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By Sly Fox
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#501512
Virginia Business Magazine wrote:Getting the word out
Liberty University and Lynchburg have outgrown old stereotypes

December 31, 2015 | by Heather B. Hayes

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During the past decade, Liberty University has grown into the biggest college in Virginia, but that reality isn’t well known beyond the Lynchburg region, admits the school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr.

He often has to spend the initial minutes of conversations with other university presidents and high school students in other parts of Virginia explaining how much Liberty has changed in recent years.

“People still tend to think of us as a small, Baptist college that’s mainly geared toward training church workers and pastors,” Falwell says, noting that business administration and psychology now are its most popular programs. “We’ve grown so much and so fast that the perception of who we are just hasn’t kept pace.”
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#501514
Sidebar story ...
Virginia Business Magazine wrote:School is a national forum (and a lightning rod)
December 31, 2015 | by Heather Hayes


Here’s Liberty University’s paradox: While its size and academic breadth remains a well-kept regional secret, the school boasts high name recognition nationally. That’s because it frequently serves as a forum for politicians and commentators.
Liberty is playing a particularly active role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, for example, announced his run for the presidency at the university in March.
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#501529
“The dream here was always to create a world-class university for evangelical Christians, much like what Notre Dame is to Catholics, Brigham Young is to Mormons and Yeshiva is to Jewish students,” Falwell says.
This is a new version of a quote that I've heard for over 30 years. And I really like the additional reference to Jewish students. :clapping
#501535
I'll be checking the article out. If really like to see an analysis of Liberty's impact on the region versus its potential future impact. While the school has had reports done in the past, a comparative analysis with other similar regions would be more telling. Part of the issue is the lack of mutual effort between the school and other regional stakeholders. I believe that economic development officials should be focusing more on how to leverage the academic assets within the region rather than one school leading the way. I also think that Liberty's impact would be much greater if their payable was more comparable to other private schools.
#501596
rogers3 wrote:I'll be checking the article out. If really like to see an analysis of Liberty's impact on the region versus its potential future impact. While the school has had reports done in the past, a comparative analysis with other similar regions would be more telling. Part of the issue is the lack of mutual effort between the school and other regional stakeholders. I believe that economic development officials should be focusing more on how to leverage the academic assets within the region rather than one school leading the way. I also think that Liberty's impact would be much greater if their payable was more comparable to other private schools.
In regards to the last point, "but its a ministry..." unless, of course, you're the football or men's bball coach.

Although I am curious, what other region would you consider as similar to the Lynchburg area?
#501613
ATrain wrote:
rogers3 wrote: In regards to the last point, "but its a ministry..." unless, of course, you're the football or men's bball coach.

Although I am curious, what other region would you consider as similar to the Lynchburg area?
Close regions would include Greenville NC and Johnson City TN. Harrisonburg might be a good one, but for I-81, which is a fairly strong job creator. I have looked at the first two quite frequently when teaching market research. I'm sure that there are more, but the private versus public thing is difficult to match. To me, Liberty is more similar to public schools of similar size since we spend money without much thought to the spigots getting shut off! Another issue is the fact that in many ways, Liberty has only realized it's current success in the last ten or so years. Who knows what things will look like in another ten years. I would say that there are few cities with an educational presence as large as what we have in Lynchburg that have such an anemic economy.
#501879
badger74 wrote:There are other cities with worse growth and better known colleges than Lynchburg/LU. Ithaca, Binghamton NY, Las Cruces NM, Morgantown WV and recent growth in LYH has not been bad.
Late 2015 was weak but 2012-2014 were good

http://syneva.com/home/metro-employment-index/
http://syneva.com/home/metro-employment-index/
Ithaca is an interesting one, with a large private school, but a significantly smaller population. Las Cruces might be a fair comparison. I'd venture to say that both Cornell and SUNY Binghamton contribute more to their respective local economies than does Liberty. Where I think we'd see a big difference would be in the party differentials between the schools. Liberty's study came at a time when they were experiencing tremendous construction spending. When that ends, things will be different. It has now been acknowledged by admin that the online cash cow won't last forever. When numbers decline, the big construction projects will end and I'm beittng that the school won't be as quick to crow about economic significance unless they start paying faculty at a level closer to other institutions. Just over the Blue Ridge, Harrisonburg is growing at a significant rate of growth and most of the folks who are involved in economic development attribute this to JMU. Yes, we're getting new hotels and restaurants, but Harrisonburg is drawing whole companies that are creating jobs that sustain families. That is what we need in Lynchburg. There is a reason that income in that area is significantly higher and faster growing than what we see in Lynchburg and I think that it doesn't involve I-81.
#502060
rogers3 wrote:
badger74 wrote:There are other cities with worse growth and better known colleges than Lynchburg/LU. Ithaca, Binghamton NY, Las Cruces NM, Morgantown WV and recent growth in LYH has not been bad.
Late 2015 was weak but 2012-2014 were good

http://syneva.com/home/metro-employment-index/
http://syneva.com/home/metro-employment-index/
Ithaca is an interesting one, with a large private school, but a significantly smaller population. Las Cruces might be a fair comparison. I'd venture to say that both Cornell and SUNY Binghamton contribute more to their respective local economies than does Liberty. Where I think we'd see a big difference would be in the party differentials between the schools. Liberty's study came at a time when they were experiencing tremendous construction spending. When that ends, things will be different. It has now been acknowledged by admin that the online cash cow won't last forever. When numbers decline, the big construction projects will end and I'm beittng that the school won't be as quick to crow about economic significance unless they start paying faculty at a level closer to other institutions. Just over the Blue Ridge, Harrisonburg is growing at a significant rate of growth and most of the folks who are involved in economic development attribute this to JMU. Yes, we're getting new hotels and restaurants, but Harrisonburg is drawing whole companies that are creating jobs that sustain families. That is what we need in Lynchburg. There is a reason that income in that area is significantly higher and faster growing than what we see in Lynchburg and I think that it doesn't involve I-81.
I agree that faculty pay needs to be in line. There is an adage, you get what you pay for. Since Liberty is known for touting capitalist principals, it's therefore assumed that you attract more talent with more pay. The founder of LU also stated that if it's Christian, it ought to be better.

The lack of an interstate highway can hinder any area, but Lynchburg can overcome that pretty easily.
#502071
And from the N&A:
NewsAdvance.com wrote:A look at the year ahead in Lynchburg area business

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Former apartment divisions have been cleared out as construction is underway to turn the former Virginian into a hotel by 2017. Work continues this year on the building in downtown Lynchburg. (Autumn Parry/The News & Advance)

Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2016 10:34 pm
Jason Ruiter


The year ahead for the region’s business might best be forecasted by looking at the year behind.

If the past is any predictor of the future, then the economic numbers — unemployment, housing sales and startups — will continue to improve at a slow clip, looking to fill in the region’s post-recession gaps as it catches up with other Virginia cities and the nation.
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