Challenge Accepted: Leaders pledge devotion to future Champions for Christ

Liberty University entered an exciting new chapter in its 52-year history this month when it welcomed Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Dondi E. Costin, Ph.D., as its sixth president on July 1. Working alongside him is Jonathan Falwell, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, who has been serving as the university’s third chancellor since May 1.

The appointments were announced during a March 31 press conference that served as a commissioning service for these two men with impressive professional credentials and tremendous giftings from God. When formally asked if he would accept the Board of Trustees’ offer to become the next president, Costin, a former U.S. Air Force chaplain and senior Pentagon leader, aptly replied, “I will. Challenge accepted.”

That challenge involves a firm commitment to Liberty’s original mission: Training Champions for Christ. The dual roles of Liberty’s top two administrators will posture the university for a promising future as it builds on its unchanging spiritual foundation.

“We believe God sent these leaders to us for such a time as this,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Tim Lee. “The combination of President Costin and Chancellor Falwell will bring the gravitas and experience necessary to lead the university exceptionally well and with perfect cultural alignment. They will ensure Liberty University remains focused entirely on Training Champions for Christ to impact the world in every vocation.”

Lee said he and his fellow search committee members experienced a revival of sorts as it became clear that God had guided them to the perfect leaders at this critical stage in the university’s history. They also showed their appreciation to Jerry Prevo, who has served as interim president for the past three years and now holds the title of President Emeritus (read about Prevo’s longtime service to Liberty).

Costin comes to Liberty after five years as president of Charleston Southern University, an institution in South Carolina aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention. His celebrated tenure has been marked by academic and athletic achievement. He oversaw the construction of several new facilities and the substantial expansion of CSU’s academic programs, including South Carolina’s only four-year aviation program, multiple doctoral programs, and an engineering program within the university’s College of Science and Mathematics. Under his leadership, the university set fundraising records, significantly improved its overall rankings, and dramatically exceeded freshman enrollment goals.

Costin obtained the rank of Major General with the U.S. Air Force, where he devoted 32 years of commissioned service. He completed his military career at the Pentagon as Air Force Chief of Chaplains, serving as senior pastor to more than 664,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian forces in the United States and overseas and leading 2,000 chaplains and chaplain assistants from the Air Force Chaplain Corps. During his military service, Costin represented the Liberty Baptist Fellowship as an endorsed chaplain. A decorated combat veteran, he deployed in support of numerous contingency and humanitarian relief operations across the globe and previously served as senior chaplain for Air Force operations in both the Pacific and the Middle East. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in operations research from the United States Air Force Academy, Dr. Costin holds five master’s degrees, a Doctor of Ministry degree, and a Ph.D. in organizational leadership. He earned two of his five master’s degrees from Liberty University early in his military career. He and his wife, Vickey, have been married for more than 33 years. Mrs. Costin’s own legacy of public service includes 23 years as a public school educator.

At the press conference, Falwell formally introduced Costin and lauded his distinguished résumé, one he said “makes all of us feel woefully inadequate.”

Costin reciprocated the respect. “Chancellor Falwell, thank you very much for taking the mantle,” he said. “I look so forward to being your wingman. You’re a pilot, I’m from the Air Force, we know what wingmen are all about.”

Falwell said through continual prayer by the board over the years, God appointed a president who was “strongly committed to his Christian faith and his Christian walk and … embraced our mission.”

“When we prayed that prayer over and over and over again, what God did, as God often does, was answer our prayer in an Ephesians 3:20 way — He did exceedingly, abundantly more,” Falwell said. “That is what Dondi Costin brings to Liberty University in the years to come.”

Falwell has spent his lifetime associated with the ministries of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University, serving at Thomas Road Baptist Church for nearly 30 years and as its senior pastor since 2007. He has also served on Liberty’s Board of Trustees for over 30 years. Previously, Falwell held the title of vice chancellor for spiritual affairs and has most recently served as the university’s executive vice president for spiritual affairs/campus pastor.

Falwell, who earned his B.S. at Liberty, his M.A. in Religion from the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (LBTS), and his Juris Doctor from Taft (Calif.) Law School, takes the mantle from his father, Dr. Jerry Falwell, Liberty’s founder, who died in May 2007. He and his wife, Shari, have been married since 1992, and they have four children (three are married) and two grandchildren.

The appointments of Costin and Falwell followed an extensive national search conducted by CarterBaldwin Executive Search, one of America’s top executive recruiters, and involved the evaluation of nearly 100 credible candidates over a period of eight months.

A formal investiture ceremony is being planned for October along with several activities for students to participate in during Welcome Week when they return to campus and have the chance to meet their new president.

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

— President Dondi Costin

        “I have had the opportunity and the privilege to be able to watch as God has raised this place up from nothing to a place that today impacts and changes the world. We once again have reaffirmed our commitment that this university will never sway away from being distinctively Christian, Training Champions for Christ, changing the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, standing on the inerrancy and the infallibility of Scripture, that it comes from God and God alone. We are going to work until Christ returns to make sure this place never moves from that position.”

— Chancellor Jonathan Falwell

This article was originally published in the Summer 2023 Liberty Journal.