LU Board of Trustees approves 2025-26 operating budget, hears updates on construction, academics, and spiritual growth opportunities for students

During the Liberty University Board of Trustees’ regular spring meeting April 8-9, members heard reports of God’s continued material and spiritual blessings on the university while making significant decisions impacting the university’s next season.

Chancellor Jonathan Falwell and Vice President of Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge reported on the spiritual hunger exhibited by students this academic year. Voluntary attendance at Campus Community has hit its highest weekly average this year after setting a new record last year, and about 8,000 students participated in six 24-hour prayer sessions. Christian service, LU Serve Now, LU Send, long-term study abroad and LU Shepherd office interactions were all reported to be on track for levels of spiritual engagement like never before. Trustee Dr. Jerry Vines, who is the grandfather of a current student, spoke of the effectiveness of Liberty’s emphasis on spiritual development: “There is not a university on the planet with a spiritual development program anywhere close to what we see at Liberty.”

During a break in the board session, Trustee Richard Lee told a group of vice presidents that he was not only pleased to hear of Liberty’s fiscal stability but also its spiritual strength. He recalled that his only reason for being on the board is his promise to Liberty’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, that he would help safeguard the university within strong guardrails to ensure it was ever faithful to its Christian mission. Echoing that theme, Liberty Board Chairman Tim Lee said Liberty’s spiritual strength and devotion to Christ among the students, faculty, and staff is the “heartbeat of our mission and our purpose as a university.”

“I commend Chancellor Falwell and President Costin for their steadfast leadership and dedication to impacting the next generation of Champions for Christ,” he said. “The board is committed to supporting and resourcing Liberty students who will transform the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

President Dondi E. Costin engaged the board in a discussion on balancing the competing pressures of maintaining Liberty’s place as a frontrunner in Christian higher education, the reality of rising costs, and a continued commitment to invest in faculty and staff with increased pay and benefits, all while preserving accessibility and affordability for Liberty students by keeping tuition as low as possible.

As the board approved the 2025-26 operational budget and a robust capital expenditure spending plan for the coming fiscal year, administrators and trustees agreed to prioritize strategic plan objectives, plan for unexpected challenges, and continue using excess revenue to grow the endowment as good stewards of God’s resources.

“Liberty continues to take bold steps in pursuit of the future God has in store for his university,” Costin said. “As we advance our mission of Training Champions for Christ, invest in our faculty and staff, faithfully steward capital resources, and serve our students with excellence, we can’t wait to see what the Lord does next.”

The capital expenditures budget will fund 40 construction projects that will be tackled between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Even as inflation impacts the cost of building materials and trade labor, the budget reflects a trend of Liberty intentionally spending less on capital projects relative to recent years, which is itself a testament to the spectacular campus that students enjoy today.

New major projects include current construction of a campus fire station near the intersection of Odd Fellows Road and Liberty Mountain Road, in partnership with the city of Lynchburg. Adding a data center that will support the diverse infrastructure powering the university’s academic and administrative operations, and electric infrastructure improvements will enhance the campus’ backup power supply. The university has also begun renovating the former Nationwide building to make way for the Collaborative Healthplex on Graves Mill Road, which will house a diverse group of medical professionals and serve as a one-stop shop for patient medical services and student clinical placement opportunities. In addition to completing the showcase Champion Center in the coming fiscal year, many smaller projects will add to the student experience by improving residence halls and recreation facilities.

Recognizing the ultimate reason for their service, board members continued their tradition of interacting with students on campus during their visit. Trustees enjoyed dinner with students at Reber-Thomas Dining Center and took a break from their meeting to join students in worship at Convocation, where they heard from Jefferson Bethke, one of the students’ most-requested speakers.

During Convocation, Chancellor Falwell introduced the family of former Trustee Emeritus Jack Dinsbeer, who died on Feb. 12 at age 95. Dinsbeer was the youth pastor at the church where Dr. Jerry Falwell accepted Christ. Later at a luncheon, Chairman Tim Lee presented a framed board resolution to members of Dr. Dinsbeer’s family in honor of his longtime service to Liberty University.

Other board business included reports from the various board committees on their work, an update on key metrics tracking five-year Strategic Plan progress, approval of changes to nine new academic programs, and authorization to confer degrees to the Class of 2025.

The Liberty University Board of Trustees holds two on-campus meetings each school year, one in the spring and one in the fall. There are 31current board members, three of whom attended their first meeting this spring since being elected last fall: Dr. Jeannie Rivers (surgeon), Dr. Jimmy Scroggins (pastor), and David Rice (business owner).