Initially founded as Lynchburg Baptist College, the school changed its name to Liberty Baptist College in 1977 and to Liberty University in 1985. One of the various stated reasons Liberty’s original name was changed from Lynchburg Baptist College to Liberty Baptist College was to distance itself from the name Lynchburg, which is often mistakenly associated with lynching, while another earlier reason, as noted by co-founder Elmer Towns, was that Jerry Falwell Sr., wanted to use the name "Liberty" in order to take advantage of the 1976 Bicentennial of the United States, when the name change for the college was initially proposed. Liberty University's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status was formally recognized by the IRS in 1987.