[Sly Fox]

From a blog on Forbes by the guy wrote the Falwell Inc. book awhile back ...

Dirk Smillie
SPINSHIELD

Jerry Falwell Jr. Raises $120 Million For Liberty
Dec. 8 2010 - 11:31 am

Liberty University chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. came to Wall Street this week to fulfill a dream of his father’s. Twenty years ago, Falwell Sr., the late evangelist and Moral Majority founder, tried to take public a piece of the Christian college he had founded, now known as Liberty University. He cut a deal with a major investment bank to package a taxable bond offering to pay off $55 million in university debt.

Liberty badly needed the money and investment bankers were sure the bonds would sell. The markets did not agree. Few buyers had any interest in purchasing debt from a fundamentalist Christian university, no matter how famous its founder was. The deal fell apart. It was just one of many financial rapids Falwell hit as he built his religious empire, which I describe in my business biography of Falwell.

But this time it was different. Liberty’s new education bond offering was rated AA by Standard & Poor’s — the kind of ranking a Microsoft or Google might get. Credit analysts like Liberty because it’s a growth business, breaking enrollment records year after year.

Click Here for Full Story

[Rooster Cogburn]

Already posted in the campus improvement thread.

[JDUB]

this deserves its own thread. its a HUGE step in the school's history. the fact that we got AA bond rating is amazing and something most corporations dream of and hardly any schools even consider.

I'm sure JLFJR will be on here at some point to weigh in on this since it is so close to him, but please keep this thread independent of the other.

[TDDance234]

I wish Doc was around to see all of this unfold. Great day for the Liberty family.

[JLFJR]

JDUB, you are right. This is the dawning of a new day for LU! And much sooner than anyone ever believed possible. I wish all of you could have been with us in NYC yesterday. About 1/4 of LU's bonds were sold on the retail market Monday. Just before the bonds were marketed to institutional investors on Tuesday, Obama and the Republicans announced they had reached a deal on the extension of the Bush tax cuts, including an end to the Build America Bond program. This made all the major institutional investors nervous about the bond market. In spite of this bump in the road, all of LU's bonds were sold by 11AM on Tuesday while rates remained historically low and very favorable to LU. If the bonds had been sold later in the day on Tuesday or, if they had been sold today, the interest rates would have been quite a bit higher, costing LU greatly over 30 years. We were blessed in the timing of our bond sale! We have the resources now to realize the original visions and dreams for LU just in time for our 40th anniversary in 2011. I have watched with awe what God has done at LU in the last three years. The only conclusion I can draw from these miraculous events is that God has big plans for LU's future!

[JLFJR]

