Liberty University is a private, non-profit Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. Liberty's annual enrollment includes over 14,000 residential students and over 100,000 online students as of May 2013. The university was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971 by Jerry Falwell, who was also Senior Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church. The name was changed to Liberty Baptist College in 1976 before settling on its current name, Liberty University, in 1984, when it obtained university status.