connectivity to Apple's iPhone 12 lineup.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On May 12, 2015, Verizon announced it would acquire AOL at $50 per share, for a deal valued around $4.4 billion. The following year, Verizon announced it would acquire the core internet business of Yahoo! for $4.83 billion. Following the completion of the acquisitions, Verizon created a new division called Oath, which includes the AOL and Yahoo brands. The sale did not include Yahoo's stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On March 16, 2017, Verizon announced it would discontinue the e-mail services provided for its internet subscribers and migrate them to AOL Mail.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On May 23, 2017, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed the company's plan to launch a streaming TV service. The integrated AOL-Yahoo operation, housed under the newly created Oath division, would be organized around key content-based pillars.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In May 2021, Verizon announced that its media group, including AOL and Yahoo, would be sold to Apollo Global Management for $5 billion, with Verizon retaining a 10% stake in the division.


title: Verizon Communications

text: For the fiscal year 2019, Verizon reported earnings of US$19.265 billion, with an annual revenue of US$131.868 billion, an increase of 0.77% over the previous fiscal cycle. Verizon's shares traded at over $45 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$229.1 billion in October 2018. For more than 20 years, Verizon has been in the top 20 in the Fortune 500 listings of corporations in the United States by total revenue.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The company offers Internet, traditional landline phone or VoIP, Home Security, Premium Television, Web Hosting and wholesale data in nine states footprint across the eastern United States.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The "Can you hear me now?" campaign, which was created for the newly formed Verizon Wireless, started running in 2001, and featured actor Paul Marcarelli in the role of "Test Man", a character based on a Verizon network tester, who travels the country asking "Can you hear me now?". The campaign, originally conceived by New York agency Bozell, ran from early 2001 to September 2010. Data from the technology tracking firm The Yankee Group showed that, in the early years of the campaign, net customers grew 10% to 32.5 million in 2002 and 15% more to 37.5 million in 2003. In addition, customer turnover dropped to 1.8% in 2001, down from 2.5% in 2000. In 2011, Marcarelli parted ways with Verizon, and is now a spokesperson for Sprint.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The "There's a map for that" campaign was launched in late 2009, designed as a parody of AT&T's "There's an app for that" campaign. The ads depicted a side-by-side comparison of Verizon and AT&T network coverage maps. In early November 2009, AT&T filed a lawsuit in Atlanta federal court, claiming that the coverage maps being used in the ads were misleading. The suit was dropped later that month in conjunction with Verizon dropping a similar suit against AT&T.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2009, Verizon joined with the Ad Council, in partnership with the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Office on Violence Against Women, to create the "That's not cool" public service advertising campaign. Designed to help teens recognize and prevent digital dating abuse, the ads were run on its Wireless' Mobile Web service, Verizon FiOS internet and TV.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In January 2013, Verizon launched the "Powerful Answers" campaign, designed by agency McGarryBowen. The campaign centered around a contest in which $10 million in prizes was offered to individuals for finding solutions to "the world's biggest challenges" by making use of Verizon's cloud, broadband and wireless networks. Winners of the inaugural competition were announced at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. Israel-based TinyTap won the education category; Smart Vision Labs of Newport, Rhode Island, won in the healthcare category; and Mosaic Inc. of Oakland, California, won in the sustainability category.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In June 2014, Verizon launched the "Inspire Her Mind" campaign, created by agency AKQA. It was designed to encourage girls' interest in science, technology, engineering and math, and aimed to address findings from the National Science Foundation, whose research showed that 66 percent of fourth-grade girls said they were interested science and math, yet only 18 percent of college students in engineering and math are women.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In February 2015, Verizon launched its Flipside Stories ad campaign, featuring the #NeverSettle hashtag. The ads showed dramatized "testimonials" of people with and without Verizon Wireless or Verizon Fios services.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon launched its Humanability campaign in 2017. The company aimed for the ads to showcase to consumers and investors its diversification of revenue sources and technology beyond smartphones. These include online advertising, data collection, Internet of Things, smart cities, telematics, and media.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The Verizon Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, which donates about $70 million per year to nonprofit organizations, with a focus on education, domestic violence prevention, and energy management. Verizon's educational initiatives have focused on STEM fields, including: a national competition for students to develop mobile application concepts; the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, providing professional development for teachers in underserved areas; and providing students with wireless hardware and services as part of President Obama's ConnectED program. The company also runs HopeLine, which has provided mobile phones to approximately 180,000 victims of domestic violence, and a program that offers grants for victims of domestic violence to start or grow home-based businesses. As part of an initiative to reduce the company's carbon intensity metrics by 50 percent by 2020, Verizon announced planned investment in solar panels and natural gas fuel cells at its facilities. The increased capacity would make Verizon the leading solar power producer among U.S. communications companies.


title: Verizon Communications

text: On February 5, 2019, Verizon first entered the green bond market with an issue of $1 billion. The sale was oversubscribed, meaning that investors bids were about $8 billion. Verizon plans to invest money on renewable energy, for instance, by developing solar and wind energy energy-efficient projects involving technology and equipment replacement, and the deployment of 5G wireless technologies, allowing for real-time response for energy demand (smart building management and city systems), green buildings, sustainable water management, and also biodiversity and conservation.


title: Verizon Communications

text: According to Cbonds, the newly issued green bonds have 3.875% coupon rate and will mature on August 5, 2029. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch were the bookrunners of the deal.


