Liberty University Co-Founders

Dr. Elmer Towns

As a co-founder of Liberty University, Dr. Elmer Towns has played an active part in Training Champions for Christ since its early days. A church growth specialist and former college president, Dr. Towns was an ideal candidate to help establish the university Dr. Jerry Falwell had envisioned.

Dr. Towns joined Dr. Falwell and Dr. A. Pierre Guillermin in Virginia and immediately got to work. In preparation for the first day of classes, Towns organized the college’s academic programs and hired the faculty and staff. Then, when the college opened in Fall 1971, he served as one of the first full-time faculty members. He would later become dean of religion, during which time he helped the School of Religion receive accreditation and start a doctoral program, and stepped into the dean of seminary role twice throughout his time with the university.

A pastor, writer, and educator, Dr. Towns has dedicated his life to leading others to Christ and sharing His Word. He is the author of more than 275 books, including The Ten Largest Sunday Schools, which he was writing when he first met Dr. Falwell, and has penned many articles on various topics such as church growth, Christian education, and pastoral leadership. He received the Gold Medallion Award for Book of the Year by the Christian Booksellers Association in 1995 for The Names of the Holy Spirit, as well as the Bronze Telly Award for his book Through the Decades in 2009.

Dr. A Pierre Guillermin

A gifted educator, Dr. A. Pierre Guillermin was instrumental in the establishment of Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971, serving alongside Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. Elmer Towns as they founded and built a Christian university with the intention of Training Champions for Christ.

While serving as president of Southern Methodist College in South Carolina, Dr. Guillermin met Dr. Falwell and was inspired by him. In 1967, he joined Falwell in Lynchburg, Va, where they opened Lynchburg Christian Academy — now known as Liberty Christian Academy — as a ministerial arm of Thomas Road Baptist Church. Dr. Guillermin was instated as its founding superintendent.

When Lynchburg Baptist College opened in 1971, Dr. Guillermin played a key role in its founding. He served as executive vice president and president during his tenure and helped transform this small Bible college into a thriving university. From campus construction to the introduction of academic and athletic programs, he helped establish the college on a solid foundation that would be built upon for years to come. Notably, he aided the college in gaining its regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), transitioned Liberty’s athletic programs into the NCAA Division I level, and oversaw the transitions from Lynchburg Baptist College to Liberty Baptist College in 1975 and then to Liberty University in 1985. Following his resignation as president in 1997, he received the title of president emeritus.

Dr. Guillermin passed away at the age of 82 in the summer of 2019, leaving a legacy of faith and generosity.