#Liberty University names acting president after Jerry Falwell Jr. placed on leave

Liberty University has chosen Dr. Jerry Prevo, chairman of the school’s board of trustees, as its acting president after placing longtime president Jerry Falwell Jr. on indefinite leave.

Prevo’s appointment comes days after Falwell, who had served as president and chancellor since 2007, found himself embroiled in controversy for posting racy photos on Instagram, specifically one showing his arm around a woman who was not his wife, with his pants unzipped and his stomach exposed.

Prevo, who has served on the private evangelical Christian university’s board of trustees since 1996, said in a statement Monday, “I want to thank my fellow board members for having confidence that I could be entrusted with the responsibility of serving as the Acting President during this time of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s indefinite leave of absence.”

Prevo has been chairman of the board since 2003. He previously served as the senior pastor of Anchorage Baptist Temple in Anchorage, Alaska, where he worked for 47 years. He had recently retired.

“We have a world-class leadership team at Liberty University who will support me in running our operations on a day-to-day basis and fulfilling our spiritual mission unabated: Training Champions for Christ. Please pray for us as well as the Falwell family as we embark on our academic year and so we may continue to be united in our common purpose and our faith in Christ,” he added.

Meanwhile, Falwell told WLNI radio station last week that the woman in the controversial photo was his wife’s assistant, and the photo was taken at a costume party.

“It was weird because she’s pregnant so she couldn’t get her [shorts] up and I was like, trying to like — I have a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in a long time so I couldn’t get mine zipped either. So I just put my belly out like hers,” he said, explaining the photo.

“I’ve apologized to everybody,” he added.

After the interview, the school’s board of trustees met Friday and requested that Falwell take leave, “to which he has agreed, effective immediately.”

Falwell’s father, the late evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell, founded the university.

With Post wires