title: Verizon Communications

text: According to Google Project Zero researcher Tavis Ormandy, Verizon applies a simplistic certification methodology to give its "Excellence in Information Security Testing" award, e.g. to Comodo Group. It focuses on GUI functions instead of testing security relevant features. Not detected were Chromodo browser disabling of the same-origin policy, a VNC-delivered with a default of weak authentication, not enabling address space layout randomization (ASLR) when scanning, and using access control lists (ACLs) throughout its product.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon and Comcast have been actively lobbying for current changes in the FCC's regulations that require internet service providers to offer all content at one internet speed regardless of the type of content since the early 2000s. In 2014, Verizon unsuccessfully sued the FCC for these powers.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In July 2017, it was reported that Verizon's mobile network had been limiting streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube to a speed of 10 Mbps; Verizon stated to "Ars Technica" that it had been testing a system to "optimize the performance of video applications on our network", and that it would not affect video quality.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In May 2020, the Better Business Bureau criticized Verizon for claiming it was "building the most powerful 5G experience for America" and recommended that the company make clear and conspicuous disclosures to consumers about the limited actual availability of its 5G network. Verizon had been cited by the Better Business Bureau in March 2019 for ads that "convey the message that Verizon has achieved the important milestone of deploying the first mobile wireless 5G network" prior to 5G availability, falsely conveying that the technology was currently available.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon is the title sponsor of several large performance and sports venues as well as a sponsor of many major sporting organizations.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In January 2007, Verizon secured exclusive marketing and promotional rights with the National Hockey League. The deal was extended for another three years in 2012 and included new provisions for the league to provide exclusive content through Verizon's GameCenter app.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2009 and 2010 Verizon sponsored Justin Allgaier in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, before they chose to opt out of a two-year-old NASCAR team sponsorship with Penske Racing in order to pursue an expanded presence with the IndyCar Series. In March 2014 Verizon became title sponsor of the series through 2018.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon also sponsored a race in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In late 2010, Verizon Communications joined with Vodafone Group in a joint partnership to replace Sprint as the official wireless telecommunications partner of the National Football League. The four-year deal was estimated at $720 million. In June 2013, Verizon announced a four-year extension with the NFL in a deal reportedly valued at $1 billion. The new agreement gave Verizon the right to stream every NFL regular-season and playoff game.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In January 2020, Verizon became a founding partner of USA Team Handball through the year 2020, with an option to extend the deal until 2024. They are the jersey sponsor for the men's and women's national handball team and the men's and women's national beach handball teams. They are presenter of the USA Team Handball College Nationals.


title: Verizon Communications

text: In 2020 USA Team Handball CEO Barry Siff that they are planning to create an American professional team handball league sponsored by Verizon. They are planning to have the owners until the end of 2020. They are planning to launch the league in 2023 with 10 teams with each team initially worth $3 million to $5 million and want to cooperate with NBA or NHL owners in one-tenant arena situations. To create multisports clubs like FC Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain.


title: Verizon Communications

text: The main home concert hall of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is named Verizon Hall.


title: Verizon Communications

text: Verizon was the former sponsor for a number of sporting and entertainment arenas, including Simmons Bank Arena (formerly Verizon Arena) in North Little Rock, Arkansas, the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center (formerly Verizon Center) in Mankato, Minnesota, and the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which was originally known as the Verizon Wireless Arena until September 2016 when Southern New Hampshire University acquired the naming rights for a period of at least 10 years. Verizon was also the title sponsor of entertainment amphitheaters in locations throughout the United States, including four individually referred to as the "Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre" in Irvine, California, Maryland Heights, Missouri, Selma, Texas, and Alpharetta, Georgia.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty is among the world's largest Christian universities and the largest private non-profit universities in the United States by total student enrollment. Most of its enrollment is in online courses; in 2020, for example, the university enrolled about 15,000 in its residential program and 80,000 online.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University consists of 17 colleges, including a school of osteopathic medicine, a school of law, and a seminary. Liberty's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Liberty Flames. Their college football team is an NCAA Division I FBS Independent, while most of their other sports teams compete in the ASUN Conference. Their athletics program will join Conference USA as a full member in 2023.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty, whose website and officials speak of "training Champions for Christ", requires undergraduate students to take three Evangelical Bible-studies classes. The university's honor code, called the "Liberty Way,” prohibits premarital sex, cohabitation, and alcohol use.


title: Liberty University

text: Described as a "bastion of the Christian right", the university played a prominent role in Republican politics under Falwell and his son and successor Jerry Falwell Jr.; in 2021, Liberty President Jerry Prevo said getting conservative candidates elected to office was "one of our main goals".


title: Liberty University

text: The school was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns. Falwell, already a pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, served as the first president of the school. From 1979 to the late 1980s, Falwell Sr. also headed the Moral Majority, a right-wing political organization.


title: Liberty University

text: The school changed its name to Liberty Baptist College in 1976. Officials said the change aimed to distance the school from the name Lynchburg, which is often mistakenly associated with lynching; co-founder Towns also said that Falwell Sr., wanted to use the name "Liberty" to ride the enthusiasm for the Bicentennial of the United States.


title: Liberty University

text: The name changed again in 1984, to Liberty University. In 1985, the university launched a distance-learning program by mailing VHS tapes to students; this was the forerunner to Liberty University's current online program. Two years later, Liberty University's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status was formally recognized by the IRS.


title: Liberty University

text: In its early decades, the university was held afloat financially by major donors. The university was placed on probation multiple times in the 1990s by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools due to heavy debt loads. In 1990, the university's debt totaled $110 million; in 1996, it totaled $40million. In 1994, Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Women's Federation for World Peace funneled $3.5 million to Liberty University.


title: Liberty University

text: Since 1999, Liberty has had an informal relationship with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, two of whose members sit on the university board of trustees.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2001, days after 9/11, Jerry Falwell Sr. "blamed the terrorist attacks on gays, lesbians, feminists, abortion doctors, and the ACLU."


title: Liberty University

text: In 2004, Liberty University named its School of Government after Falwell family friend Senator Jesse Helms.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2005, "Barron's Profiles of American Colleges" ranked undergraduate admission to LU as "competitive", its fourth-highest of six ranks. When high-speed Internet connections became more widespread around 2005, Liberty began to offer online courses to a larger adult population.


