Liberty University has contracted with the Atlanta-based CarterBaldwin Executive Search to conduct “an extensive and national search to identify its next president.”
The renowned executive recruiter is routinely listed among America’s top 40 executive search firms, Liberty said in a statement.
“During this season of institutional transition, Liberty University has benefited tremendously from a combination of stabilizing leaders with vast institutional experience and some of the nation’s best outside experts,” said search committee chairman Gilbert “Bud” Tinney in a statement. “The selection of CarterBaldwin demonstrates clearly Liberty’s ongoing commitment to excellence and its determination to work with the absolute best advisors to find the right individual to lead Liberty University into its next 50 years.”
Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president in August 2020. Jerry Prevo, a former board of trustees chair, has been the university’s interim president since then.
“President Prevo has been a gift from God and exactly what Liberty needed over these transitional years. He has positioned Liberty well for the future” said Board Chairman Tim Lee in a statement “Liberty University will always be indebted to President Prevo for stepping out of retirement for these three years to serve Liberty tirelessly and sacrificially. His exceptional work will ensure a good start for our next leader and his own contribution to Liberty University will be remembered, and celebrated, for generations.”
The university will be releasing a full position profile mid-September in order to begin the official process of soliciting and evaluating potential candidates.
The search committee of the Board of Trustees has set a target date of installing the new university president prior to the 2023/2024 academic year. President Prevo will serve in his current position until the presidency is filled, the university said in a statement.
Price Harding (Chairman at CarterBaldwin) and Bill Peterson (Partner at CarterBaldwin) will co-lead the search. Mr. Peterson, a 1996 graduate of Liberty University, can be reached at bpeterson@carterbaldwin.com, and Mr. Harding can be reached at pharding@carterbaldwin.com.