LYNCHBURG, VA. (ABP) -- Thanks to a substantial life insurance policy on the late Jerry Falwell, the university he founded is now debt-free, according to university officials.

Jerry Falwell, Jr., Liberty University's chancellor and son of its founder, announced the $34 million policy during a fall briefing with faculty and staff Aug. 10. Part of the money also went to nearby Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va. The senior Falwell founded the church in 1956. It is now pastored by another of his sons.

Now that it is debt-free, Liberty will “aggressively focus its fundraising efforts on solidifying the university's endowment,” according to Liberty's website.

The school had struggled with debt since a series of defaults in the 1980s. It reached a debt of $82 million in 1992, according to Associated Press reports. According to the AP, the debt had since been reduced to $27 million.

At the Aug. 10 meeting, Falwell also announced a second endowment gift of $2.5 million from Sherwin Cook, owner of White Oak Management Company in Lynchburg. It is the largest donation in the school's history.

Falwell founded the school in 1971. It now claims an enrollment of approximately 10,500.

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