title: Liberty University

text: After Falwell Sr. died in 2007, his son Jerry Falwell Jr. became the university's second president. At the time, the university listed $259 million in assets.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2009, Liberty University withdrew official recognition of the student Young Democrats club, saying that the club's political positions, including support of abortion rights, conflicted with the school's.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2010, Liberty students received about $445 million in federal financial aid money, the highest total of any school in Virginia and one of the highest in the country. A 56 percent increase over the previous year, the money was mostly in the form of student loans, but also included some grants and other forms of aid.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2011, Liberty blocked campus access to a local Lynchburg newspaper, the "News & Advocate", after the newspaper reported on the school's dependence on federal financial aid. Falwell Jr. said that the decision to block the newspaper was unrelated to content published in the paper.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2012, Liberty University acquired the former Lynchburg Sears building to house Liberty University online and a television station.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2017, "Forbes"s list of America's Top Colleges ranked Liberty University No. 585 of 650 "Top Colleges", No. 231 as a "Research University", 371 as a "Private College", and 136 "in the South". Forbes also gave Liberty a "Forbes Financial Grade" of B+.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2019, Will E. Young, a former editor-in-chief of Liberty's "Champion" student newspaper, described the "culture of fear" at Liberty University, noting that the school "founded on principles of fundamental Christianity, is now a place that has zero tolerance for new questions and ideas. Those who harbor them must remain silent, or leave." Young later argued that Liberty must address its racist past, beginning with Jerry Falwell, Sr. and that it must include people of color and LGBTQ people as it makes decisions.


title: Liberty University

text: Ben Howe, whose parents worked for Falwell's Liberty University, published The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power over Christian Values. The book included a critique of Jerry Falwell Jr. who posed "for a picture in front of a Playboy magazine with [Donald] Trump on the cover."


title: Liberty University

text: In spring 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Liberty allowed some students to return to campus after spring break over the objections of the city's mayor and contrary to the practices of most U.S. colleges and universities. When a ProPublica reporter and "New York Times" photographer investigated why the university remained partially open, the university pushed the local district attorney to charge them with trespassing.


title: Liberty University

text: A few months later, then-president Falwell Jr. posted a picture of Virginia governor Ralph Northman's black face in a tweet that many found racist. Some staff resigned in protest; some black students pursued transfers, many contending that the tweet was a symptom of a larger problem at the university. In response to internal and external criticism, Liberty University officials hired Kelvin Edwards, an alumnus and former NFL player, to lead diversity initiatives on campus, then fired him three months later. Edwards sued the university, alleging a breach of contract.


title: Liberty University

text: Falwell Jr. was placed on indefinite leave on August 7, 2020, after media began reporting allegations, including photographs, of personal and professional impropriety. A few weeks later, he resigned. He claimed that he was entitled to $10.5 million in compensation from the university because he resigned without either admitting to wrongdoing or having formal accusations opened against him.


title: Liberty University

text: At the end of Falwell Jr.'s presidency in 2020, the university listed over $2.5 billion in assets. Following Falwell's resignation, Times Higher Education reported that Liberty University was "facing growing criticism over perceived resistance to diversity" following the departures of Edwards, board chair Allen McFarland, and pastor David Nasser. Jonathan Falwell, a son of Jerry Falwell Sr., replaced Nasser.


title: Liberty University

text: In late 2020, three reform efforts took place. A group of Liberty University alumni called Save71 was organized in an effort to reform the school. Three Liberty University athletes, Kennedi Williams, Dee Brown, and TreShaun Clark organized a Black Lives Matter protest on campus, drawing a crowd of about two hundred people. Student leaders also created an online petition to force Liberty to shut down the school's think tank, the Falkirk Center, named after Jerry Falwell Jr. and conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The petition garnered about 400 signatures


title: Liberty University

text: In November 2020, Liberty University graduate and athletics booster Bob Good won a seat in the US House of Representatives, making him the first Liberty graduate to be in the House.


title: Liberty University

text: In April 2021, Liberty University sued Falwell Jr. for $40 million in damages for breach of contract and violation of fiduciary duty. In the same month, the Liberty University board of trustees replaced acting chairman Allen McFarland, the first African American board chair, with Tim Lee, "a pro-Trump pastor."


title: Liberty University

text: In July 2021, the university was sued by 12 anonymous women, including two employees, who alleged that the university created an environment that increased the likelihood of sexual assault and rape in violation of federal Title IX law. The lawsuit alleged that the school's student honor code makes it difficult to report sexual violence because it does not clearly shield students; that the university had a tacit policy that condoned sexual violence, especially by male student athletes, by weighing a denial more heavily than an allegation; and that the school retaliates against women who report sexual violence. In one of the alleged incidents, a 15-year-old who was allegedly attacked by Jesse Matthew, who later confessed to murdering Hannah Graham, was told she would be criminally charged with filing a false report, before they began an "investigation" into her claim, which allegedly only consisted of a demand that she strip and submit to being photographed by the chief of police which she refused to do. She later was not taken to the hospital but the police later pestered her until she agreed to be photographed naked by a female debate coach. In a written response to the lawsuit, Liberty University officials said "The allegations are “deeply troubling, if they turn out to be true," and said that would look into each allegation detailed in the lawsuit.


title: Liberty University

text: Also in July 2021 Liberty University diversity retention officer LeeQuan McLaurin, a black gay man, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the school, claiming that his supervisor's view that Christianity condemns homosexuality forced him to quit,


title: Liberty University

text: An October 2021 ProPublica investigative report found that Liberty University discouraged and dismissed students coming forward about sexual assault; former students said they were threatened with punishment by coming forward with accusations of sexual assault. Politico also reported that a former Liberty University official, Scott Lamb, also accused Liberty University of violating its 501c3 non-profit status. Politico had previously reported that the school had invested in "Republican causes and efforts to promote the Trump administration."


title: Liberty University

text: In fall 2021, an outbreak of COVID-19 forced all classes on the Lynchburg campus to go online-only for two weeks. More than 400 students and 50 staff members tested positive for the virus. The campus did not require COVID-19 vaccinations, masks, or social distancing. Outdoor events, including a convocation and football game, were scheduled to continue.


title: Liberty University

text: The 17-story, 245-foot Freedom Tower, completed in February 2018, is the tallest building in Lynchburg. The tower holds a 25-bell carillon that includes a replica of the Liberty Bell.