BB/BB+ Rated Institutions
Dowling College
Eastern Nazarene College
Franklin Pierce University
Immaculata University
Pace University
Polytechnic Institute of NY
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Vaughn College of Aeronautics
Benedict College
Regis College
BBB‐ Rated Institutions
Albany College of Pharmacy
Ana G. Mendez University
Long Island University
Manchester College
Woodbury University
Barry University
California College of the Arts
Cedar Crest College
Mount St. Mary University
Nichols College
Polytechnical University of PR
Centenary College
Eastern University
Fisher College
Saint Francis University
Southern Wesleyan University
Southwestern Baptist
Gwynedd‐Mercy College
Lawrence Technological University
Lindsay University
St. Bonaventure University
Stillman College
Wilson College
University of Hartford
BBB Rated Institutions
Albany School of Law
Carroll University
Marywood University
Mercyhurst College
Rider University
Rivier College
Chatham University
Curry College
Gannon Meredith College
Neumann University
New York Rockhurst University
Sacred Heart University
S California College of Optometry
Hampshire College
Houghton College
Iona College
Chiropractic College
Niagara University
Nova Southeasten University
Pacific Lutheran University
S. S. California Inst. Of Architecture
S. New Hampshire University
Springfield La Salle University
Lubbock Christian University
Lynchburg College
Pacific University
Philadelphia University
Regis University
Suffolk University
Sweet Briar College
Texas Lutheran University
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
University of Sacred Heart
Waynesburg University
Western New England College
Westminster College
Wilkes University
BBB+ Rated Institutions
Arcadia University
Brooklyn Law School
Molley College
Monmouth University
University of St. Thomas
Widener University
Columbia College
Elizabethtown College
Georgian Court University
New York Institute of Technology
Regent University
Sarah Lawrence
High Point University
Hope College
Illinois College
Simmons College
St. Edward’s University
Wesleyan University
Inter American University of PR
Marietta College
McDaniel College
St. John s College
St. John’s College Santa Fe Campus
Stevens Institute of Technology
University of Portland
A‐ Rated Institutions
A.T. Still Univ. of Health Science
Allegheny Fairfield University
Georgetown University
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York Law School
Babson College
Baldwin‐Wallace College
Baylor Goucher College
Hampton University
Illinois College
Quinnipiac University
Randolph College
Roanoke College
Bellevue University
Centre College of Kentucky
College of Notre Dame
Juniata College
Lebanese American University
Lesley University
St. Ambrose University
St. Francis College
St John’s DePaul University
Duquesne University
Emerson Lewis & Clark College
MA. College of Pharmacy
Midwestern University
St. John s University
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
St. Mary’s College
Roanoke College
St. Michael’s College
University of Indianapolis
University of Miami
Ursinus College
Washington & Jefferson College
Wayland Baptist University
Xavier University
A Rated Institutions
Adelphi University
Boston University
Hendrix College
Hofstra University
Seattle University
Seton Hall University
Bradley University
Bryant University
Buena Vista University
Loma Linda University
Loyola University in Maryland
Loyola University in Chicago
St. Lawrence University
University of Dayton
Catholic University
Clark University
College of the Seneca
Lycoming College
Messiah College
Morehouse College
University of Scranton
Villanova University
Willamette University
Wofford College
Dickinson College
Gettysburg College
Hampden-Sydney College
New England Inst. Of Technology
Randolph‐Macon College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
York College of Pennsylvania
A+ Rated Institutions
American University
Berklee College of Music
Olin College of Engineering
Philadelphia College of Medicine
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Brandeis University
Drexel University
Franklin & Marshall College
Rhodes College
Syracuse University
Transylvania University
George Washington University
Howard University
Kenyon College
Trinity College
Tulane University
Loyola College
Medical College of Wisconsin
University of Denver
University of Puget Sound
University of Rochester

AA‐ Rated Institutions
Baylor University
Boston College
Reed College
Southern Methodist University
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Colgate University
St. Louis University
Texas Christian University
Thomas Jefferson University
Colorado College
Holy Cross College
Lafayette University
Tufts University
Lehigh University
Mount Holyoke College
New York University
AA Rated Institutions
Agnes Scott College
Bryn Mawr College
Smith College
Trinity University
Cornell University
Davidson College
Denison College
University of Chicago
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Emory University
Haveford College
Johns Hopkins University
Wake Forest University
Washington & Lee University
Julliard School
Wesleyan University
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Middlebury College
Oberlin College
Yeshiva University
AA+ Rated Institutions
Brown University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
University of Pennsylvania
University of S. California
Wellesley College
AAA Rated Institutions
Amherst College
California Institute of Technology
Rockefeller University
Stanford University
Columbia University
Grinnell College
Harvard University
Swathmore College
Washington University
Williams University
MIT
Northwestern University
Pomona College
Yale University
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton University
Rice University

[JLFJR]

The list I just posted are private universities in the United States rated by Standard & Poors.

[flamesfan30]

so we are just one level below some of the ivy league schools financially. very cool.

God has blessed us like whoa.

[Cider Jim]

Here is the N&A article about the bond sale:

LU sells $120M in facilities bonds
Sale will pay for recent capital projects, new construction

...Upgrading outdated facilities and beautifying campus will be top priorities of LU’s expansion plans, which are still being finalized, Falwell said.

A centerpiece of the plan is to revamp the area behind the DeMoss Learning Center, which currently houses a small courtyard, a cafeteria and several other buildings. Liberty plans to knock down some of the older buildings to make way for a large quad and a freestanding library, Falwell said.

http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2010/d ... ar-702763/

[logic]

Jerry, thank you for all that you and your staff are doing for LU!!!! Truly an historic moment and now knowing the details of the timing - even more miraculous!

[Rooster Cogburn]

Wow, that list makes it even more impressive. Those schools have been around for ages and LU is not quite 40. WOW! This is an amazing turn in the history of LU and we really appreciate your hard work on this Chancelor.
There was a small momentary moment os sadness at the thought of the old fine arts hall being torn down. I lived in that building especially in the Campus TV and radio stations. I mean I still miss the little fountain that was in there. It's also weird thinking of Shilling being gone as well (did I hear that right?).

