Falwell’s School Rolling in Federal Aid

Given that so many of the religious right’s mainstream leaders regularly spurn public assistance programs for allegedly creating government dependency, the fact that the late evangelist Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University took $445 million in federal aid last year has been turning quite a few heads in the media.

To this bald hypocrisy, the article below adds details of how the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church and owner of the Washington Times, secretly funneled money to keep Liberty afloat after the school ran up a $73 million debt in the 1990s. It’s sad to note that while Liberty U. was raking in nearly half a billion in U.S. aid in 2010, National Public Radio received just $2.7 million in federal money. –ARK

AlterNet:

This year, the 40th anniversary of Liberty University, Rev. Falwell’s dream — now being looked after by his son Jerry Jr. — has become a reality thanks in large part to America’s taxpayers.

Founded by Falwell in 1971, Liberty University, which according to its website is “the largest and fastest growing Christian Evangelical university in the world” and “the largest private university in Virginia,” is “celebrating 40 Years of Training Champions for Christ.”

… During the last fiscal year alone, Liberty received about $445 million in federal financial aid money, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Over the past few years, Liberty University has raked in so much taxpayer money from the federal government that is now ranked among the top ten universities in the United States receiving federal dollars. It is also Virginia’s top recipient of federal money.

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