title: Liberty University

text: The Hancock Welcome Center, built in 2012, is a three-level, 33,000-square-foot Jeffersonian-style building featuring an atrium, boardroom, theater, lounges, a banquet hall, several smaller counseling rooms, and a patio with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Jerry Falwell Sr. Center: Inspiring Champions for Christ, opening in 2023, will be attached to the Hancock Welcome Center.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University's Center for Music & Worship hosts the Miss Virginia beauty competition which sends the winner of the state to represent it in the Miss America Pageant.


title: Liberty University

text: Construction was completed in August 2009 on the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, a synthetic ski slope featuring Snowflex; the centre was designed by England's Briton Engineering. The first of its kind in the United States, it includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced slopes.


title: Liberty University

text: The Observatory Center opened in spring 2013 next to the Equestrian Center. The dome has a classroom that can fit up to 20 people. It houses a RC Optical Systems Truss Ritchey-Chrétien and several Celestron CPC 800 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes on pedestals, able to roll out under a roof. The observatory serves three purposes: instruction, public nights and research. Student Activities controls the use of the observatory and is open to all students.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2018, Liberty University opened a $3.2 million on-campus shooting range to train students to protect themselves against shooters and terrorists.


title: Liberty University

text: The four-story, 170,000-square-foot Jerry Falwell Library opened in January 2014 with more than 250,000 items and room for another 170,000. They are accessible via a robot-assisted storage and retrieval system, which locates requested items within a large storage room and delivers them to the front desk. There are 150 public computers throughout the building for electronic archive research. The library has group study rooms, writable walls, balconies, terraces, and a vegetative roof. At its entrance stands a 24-foot media wall, powered by three Microsoft Kinect units and integrated using a custom program, that allows visitors to scroll through university news, browse pictures contributed from students, and learn about upcoming university events.


title: Liberty University

text: The $50 million library is part of a larger $500 million building and expansion plan announced by Liberty University.


title: Liberty University

text: The museum includes artifacts from the Holy Land and Biblical culture, from 3,000 B.C. to the 6th century A.D., with special exhibits of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Jewish Temple, an Authentic Last Supper room, Daily Life in the Bible, Ancient Egypt, and Fossils and the Flood.


title: Liberty University

text: The National Civil War Chaplains Museum contains exhibits about clergy members and religious activity during the Civil War era. It is the only museum in the nation devoted to this purpose. The mission of the museum is to "educate the public about the role of chaplains, priests, and rabbis and religious organizations in the Civil War; to promote the continuing study of the many methods of dissemination of religious doctrine and moral teachings during the War; to preserve religious artifacts, and to present interpretive programs that show the influence of religion on the lives of political and military personnel." A 501(c)(3) organization, the museum rents space from Liberty University's DeMoss Center. It has 10,000 square feet, with a 50-seat video theatre, archive displays, a research library, and bookstore.


title: Liberty University

text: The museum commemorates Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish chaplains (including African-American chaplains), and houses publications and artifacts from both the Union and Confederate militaries. There are several areas in the museum that are given special attention including:


title: Liberty University

text: The Carter Glass Mansion, also called Montview, is a house built in 1923 for Carter Glass, a newspaper publisher, U.S. senator who worked to disenfranchise African Americans, U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Woodrow Wilson, and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and President Pro Tempore of the Senate during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The -story house, which is flanked by slightly smaller ells, has walls of quartz fieldstone quarried from the property and a grey gambrel roof. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register.


title: Liberty University

text: The estate was purchased by Liberty University in the late 1970s to be the headquarters of the university administration. It housed the main office of university founder Jerry Falwell, who died at his desk on May 15, 2007. Falwell and his wife were buried on the rear lawn of the mansion and a memorial to Falwell was placed there, overlooking the rest of the campus. The estate is now largely a tourist site, with Falwell's office preserved in its 2007 condition and the upstairs section of the mansion converted to a bed and breakfast for Liberty University guests.


title: Liberty University

text: According to its literature, the Center for Creation Studies is committed to the study of the origin of the universe, the earth, life, and diversification of species, equipping students to contend for their faith in the creation account in Genesis using science, reason, and the Scriptures. Young Earth creationism asserts that the Earth was created by supernatural acts by God approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago rather than the geological explanation of more than 4.5 billion years.


title: Liberty University

text: Creation Hall, on the second floor of the Center for Natural Sciences, is "dedicated to promoting young-Earth creation." Displays include replicas of post-Flood humans and fossils buried during Noah's flood.


title: Liberty University

text: Williams Stadium is the home field for the Liberty Flames football team. Opened in 1989, the stadium seats 25,000 spectators. An indoor practice facility was opened in 2017 at a cost of $29 million.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty Arena is the home of the men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball. The $65 million, 125,000-square-foot space, which opened in 2020, seats 4000 spectators.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty Natatorium is 75,000 square feet and contains a 9-lane Olympic-size swimming pool as well as a diving well 17-feet deep and fitted with 1-meter and 3-meter springboards and 10-meter, 7.5-meter, 5-meter, 3-meter, and 1-meter diving platforms. The inaugural competitive swimming event held in the swimming pool was the 2018 TYR Junior National Cup in March 2018. In 2020, one of the diving platforms collapsed for an unknown reason. Since its opening there have also been facility issues in regards to the timing system used in competitive swimming events.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty Mountain area consists of the Hydaway Outdoor Center and its 31-acre lake, the Liberty University Equestrian Center, Liberty Mountain Gun Club, Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, Astronomical Observatory and the Liberty Mountain Trail System.


title: Liberty University

text: The university is governed by a 30-member board of trustees that includes Jonathan Falwell, the son and brother (respectively) of the two former university presidents. Additionally, two ministers serve as Trustee Emeriti.


title: Liberty University

text: Jerry Prevo is the university's president. He formerly served as the chair of the board of trustees and was appointed president after the son of the university's founder, Jerry Falwell, Jr., resigned from his position as president in 2020.


title: Liberty University

text: Unlike most other research universities, faculty (outside the law school) are not offered tenure, giving them less influence in governing the university than is common. Most teachers are adjunct labor. Faculty must inform leadership in advance if they are talking with the media.


title: Liberty University

text: "The New York Times" reported that faculty at Liberty University acknowledge that Liberty University Online is a steep drop-off in quality relative to the traditional classes at the university. The online division at the Liberty University is a significant revenue source for the university.


