Former Flames Football placekicker Philip “Chip” Bonar (’87, ’22) has helped kickstart the Washington, D.C., Liberty University Alumni Chapter since becoming its first president last summer.
The chapter, which currently has 772 registered members, is open to alumni from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The group is growing steadily and is planning to offer several events in the coming year, from the annual Liberty Football watch party and reception to Faith and Family Nights at DC United Major League Soccer and Washington Commanders football games as well as a volunteer service project with Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child.
Dr. Chip Bonar
Bonar earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in chemistry before adding his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership in 2022. He wears many hats in professional, spiritual, and social circles. Previously the principal at New Directions Alternative High School and Langston High School, Bonar was promoted to Student Behavior Coordinator for Arlington Public Schools (elementary through high school) after completing his doctorate.
Bonar has also served as a youth pastor since 1989, the past 14 years at Calvary Road Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.
“We’re a big Liberty church,” Bonar said, noting that the lead pastor, David Rhodenhizer (’74), is a member of Liberty’s first class.
Bonar has two younger brothers who followed him to Liberty — Jonathan Bonar (’97, ’08), who serves as director of strategic engagement at Liberty, and Stephen Bonar (’89), executive vice president for Conklin Company in Greenville, S.C.
Chip and his wife, Susy, have two sons, Joshua, 22, and Joseph, 20.
Fellow Liberty alumna Kim Watkins is the vice president of the D.C. chapter, and Jennifer Fleming (’92) serves as its secretary and treasurer.
“We are very excited because I think we can reach a lot more alumni than we currently do, including many online graduates,” Bonar said. “There are thousands of alumni in the (Washington) D.C., (Northern) Virginia, and Maryland region. A lot of them don’t know what’s going on at Liberty, all of the positive changes and growth on campus that have continued under new President (Dondi Costin). We really want to reach the alumni who are not aware of the chapter and get them involved in the college and welcome them home.”
Bonar recently represented Liberty’s alumni community at the 2024 Washington Fellowship Celebration in Georgetown, where he encouraged Liberty students completing their internships in the nation’s capital to join the D.C. alumni chapter after graduation.
