The former President of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr, will receive more than $10 million in compensation following his resignation over a sex scandal involving his wife and their former pool boy.
The lawyer, who is the son of Liberty's founder, Rev Jerry Falwell Sr, quit his post on Monday following a slew of allegations of misconduct culminating in the much-publicised affair scandal.
However, because he wasn't formally accused of or admitted to any wrongdoing prior to his leaving, it has been revealed that Falwell will be awarded an enormous compensatory package over the next few years. The 58-year-old told the Washington Post that he will receive $2.5 million over the next 24 months — equivalent to two years' salary — plus an additional $8 million after that period, as per a contract he signed with the university in July of last year.
“The board was gracious not to challenge that,” Falwell told the paper. “There wasn’t any cause. I haven’t done anything.”
Falwell insists that he was not involved in the affair — an account confirmed by his wife, Becki — though the pool boy and former business associate has claimed otherwise.
Though Falwell's tenure in the top position at Liberty was controversial and divisive, the university grew exponentially under his leadership. Since his takeover in 2007, Liberty's assets swelled from just $259 million to $3 billion by 2018. Much of the growth was achieved through Falwell's directing of funds into real estate development across the city of Lynchburg, Virginia, where the university is based. Enrolment figures also exploded, with the majority of Liberty's roughly 100,000 students now taking classes online.
Liberty University has appointed the former chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Jerry Prevo, as its interim president.