title: Liberty University

text: , Liberty University offered over 550 total programs, 366 on campus and 289 online. There are 144 graduate programs and four doctoral programs offered on campus. It is classified among "Doctoral/Professional Universities" and is recognized by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty University College of Arts and Sciences includes eight different departments and offers PhD, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) opened in August 2014, funded in part by a $12 million matching grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission.


title: Liberty University

text: In July 2015 the college of osteopathic medicine opened Liberty Mountain Medical Group LLC, a primary care clinic serving the greater Lynchburg area.


title: Liberty University

text: The college received initial accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (AOA-COCA) in 2018. In that same year the medical school launched its first residency program, focused on neuromusculoskeletal treatment.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty's Helms School of Government offers degrees in criminal justice, government and public administration, international relations, pre-law, public policy, strategic intelligence, fire administration, etc. in both bachelor's and master's degrees. The Helms School of Government is named after Senator Jesse Helms.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Divinity School) was founded in 1973. The Rawlings School of Divinity currently offers 44 bachelor's degrees, 44 master's degrees, and 14 doctorate degrees; the Divinity School's graduate programs are accredited by the ATS. Many programs are on campus only, while others are available online. The school includes The Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement to defending the Christian faith in light of "trending issues like racism, sexuality, and morality in today’s society...and "engage the culture around us, learning to speak and act out of a gospel" The Rawlings School of Divinity is housed in the Freedom Tower. The Rawlings school is the largest divinity school in the world based on the number of students enrolled in degree programs.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty offers 11 bachelor's degrees in aeronautics from professional pilot to UAS. In 2018, Liberty's School of Aeronautics had more than 1,200 students in-person and online. Liberty has worked with American Eagle, Piedmont Airlines and Wayman Aviation to alleviate their pilot shortages.


title: Liberty University

text: The School of Behavioral Sciences includes four departments: Community Care & Counseling, Counselor Education & Family Studies, Psychology, and Social Work. It has an acceptance rate of 38%. The Community Care & Counseling department offers 28 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees. The Counselor Education & Family Studies department offers five master's degrees and one doctoral degree. The Psychology department offers two associate degrees, 14 bachelor's degrees, six master's degrees, and six doctoral degrees. The Social Work department offers one bachelor's degree. As of 2020, the dean was Kenyon C. Knapp.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University's School of Business offers 46 bachelor's, 67 master's, and 14 doctoral degrees. Liberty's school of business is accredited by ACBSP. In 2019, the School of Business was nearing completion of a new 78,000 sq. ft. building.


title: Liberty University

text: The School of Communication & the Arts includes five departments: Cinematic Arts, Digital Media and Journalism, Strategic and Personal Communication, Studio & Digital Arts, and Theatre Arts. There are over 12,000 residential and online students enrolled in this school.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University offers a Bachelor of Science in Cinematic Arts Degree, which is based in the new Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center (ZGCAC).


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty's School of Engineering offers degrees in computer engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial & systems engineering, and mechanical engineering. The School of Engineering is accredited through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). In 2017, Liberty bought The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) facility in Bedford, Virginia.


title: Liberty University

text: The School of Engineering has spent considerable resources on a project titled "Simulating Genesis" "to show how the laws of physics align with biblical history."


title: Liberty University

text: 82% of Liberty University School of Law's Class of 2018 obtained full-time, bar passage, or JD-required employment nine months after graduation, according to ABA-required disclosures. The law school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 2010. in February 2019, all of its graduates who took the Virginia Bar Exam passed, as did those of the University of Virginia School of Law. The school is ranked 147-192 out of 196 law schools in U.S. News & World Report.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2017, Liberty announced its new Center for Law and Government will be led by former U.S. representative Robert Hurt. The center will house the Liberty University School of Law and the Jesse Helms School of Government.


title: Liberty University

text: The departments of worship and music studies and of music and humanities merged in 2012 into a school of music, composed of two distinct centers. The School of Music offers 32 bachelor's degrees, 15 master's degrees, and one doctoral degree.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University's College of Applied Studies and Academic Success houses the Academic Success Center, the Eagle Scholar's Program, Technical Studies, Continuing Education, and Success Courses.


title: Liberty University

text: Along with over 15 other associate programs, Liberty offers vocational education with various associate degrees in carpentry; electrical; heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC); plumbing; and welding. These trades are approved by the National Center for Construction Education and Research.


title: Liberty University

text: According to the College Scorecard, Liberty University has a graduation rate of 34%. Median salary after attending ranges from $11,455 (AA in Teacher Education) to $72,022 (Electrical Engineering). 54% earn more than a high school graduate. Of those repaying student loans two years after entering repayment, 26% were in forbearance, 25% were not making progress, 14% were making progress, 14% were in deferment, 9% defaulted, 5% were paid in full, 5% were delinquent, and 2% had their loans discharged.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University is ranked #331–440 in the" U.S. News & World Report" ranking of "National Universities". It was also tied for 340th place out of 388 schools for social mobility. LU is ranked 391 out of 391 schools in the Washington Monthly.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty is among the ten colleges that enrolled the most undergraduates in fall 2018 according to US News. When including online students, Liberty enrolled more students than any university in the United States as of 2018.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty is consistently ranked as the "Most Conservative College in America" by Niche and various other publications. Niche also ranks Liberty as the #5 best 'Online College in America' and as having the #5 best 'College Campus in America'. Its college campus is ranked as one of the 10 largest college campuses in the U.S., with over 7,000 acres. Liberty has also been ranked one of the ten most conservative colleges in the U.S. by Young America's Foundation.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty was founded in 1971 and received regional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation in 1980, which was reaffirmed in 2016. In addition, it was accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) in September 1984, but resigned its TRACS accreditation on November 6, 2008. Liberty has more than 60 accredited degree granting programs. The law school, which opened in August 2004, gained provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2006 and was granted full accreditation in 2010. The medical school, which opened in 2014, is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (AOA-COCA). On December 9, 2009, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. announced that "Liberty University has received Level VI accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This is the highest classification from SACS and is reserved for colleges and universities that offer four or more doctoral degrees.


