LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg— Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, had a long-standing relationship with Liberty University and had been scheduled to return to campus in October. University officials issued statements of sympathy following his death and described his ties to the campus.
Students organized a prayer vigil on the steps of the Montview Student Union the night news of Kirk’s death became public. Liberty Chancellor Jonathan Falwell addressed those gathered and spoke again at a subsequent Campus Community service.
According to news reports, Kirk was shot by a sniper during a rally at Utah Valley University while on the American Comeback Tour with Turning Point USA.
Liberty leaders and student organizers noted his role as a conservative campus speaker and the effect his visits and influence at the university had on students.
Kirk helped launch the Standing for Freedom Center at Liberty University, a conservative political organization on campus.
Ryan Helfenbein, vice president of communications at Liberty University and executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center, commented on Kirk’s relationship with students and the university.
“I think for our students and for the freedom center, it gave a model, an example of this is how you engage with the younger generation. They’re looking for authenticity,” Helfenbein said. “There’s an entire generation of students that have been influenced by Charlie.”
Helfenbein has worked with Kirk over the years and remains a friend of the Kirk family.
“So much about what Kirk did in making his faith in Jesus Christ central to what his message was as well as talking about politics, cultural and political engagement, that is very much up the alley of our founder. And so, I think it’s about remembering and never forgetting what mark he’s made on the nation and the mark he’s made on this university.”
The university awarded Kirk with an honorary Doctor of Humanities during in May 2019, citing his promotion of conservative principles and engagement with young people. He had been scheduled to speak at LU’s Convocation on October 24 and at the center’s Freedom Uncensored events on October 24 and 25.
Turning Point USA, which Kirk founded in 2012 while in high school, operates chapters at colleges and high schools nationwide, including at Liberty.
Members of Liberty’s Turning Point USA chapter and other students said they prayed for Kirk’s wife, Erika, their two young children, and the sniper that killed Kirk at the campus vigil.
Erika Kirk is a Liberty alumna who earned a Juris Master in American Legal Studies and marked that achievement at the May 2019 Commencement.
As the campus continues to respond, Liberty officials and students are recalling Kirk’s visits, the campus events he participated in, and the impact he made on the Liberty community.