LYNCHBURG, Va. – Effective immediately, Jerry Falwell Jr. is no longer the president and chancellor of Liberty University.
“We’re all kind of glad, personally I’m very relieved,” said Liberty student Brooke Snok.
The controversy for Falwell started earlier this month when he posted then quickly deleted a photo which later went viral.
Shortly after, the Board of Trustees placed him on indefinite leave of absence, until this weekend.
Reports from Reuters and the Washington Examiner revealed Falwell’s wife Becki allegedly had a years-long sexual affair with their Miami business partner, while Jerry Falwell knew and sometimes watched.
School officials said Falwell resigned Monday then took it back to consult with his lawyer.
Then Tuesday morning, board members met and accepted his resignation.
Dustin Wahl, Calum Best and Alexandra Green are members of Save 71, which is a new group formed to help save their alma mater’s name.
“We think the only way for Liberty to move forward is for the Board of Trustees to apologize and appoint an independent field counsel to come in and investigate Falwell’s failures and misuse of power,” Wahl said.
Save71 organizers said the next assignment is to rally around current students and put pressure on board leaders.
“I think the second move is just allowing kids to celebrate for a moment and realize this is a good thing. Now the work that needs to be done is really holding the board accountable to make sure we don’t get a Falwell part two in the future,” Green said.
The board will select a search committee for its new president at its next meeting.