title: Liberty University

text: The Journal of Statesmanship and Public Policy "explores topics in the realms of national security, international relations, domestic policy, and political philosophy from a deeply thoughtful, ethical, and Christian perspective." Recent articles have been published on strict constructionism and critical race theory.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty Bell News is an online publication whose mission is "to maintain the vision of the founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr., to develop and train Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world."


title: Liberty University

text: In 2017, the school invited Ray Rice, who had been videotaped beating his fiancée three years earlier, to give a lecture on domestic violence. In 2021, a dozen anonymous women sued the school, charging that it failed to curb domestic violence and sexual assault on campus. A 2021 ProPublica investigation found that "an ethos of sexual purity, as embodied by the Liberty Way, has led to school officials discouraging, dismissing and even blaming female students who have tried to come forward with claims of sexual assault." Employees and students have been arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material.


title: Liberty University

text: In fall 2017, the acceptance rate for new first-time, full-time students entering Liberty's resident program was 30%. In 2011, the overall acceptance rate, which includes online students, was 51 percent. Liberty University Online is an open enrollment institution.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty's black population has declined from 19.9 percent in 2011 to 10.4 percent in 2019. The Black graduation rate was 17 percent.


title: Liberty University

text: As of 2021, the residential student body is 74% White, 5% Latino, 4% Black, 3% two or more races, and 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, less than 1% Native American, and 7% "other". Its male-to-female ratio is 45% to 54%.


title: Liberty University

text: Including online students, Liberty's undergrad population in 2017 was 51% White, 26.5% race/ethnicity unknown, 15.4% Black or African American, 2.3% two or more races, 1.7% Hispanic/Latino, 1.4% non-resident alien, 0.9% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaskan native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., are represented along with 86 countries. The online male-to-female ratio is 40% to 60%. More than 30,000 military students and over 850 international students attend Liberty.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty ranks 174th out of 2,475 schools in overall diversity, 94th out of 3,012 schools in age diversity, and 82nd out of 2,525 schools in location diversity.


title: Liberty University

text: , when including online students, LU was the largest Evangelical Christian university in the world. , LU was the largest private non-profit university in the United States. In terms of combined traditional and distance learning students, Liberty University is the 7th-largest four-year university, and the largest university in Virginia.


title: Liberty University

text: The Guardian has reported that LGBTQ+ students hide their dating behavior in order to graduate and to avoid being fined.


title: Liberty University

text: Under Liberty's honor code, sexual relations are only permitted in a Biblically ordained marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman. Students have criticized the university for being unwelcoming to LGBT students. Campus Pride, an organization that advocates for LGBT rights on college campuses, listed Liberty University as one of the worst universities for LGBT students. Falwell Jr. said the university does not have an anti-gay bias, and some gay students have defended the university. However, the school offers conversion therapy to gay students, a practice that many find offensive and studies have shown is often harmful. The student handbook also describes any gay sex as prohibited by the Bible, and thus prohibited by the school. In 2021, a former Liberty University student was part of a class action lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the institution should not be eligible to receive federal funding due to its discriminatory practices against LGBT students.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2015, Liberty University denied the discounted tuition to same-sex and trans spouses of military personnel that it offered to heterosexual military couples. In 2016, the university ordered a version of a psychology textbook that omitted sections with LGBTQ+-focused content.


title: Liberty University

text: The school says it does not engage in unlawful discrimination or harassment because of race, color, ancestry, religion, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability or military veteran status. But it "reserves its right to discriminate on the basis of religion to the extent that applicable law respects its right to act in furtherance of its religious objectives."


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty University honor code forbids students to be alone with a member of the opposite sex "at an off-campus residence" or to have premarital sex anywhere. Students may not consume alcohol or tobacco. In 2015, Liberty revised the code to give students the freedom to watch rated "R" movies and to play video games rated "M". In 2017, the curfew policy was changed to permit students age 20 and over to sign out and stay out past curfew. In 2018, the administration rejected a resolution from the student government that would have allowed off-campus drinking, "profane language" and the use of tobacco.


title: Liberty University

text: Residential students at Liberty, at both undergraduate and graduate levels, are required to attend Convocation at the Vines Center twice per week on Wednesdays and Fridays. Any student commuting to campus who is under twenty-one years old is also required to attend. Commuting students over the age of twenty-one are encouraged to attend, but their attendance is not mandatory. For students with mandatory attendance requirements, upon arrival, they must report to the Resident Assistant assigned to them and sit in their assigned section to be counted as present. A fine of $25 is assessed for the first two absences with the fine rising to $50 for further offenses. Attending students are not permitted to leave before the official dismissal or they will be fined as if they had been absent. Students under mandatory attendance requirements may receive a "skip" once per semester if they make their intent to use the skip know to their Resident Assistant at least 24 hours before Convocation begins.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty's Inter-Collegiate policy debate program ranked first overall for their division in the Championships at the National Debate Tournament in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The overall rankings include varsity, junior varsity, and novice results. In varsity rankings, Liberty finished 20th in 2005, 17th in 2006, 24th in 2007, 12th in 2008, 9th in 2009, 4th in 2010 and 4th in 2011. Through 2016, Liberty hosted the Virginia High School League's (VHSL) annual Debate State Championships every April. Subsequent to controversial remarks made by Chancellor Falwell in December 2015 following the 2015 San Bernardino attack, a number of high school students, teachers, debate coaches, and parents expressed concerns over Liberty's suitability for high school events, and some teams chose to not send students to compete at the annual State Championship in 2016. VHSL discontinued using Liberty as a venue for debate competition after 2016 to ensure an "environment free from harassment, personal threat, or physical or mental harm." In 2017, Liberty University's Debate Team finished atop the final rankings of all three national debate tournaments for the eighth time, sweeping the American Debate Association (ADA), the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), and the National Debate Tournament (NDT). Liberty remains the only school in the country to finish first in all three rankings in a single year. The team has placed first in the CEDA for the last eight years, first in the NDT for seven out of the last eight years, and first in the ADA for 13 out of the last 14 years.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2017, Will Young, the former editor of the college's student newspaper, the "Champion", recalled his experiences in a lengthy "Washington Post" article. In his first week in that role, he had been rebuked for attempting to get the campus's police blotter, he wrote, and the administration regularly overrode the student editors' decisions. There was, he claimed, "an infrastructure of thought-control that Falwell and his lieutenants [had] introduced into every aspect of Liberty University life" since 2016. Some sources Young spoke to believed the university installed spyware on the laptops they were issued. Student journalists became so frustrated that they launched an independent newspaper, the "Lynchburg Torch", to cover stories the administration tried to suppress.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Liberty Flames. Liberty is a member of the ASUN Conference for 17 of its 20 varsity sports. Women's swimming competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association, and women's field hockey competes in the Big East Conference. The field hockey team had belonged to the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference before that league's demise after the 2014 season. It competed as an independent in the 2015 season, then join the Big East Conference for the 2016 season. Starting in 2018, the football team began competing in the FBS as an independent. In 2020, Liberty entered the rankings in the AP Poll at 25 for the first time in program history. They finished the season being ranked 17 in the AP Poll and 18 in the Coaches Poll of top football teams in the country.


