Liberty University announced new leadership Friday, with the board of trustees unanimously voting to appoint a new president and chancellor for the influential evangelical school in Virginia.

Retired Maj. Gen. Dondi E. Costin, the president of Charleston Southern University in South Carolina who served 32 years in the U.S. Air Force, will become the sixth president of Liberty. The university said Costin is expected to begin before the 2023-24 academic year.

"As one whose life and ministry have been profoundly shaped by Liberty University, I can think of no educational institution with more global impact than my two-time alma mater," Costin said in a statement, pledging to "honor the University's past and drive toward its future. With God's help and for His glory, the very best days of our great University are still ahead of us."

Officials also announced that Pastor Jonathan Falwell will serve as the third chancellor of Liberty, a school that has long been a center of political and cultural power for the Christian right. He had previously held the role of executive vice president for spiritual affairs/campus pastor at Liberty, which has some 95,000 students at its Lynchburg, Va., campus.

"With this transition we are recommitting our institution to its founding, and singular, mission: Training Champions for Christ," Falwell said. "I look forward to serving alongside our exceptionally qualified new president to impact more lives than ever before with Christ-centered education."

The appointment ensures the Falwell family dynasty will continue at Liberty. The school was co-founded by his father, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., a prominent televangelist, in 1971. Just as his father did, Jonathan Falwell will also remain as senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Jerry Falwell Jr., Jonathan Falwell's brother, was president of the school from 2007 until 2020, when he resigned amid scandal.

Jerry Falwell Jr. had transformed the campus, dramatically growing its physical and financial assets and prominence, forming a close alliance with Donald Trump and making frequent headlines - and, critics said, moving the school away from its Christian mission.

In 2020 he was placed on paid leave after posting a photo on social media of himself with his arm around his wife's young assistant, both of their zippers undone. Later the same month, he agreed to resign amid news reports of another scandal.

Jerry Prevo, who had been longtime chairman of the board of trustees, stepped in to lead Liberty as interim president. With the appointment of Costin, he will transition to president emeritus of the university.

"We are so grateful for the stable, competent and strong leadership Jerry Prevo has provided during this transitional season," Carroll Hudson, chairman of the board of trustees's executive committee said in a statement.

Costin was chosen after a national search led by an executive recruiting firm that considered nearly 100 candidates over eight months, according to the university. Before leading Charleston Southern University, Costin was a decorated combat veteran, who finished his military career at the Pentagon as Air Force Chief of Chaplains, the school said.

Costin earned his bachelor's degree in operations research from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He earned five master's degrees - including two from Liberty - a doctor of ministry degree, and a PhD in organizational leadership, officials said.