LYNCHBURG — Liberty University announced Monday that the Rev. Jerry Prevo, the longtime chairman of the school’s board of trustees and a significant figure in the evangelical movement, will serve as acting president of the institution.
The news comes three days after Jerry Falwell Jr. agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence from his role as president and chancellor of the university.
Falwell has been engulfed in scandal for the past week after posting — and quickly deleting — a photo showing him with his pants partially unzipped and his arm around a woman with her pants also partially unzipped.
“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,” Prevo said in a statement.
Prevo is taking over the day-to-day operations of the school just two weeks before about 15,000 residential students begin in-person classes on campus.
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Prevo, the former pastor of one of the largest churches in Alaska, has served as Liberty’s board chairman since 2003 and as a trustee since 1996. He resides in the Anchorage region.
As part of his appointment, Prevo agreed to step down as board chairman during his time as acting president. The university’s announcement did not name an interim chairman.
Like Falwell, Prevo has wielded significant influence in conservative politics. The 75-year-old religious leader has had an audience with every president since Jimmy Carter, except for Barack Obama, and was joined by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and other prominent conservative figures at his farewell service at Anchorage Baptist Temple last year, according to the Anchorage Daily News.