Liberty University has hired Mike Pompeo, former Kansas congressman and U.S. secretary of state, as distinguished chair of the Helms School of Government.
“Mike Pompeo has served our country with honor and distinction as a tank platoon leader during the Cold War, as a successful business leader, as a member of Congress, as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as our 70th secretary of state,” Liberty President Dondi Costin said. “More importantly, his faith in Jesus Christ and his love and devotion as a husband and father make him a true champion for Christ and a role model for our students.”
Pompeo, whom some thought would run for president this year, addressed his new role in a statement released last Wednesday.
“I am honored to join Liberty University and thrilled to work with the Helms School of Government,” he said. “Nothing is more important to our nation’s future than the proper education of young Americans. Liberty’s mission, to promote academic excellence while fostering a love for Jesus Christ and a commitment to Christian life, is one in which I believe deeply, and I am looking forward to contributing to it in the days ahead.”
According to the university’s website, the school seeks to “develop leaders who are guided by duty, honor and morality” by “teaching classes from a conservative Christian perspective” and “instilling a Christian sense of justice and civic duty in our students.” Fields of study offered include criminal justice, international relations, government/politics and policy, strategic intelligence, prelaw and homeland security.
The addition of Pompeo to the Liberty University faculty comes after he spent a decade in both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Kansas’ 4th Congressional District from 2011 to 2017. Former President Donald Trump appointed Pompeo to the position of CIA director in 2017. A year later, he was elevated to the role of secretary of state, a position he held for the remainder of the Trump administration.
Pompeo first became involved with Liberty University shortly after the Trump administration left office in January 2021. In April of that year, Pompeo became a senior advisor to Liberty’s Standing for Freedom Center.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice
