Falwell's School Rolling in Federal Aid

Given that so many of the religious right’s mainstream leaders regularly spurn public assistance programs for allegedly creating government dependency, the fact that the late evangelist Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University took $445 million in federal aid last year has been turning quite a few heads in the media.

To this bald hypocrisy, the article below adds details of how the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church and owner of the Washington Times, secretly funneled money to keep Liberty afloat after the school ran up a $73 million debt in the 1990s. It’s sad to note that while Liberty U. was raking in nearly half a billion in U.S. aid in 2010, National Public Radio received just $2.7 million in federal money. —ARK

AlterNet:

This year, the 40th anniversary of Liberty University, Rev. Falwell’s dream—now being looked after by his son Jerry Jr.—has become a reality thanks in large part to America’s taxpayers.

Founded by Falwell in 1971, Liberty University, which according to its website is “the largest and fastest growing Christian Evangelical university in the world” and “the largest private university in Virginia,” is “celebrating 40 Years of Training Champions for Christ.”

... During the last fiscal year alone, Liberty received about $445 million in federal financial aid money, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Over the past few years, Liberty University has raked in so much taxpayer money from the federal government that is now ranked among the top ten universities in the United States receiving federal dollars. It is also Virginia’s top recipient of federal money.

Liberty's CFO honored at awards banquet | Liberty University

Don Moon , Liberty University’s Chief Financial Officer, was recognized Thursday night as one of the top financial officers for large non-profit organizations in Virginia.

Moon, 58, was one of three finalists in the category for the 2011 Virginia Chief Financial Officer Award sponsored by Virginia Business Magazine .

Moon, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. and Falwell’s wife, Becki, represented Liberty at the awards banquet held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.

Moon, who was named CFO by Liberty’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, in 2006, has worked at Liberty for 32 years. He also serves on the Pittsylvania County School Board, where he has been elected for three consecutive four-year terms.

“It has been a humbling experience to work in this position for the last five years,” Moon said. “The tremendous growth Liberty University has experienced during this time is unreal. We know the Lord is blessing us every day.”

Falwell Jr. recently announced plans to push Liberty’s on-campus enrollment from around 12,000 students to 20,000 students in the next several years. Liberty University Online enrollment recently topped the 60,000-student mark .

“Don was one of my father’s most trusted staff members,” Falwell Jr. said. “Throughout the financial struggles that the university faced in the 1980s and early 1990s, Don worked with my father and me on a daily basis to help manage the crises that we faced.”

During Moon’s tenure as CFO, Liberty’s net revenues have grown from $4.8 million to a projected $200 million at the end of this fiscal year. Gross annual revenues have grown from nearly $147 million to a projected half-billion dollars.

“As CFO since 2006, Don has presided over growth that is almost unprecedented among American universities,” Falwell Jr. said.  “Since 2006, Liberty’s revenues have more than tripled, the university received a credit rating of AA from Standard & Poor’s in late 2010, and financial audits have been completed in a timely manner and have given Liberty a clean bill of health. Don’s loyalty, conservative financial practices and attention to detail have played a key role in helping Liberty attain financial prosperity.”

Moon was nominated for the award by the firm Dixon Hughes Goodman, which serves as Liberty’s auditor.

“Very few CFOs are ever nominated for such an award,” said Steven Farrar, a partner with Dixon Hughes Goodman. “From LU’s successful $120 million bond issue last fall to a total enrollment of over 70,000 students, LU could not be where it is without an exceptional CFO like Don.

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