title: Liberty University

text: The university regularly competes for the Sasser Cup, the Big South's trophy for the university that has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty has won the Sasser Cup ten times, the most in the Big South. In 2012, Liberty became the first Big South school to win five consecutive Sasser Cups.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty Flames compete NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as an independent. In 2021, Liberty University announced the Flames would become full members of Conference USA effective for the 2023 football season. The team used Lynchburg's City Stadium as their home stadium until October 21, 1989, when the Flames played their first home game at Williams Stadium in front of 12,750 fans. Upgrades to the stadium increased capacity from 12,000 to 19,200 attendees and added luxury suites, a Club level, and a media area. Another expansion increased seating to 25,000. When a part of the FCS, Liberty ranked in the top 10 in the country in home attendance. In 2019, the Flames won the Cure Bowl against Georgia Southern, 23–16. In 2020, Liberty won the Cure Bowl again, defeating Coastal Carolina 39–34 in overtime. Liberty finished 10–1 with wins over a ranked Coastal Carolina and in state rival Virginia Tech in the school's best season to date. Liberty made its third FBS bowl appearance at the LendingTree Bowl in 2021, beating Eastern Michigan 56–20. The Flames last head coach was Hugh Freeze. In December 2022, the Flames hired Jamey Chadwell away from Coastal Carolina to be the next head coach.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University's basketball Vines Center can house up to 9,547 spectators for its games. Several members of the Liberty men's basketball (Liberty Flames basketball) team have been recruited to the NBA. The women's basketball team (Liberty Lady Flames basketball) was honored by the Big South "with the Top 25 'Best of the Best' moments in League history from 1983–2008, with Liberty University's 10-year women's basketball championship run from 1996–2007 being crowned the No. 1 moment in the Big South's first 25 years."


title: Liberty University

text: In 2019, the men's basketball program won the ASUN basketball tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament. Liberty earned its highest ranking ever when it was selected as the No. 12 seed in the East Region. Liberty set a school record with their 29th win as they upset Mississippi State 80–76 in the first round of the East Region in the 2019 NCAA tournament.


title: Liberty University

text: The Liberty Baseball Stadium, completed in June 2013 and home to Liberty Baseball, was ranked No. 4 among college ballpark experiences by Stadium Journey website in 2015. The stadium includes 2,500 chairbacks, locker room, four indoor batting tunnels, four luxury suites, offices for the baseball program, a weight room, team room and a fully functional press area. Several Liberty Flames baseball players were drafted during the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Local stations air some games. Some games have aired nationally on ESPNU.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University has men's and women's club ice hockey teams. Men's hockey started in 1985 when students at Liberty organized a team to compete against surrounding colleges and clubs but has since become a competitive club team competing against much larger schools such as University of Oklahoma, University of Delaware, and Penn State University. In 2006, Liberty University opened the 3,000-seat LaHaye Ice Center, a gift from Dr. Timothy and Beverly LaHaye. Also in 2006, Liberty became the only school in the state of Virginia to host a men's Division I American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) club hockey team. Currently, Liberty University has Division I, II, and III men's teams and Division I and II women's teams. The men's Division I team is coached by Kirk Handy, while the women's Division I team is coached by Chris Lowes.


title: Liberty University

text: The men's and women's cross country teams have long been a conference powerhouse, and Josh McDougal (2007) and Samuel Chelanga (2009–2010) won the NCAA Div I individual laurels. Chelanga took two additional gold medals and three silvers in outdoor and indoor competition in three years, still holds the collegiate 10,000 meter record set in 2010, and won All-American honors 14 times.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University has an Internet education component called Liberty University Online; also known as LU Online or LUO. which provides degrees from associate's level to doctorate.


title: Liberty University

text: Online students constitute the overwhelming majority of the university's students and revenue, "subsidizing the university" and making them "a killing", according to faculty members, despite the "steep drop-off in quality from the traditional college to the online courses." Critics have argued that the online division subsidizes campus resources, such as the ski resort and gun range, and that online enrollment is run in a boiler room fashion. Online instructors are mainly engaged in answering emails and grading rather than creating and delivering content.


title: Liberty University

text: Established in 2007, the Liberty University Online Academy (LUOA) is a K-12 school serving about 1900 students. It is accredited by SACS (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges).


title: Liberty University

text: In June 2021, Liberty University had $3.94 billion in assets and $474 million in liabilities. Its operating revenue was $1.15 billion and its operating expenses were $840 million. Its endowment was valued at $1.71 billion in fiscal year 2021. In fiscal year 2020, Liberty University received $800 million from online tuition and $361 million from residential student tuition. According to Third Way, Liberty uses less than 20 percent of its revenues for instruction.


title: Liberty University

text: In its early years, the university was held afloat financially by major donors. In 1987, Liberty University's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status was formally recognized by the IRS.


title: Liberty University

text: In the 1990s, the debt-saddled university was placed on probation several times by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools due to heavy debt. In 1990, the university owed $110 million; in 1996, it owed $40 million. The Unification Church was an early donor. In 1994, the university received $3.5 million through Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Women's Federation for World Peace. In 1996 News World Communications loaned $400,000 to Liberty.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2006, the university had net assets—cash, property, investments and other holdings—of roughly $100 million. At the start of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s presidency in 2007, the university listed $259 million in assets. Five years later, in May 2012, Falwell Jr. said the total had risen to $1 billion, thanks to proceeds from its online learning program and from accelerated facility expansion.


title: Liberty University

text: In December 2010, Liberty sold $120 million in facilities bonds to finance expansion. It sold an additional $100 million in taxable bonds in January 2012 to help finance $225.2 million of planned capital projects around the campus over the next five years. The bond offering was part of Liberty University's campus transformation plan which included several renovations and additions to academic buildings and student housing, as well as fund the new Jerry Falwell Library and formation of a medical school. The bonds received a rating of "AA" from Standard & Poor's and in 2013 received an upgraded rating of "Aa3" along with a "stable outlook" projection from Moody's Investors Services based on "the increasing scope of the University's activity", "its large pool of financial reserves", "uncommonly strong operating performance", and "discipline around building and maintaining reserves".


title: Liberty University

text: In March 2017, Falwell Jr. said that the university's endowment stood at more than $1 billion and gross assets are in excess of $2 billion. The U.S. Department of Education rated Liberty as having a "perfect" financial responsibility score.


title: Liberty University

text: According to a 2018 report by "The New York Times", most of Liberty University's revenue comes from taxpayer-funded sources.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2019, Falwell Jr. was accused of using the university for his family's financial benefit. Staff members said the university has funneled tuition money into real estate investments that benefit friends and family of the Falwells, including a shopping mall, owned by the university and managed by Falwell's son Trey, a university vice president. Falwell responded to the accusations by asserting that the FBI would investigate a "criminal conspiracy" in which individuals stole university property and shared it with reporters in an effort to damage his reputation.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2018, ProPublica and the "New York Times" reported that Liberty University students were sixth in terms of receiving federal aid for the year 2017. Most of Liberty University's revenue came from taxpayer-funded sources. ProPublica/"New York Times" reported that each of the university's 300 salespeople were pressured to enroll up to eight students per day. A division of 60 salespeople targeted members of the military specifically because they had greater access to federal tuition assistance. The university's salespeople were instructed to make the university appear more affordable by describing the tuition costs per credits rather than per course. The salespeople were also instructed to not inform potential students of the Christian orientation of the education; the first classes include three required Bible-studies classes. The credits for the Bible-studies classes are usually not transferable to other universities, which disincentivizes students from leaving Liberty University for other universities. According to a former employee, the university accepts any student with a grade point average above 0.5 (equivalent to a D-minus).


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University has sponsored NASCAR driver William Byron, also a LU student, since 2014 in a late model program run by Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports. Liberty is in the midst of a deal with Byron and NASCAR Cup Series team Hendrick Motorsports that runs through 2026.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University students have a lower default rate compared to the national average of graduates from all schools. However, Liberty University students have a higher rate of defaults within three years of completing their studies compared to graduates of other private, non-profit, four-year colleges. Liberty University spends far less on instruction than traditional private universities, for-profit colleges and other nonprofit religious colleges.


title: Liberty University

text: In connection with being named to a Trump administration task force on deregulating higher education, university president Falwell alluded, as an example of regulatory overreach and "micromanagement", to Obama-era regulations that govern student loan forgiveness for students who have been cheated by fraudulent colleges.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University is a conservative Evangelical college which is reflected in its honor code and other policies. The university teaches creationism alongside the science of evolutionary biology.


title: Liberty University

text: The university's former president, Jerry Falwell Jr., was accused of nepotism, racism, and alcohol use contravening Baptist teaching on teetotalism. Falwell and his wife Rebecca were involved in a number of sex scandals. These eventually led to his resignation on August 24, 2020.


title: Liberty University

text: In November 2019, Liberty and Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA launched a think tank subsidiary called the Falkirk Center for Faith and Liberty. The think tank hired Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and Trump surrogate Sebastian Gorka as fellows and paid for political Facebook ads promoting Trump and other Republican candidates during the 2020 election campaign.


title: Liberty University

text: In March 2021, the university renamed the organization the "Standing for Freedom Center", having chosen not to renew Kirk's contract several months earlier.


title: Liberty University

text: In November 2021, the Standing for Freedom Center hosted former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, author Eric Metaxas, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.


title: Liberty University

text: Liberty University has been described as a "stage of choice in Republican presidential politics", and a "pilgrimage site for GOP candidates." According to "The Washington Post", Republican candidates are drawn to the university because it is viewed as a "bastion of the Christian right". Ronald Reagan's close relationship with the university gave it significant publicity in its early years. In 1990, 41st U.S president George H. W. Bush was the first sitting U.S. president to speak at Liberty's commencement. In 1996, U.S. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas gave the commencement address at Liberty University.


title: Liberty University

text: Republican leaders Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal, and John McCain have visited the campus. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson spoke at the university. In 2017, President Donald Trump gave his first college commencement speech as sitting president at Liberty University. In 2019, Vice President Mike Pence gave the commencement speech to graduates. Liberty was a satellite location for CPAC 2019, hosting numerous conservative speakers on-campus.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2009, LU stopped recognizing LU's Democratic Party student group; school officials said this was because the Democratic Party platform goes against the school's conservative Christian principles. Democrats such as Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, and Jesse Jackson have spoken there. In 2018, former 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter gave the commencement speech. However, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton have rejected invitations to speak at LU.


title: Liberty University

text: In 2021, Liberty President Jerry Prevo told Scott Lamb, then the university’s senior vice president for communications and public engagement, that he wanted the school to become "a more effective political player by helping to influence elections." Prevo said getting conservative candidates elected was "one of our main goals". "Politico" wrote that his comments "raise new questions about the blurred line between education and politics at the university, which as a 501(c)(3) charity is not supposed to participate directly in political campaigns".