But after that, the thought of my kids going to LU with facilities like these is absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see it come together between now and when my oldest graduates from LCA and comes to LU in 2 and 1/2 years.

[Kolzilla41]

In my 4 short years of working at LU, it has been incredible to see the way certain things have come to pass. Some people would call it coincidence but every time is has been God perfect timing. I look forward to being here when the campus improvements happen and seeing what that does to further God's kingdom through Liberty.

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for the list, JLFJR. We stick out like a sore thumb with most of the colleges having a century (or 2 or 3) head start on us. I'm old enough to remember being on campus for the financial despair of the Late '80s after PTL. To see where we have come financially is nothing short of a God thing.

[From the class of 09]

I posted the list as a Facebook note...immediately a few alumni friends essentially flamed it. Do any of you guys have friends that graduated from LU that seem to hate it as much as some of mine do? I just don't get it. Frustrates the heck out of me.

Why would any of them not like this?

[thepostman]

I posted the list as a Facebook note...immediately a few alumni friends essentially flamed it. Do any of you guys have friends that graduated from LU that seem to hate it as much as some of mine do? I just don't get it. Frustrates the heck out of me.

yes...because they think they are better then everybody else or something. I am not sure what it is...I went through a very cynical stage while at Liberty so I guess some never grow out of it

[olldflame]

So did they actually give reasons why they didn't like it? I can imagine.

"We should be relying on GOD to meet our needs, not the bond market."

[Cider Jim]

If your friend is the academic/intellectual type, did you mention the NEW library?

[Rooster Cogburn]

I don't get it. I do know a few people who went to LU and hate it but I'd say 85% of those I know who went to LU love it.

Anyway, cut it how even they want, this is BIG! Cider, for us dummies, what is the significance of the "free standing" library?

[LUconn]

Yeah didn't they basically barricade their floor? At least when it was first established.

As for your friends, there's always this self-loathing contingent of the Christian community. I think it stems from trying to fit in with the secular world and elevating yourself from your Christian peers in their eyes. It's a similar attitude from the "cultured" elitist americans being embarrassed of bitter gun clinging americans, or american tourists in europe. A theme park? Wouldn't every univeristy be a "theme park" of whatever segment of society that school caters to?

[Cider Jim]

Cider, for us dummies, what is the significance of the "free standing" library?

For most colleges, the library is the signature building on campus. For example, most educated folks in Virginia have heard of the Alderman library at UVa.

To be frank, most of the college libraries that I know of that are PART of an existing academic building are community college libraries.

[Rooster Cogburn]

I was a Comms student. I think I was only in the library 2 or 3 times.

[jcmanson]

highly recommend watching this video
http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=24567

[JLFJR]

It always is a big help to read all of your thoughts on how we can make LU better. Constructive criticism and input from alumni and students who love LU is invaluable! Thank you! The free standing library idea was born in a recent faculty meeting question and answer session. I had a post on my facebook wall today from a faculty member who I now know is Cider Jim. I gather from this thread that he has been advocating for a free standing library for quite a while now. I think he is right. The architects tell us that modern university libraries also often have food venues and other amenities so the food vendors now in the Hangar will likely be part of the new library. I hate to see some of these older buildings go too because, when I was a student, there was no DeMoss Hall (not even the first floor) so all my LU academic experiences were in the buildings that will become "The Lawn" or whatever we decide to call it. But, I really think it is the right move for LU. We even have a LU alum in Pennsylvania whose company can transplant HUGE trees. We plan to bring in quite a few big trees for the lawn area. It should be beautiful. Thank all of you again for being such loyal fans of LU! You are greatly appreciated.

Oh, one more thing. Tonight, a local group held a reception at Snowflex and Gov. Bob McDonnell was there. I asked him to try out the slopes with me, half kidding. He agreed and it should be on WDBJ and WSET at 11 tonight. He is a great skier. He didn't want to quit. He kept asking his bodyguards if he could go one more time. Even after he took a pretty bad tumble, he went up again for another trip down the slope!

[jcmanson]

I think this "lawn" or "quad" area will be amazing!

[ALUmnus]

We even have a LU alum in Pennsylvania whose company can transplant HUGE trees. We plan to bring in quite a few big trees for the lawn area. It should be beautiful.

No, no, no. You're jumping off the reservation here. Haven't you heard, LU is anti-trees, we HATE nature. I thought everybody was on the same page with this.