History in the Making

Dr. Cline Hall has taught at Liberty University since 1977. As one of the school's long-time history professors, he has spent much of his life looking back into our country's past.

But people may not know that Hall can also look into the future. Not literally, of course, but he can be assured that his major gift to the university today will help it continue to offer quality Christian education for generations to come.

Hall, along with his wife, Beverly, has taken out a life insurance policy on both of their lives that will leave the school with more than $1.1 million. The money will be used to fund a chair in the History Department.

"I always wanted to do something for the school," Cline Hall said. "I guess what really set it off was the fact that when Dr. [Jerry] Falwell died, he had a lot of insurance policies that helped to pay off debt, and that sort of raised an idea in my own mind: Why couldn't we do something similar?"

The Halls are one of several Liberty faculty and staff who have decided to give back to the place where they have spent countless hours training "Champions for Christ."

"I think you need to put your money where your passion is, and our passion is toward the kingdom of God, dealing with all kinds of people. And it's nice to know after you're gone, your money's still working for that cause," said Beverly Hall, who has worked in the education department and at the university bookstore.

To achieve their goal of leaving a lasting legacy at Liberty, the Halls worked with their insurance agent, financial advisor, attorney, and Liberty's Estate Planning Department, which offers many options for investing in the future of the university.

Cline Hall said he had a great experience working with Dr. Earl D. Sargeant, Director of LU's Estate Planning Department, who guided him through the process. Taking out the life insurance policy is one of the easiest - and even less expensive - ways to make a major impact on the school's future, Hall said.

"It doesn't take a person a lot of money or means, in a sense, if you do it the way we did it, as an insurance policy on your life," Cline Hall said. "Obviously it's delayed as to when the money will come to the school, but that - I hate to say it this way - in the long run, is the cheapest way to contribute to the school. And another advantage is if the school holds the policy, I pay the premiums, but that's tax-deductible to me so far as a gift to the institution, so that helps in that way too."