Working our way backwards. His name is Ergun Caner. He is a Southern Baptist preacher, president of the university's theological seminary, and a fellow who has made his career by being one of the go-to guys on Islam for Christian conservatives. His stature derives from his poignant story of how he was a devout Muslim who saw the light and converted to Christianity. According to the Associated Press's Tom Breen, Caner's "supporters know him as a devout Muslim who discovered Jesus Christ at an Ohio church and became a popular leader at Liberty University." His detractors, Christians and Muslims alike, portray him as "an opportunist who exaggerated vague boyhood memories in his Muslim family to paint himself as a one-time extremist while enriching himself and sowing tension between the world's two largest faiths."

The Washington Post recently reported that LU is "investigating allegations" that Caner "fabricated aspects of his biography to make his connection to Islam more dramatic." The newspaper noted that Liberty spokesman Johnnie Moore said that there won't be any comments from the university until the review is done, probably by June 30.

Earlier this month, Jerry Falwell, Jr., Chancellor of Liberty University, who appears to be slowly following in his father's political footsteps, was named to Gov. Bob McDonnell's recently announced Commission on Higher Education.

Finally, in recent Liberty graduation ceremonies, the university conferred upon radio and television talk show host Glenn Beck an honorary doctorate in Humanities and Sciences. The irrepressible Glenn Beck -- who was moved to tears at the presentation -- is now officially Dr. Beck I presume.

On another front, "For the third year in a row," the Liberty Athletic Department recently
pointed out, the university received The Big South Conference Sasser Cup, an award "given annually to the top performing athletics department in the conference during each academic year." Liberty "also won the Women's All-Sport Trophy for the second time in three years." One could say that the university founded by the late Reverend Jerry Falwell in 1971 is soaring, well, like Sparky, the school's eagle mascot.

Whatever you make of these events, and whatever else you think about Jerry Falwell's Liberty University -- the world's largest evangelical university with some 12,000 students on its Lynchburg, Virginia campus -- know this:  the university has survived some difficult travails in its nearly forty years and, at this time, is doing very well, thank you. It has survived the Rev. Jerry Falwell himself; it has survived near financial ruin; it has survived academic scrutiny; and, it has survived a number of other bumps in the road. It will survive the Ergun Caner scandal and the Glenn Beck fiascos.

Engineering local elections

However, there's another story of import that may be slowly playing itself out. The headline, "Big Brother," and subhead, "Chancellor [Jerry] Falwell [Jr.] is Trying to Turn Tax-Exempt Liberty University Into a Partisan Political Machine -- and Dominate Lynchburg Elections. Will the IRS Step in?," of Rob Boston's expose in the April 2010 issue of Church & State magazine -- a publication of Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- pretty much tells the story.

On Election Day 2009, Liberty University went all-out to a) provide students with information on who to vote for in a House of Delegates race between incumbent Democrat Shannon Valentine and her Republican challenger Scott Garrett, and b) provide transportation for students to their local voting place, Heritage Elementary School.

Although Valentine led in the early returns, "when results started coming in" from the precinct where LU students vote, "the tide turned." When the final vote was tallied, Garrett won by about 200 votes, Boston reported. Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. was "ecstatic."  "As Becki [Falwell's wife] and I celebrated with the new governor in Richmond on Tuesday night, I received word that the LU student vote was responsible for Scott Garrett's Victory," Falwell wrote in Liberty Journal. "I shared the news with the speaker of the Virginia House of delegates and my wife snapped a picture of him giving me a high five. I was elated, not because of who won and who lost the race, but because LU students were the deciding factor in their first local election."

Garrett wins, Valentine loses. End of story? Not quite.

According to Boston, a Senior Policy Analyst at Americans United, it was clear that Garrett, who had been featured "in a laudatory article in the Liberty Champion," was Falwell's choice. It was after Garrett's victory that Americans United (AU) "began receiving phone calls and e-mails from people in and around Lynchburg who were concerned about Liberty's political activities." As a 501 (c) (3) non-profit institution, Liberty "is not allowed to intervene in elections or endorse candidates -- yet it appeared that LU had not only played a crucial role in Garrett's election but was bragging about it," Boston pointed out.

After a thorough investigation by AU staff, on February 22, AU sent the IRS a letter asking that it "investigate partisan politicking by Liberty." Falwell quickly dismissed the complaint, and Mathew Staver, dean of LU's law school and the founder of a conservative Christian legal entity called Liberty Counsel, told Lynchburg's News & Advance that the complaint was "bogus."

"We have documented a clear pattern of partisan intervention orchestrated by top Liberty officials," said Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn in the official complaint. "I believe the evidence is clear that Liberty officials have violated the law."

According to Boston, "AU's letter - the result of more than three months of investigating - makes the following points:

* Falwell and other university officials used Liberty Champion to run a series of articles attacking Valentine and endorsing Garrett. The letter asserts that the newspaper, although staffed by students, is subject to review and censorship by university officials and thus qualifies as a university publication.

• University officials twice arranged for a "voter guide" published by the Virginia Family Foundation to appear in the Champion. The guide distorted Valentine's views and was stacked to endorse Garrett. Copies of the Oct. 27 issue of the newspaper were mailed to all Lynchburg residents.

• On Election Day, Ergun Caner [the same person described above], a top university official, drove around campus with the College Republicans, rounding up voters.

• After the election, Falwell and other Liberty officials openly boasted that their actions had swayed the election to Garrett. They have vowed to intervene in future elections.

"This is one of the most blatant and dishonest attempts to influence an election by a non-profit religious organization I have ever seen," Lynn said. "We hope the IRS acts swiftly to stop Liberty's overt partisan politicking."

"Why is Jerry Falwell Jr. so determined to forge a political machine in Lynchburg?" Boston asks in his piece. "The surprising answer may have as much to do with mundane issues like zoning as with the hot-button social issues his family has obsessed over.

"Falwell is angry because he perceives LU as a major player in town -- in 2008, the school's budget exceeded $360 million -- yet Lynchburg officials have denied him an unfettered right to expand the campus as he sees fit.

"In a press statement, Falwell griped about municipal priorities. He carped that the city has raised local taxes to `astronomical levels' and spent the money on `projects that benefit downtown and other sections of the city while requiring LU to build roads and other infrastructure -- the types of projects that have been funded by taxpayers in other parts of the city.'"

I asked Boston if there were any new developments and he said in an email that AU "did file a complaint and we did receive confirmation of that from the IRS." Boston added that "the IRS conducts its investigations under confidentiality rules, so we're not in a position to know what, if anything, might be going on."

Falwell Jr. was apparently handed a "setback" in May 4th municipal elections in Lynchburg. According to Boston, writing at AU's The Wall of Separation blog, "a slate of candidates closely aligned with Falwell fared poorly, and a Liberty University student who ran for a spot on the city council came in last."

Boston also pointed out that "Falwell had hoped to stack the council with candidates who would do his bidding. He hopes to expand Liberty University and is angry that the current council will not grant him an unfettered right to grow as he sees fit by lifting zoning requirements."

Falwell and friends may have been stopped this time, but one thing is certainly clear -- defeat will not stop his longtime political goals: "Falwell, just like his father, has political goals that reach from local government all the way to the White House. In his own back yard, he'd like nothing more than a rubber-stamp council that gives him whatever he wants.

"The people of Lynchburg stopped him this time," Boston wrote. "But I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Falwell's political machinations."