--- title: Ted Cruz Launches Campaign At Liberty University Praising Women description: He offers a message of female empowerment at a school with few women leaders canonical: https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/ author: Elizabeth Dias article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-23T16:49:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:55.960Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Launches Campaign At Liberty University Praising Women og:description: He offers a message of female empowerment at a school with few women leaders og:url: https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51cde327ca519a2f/698784be5f570fd55db15df4/ted-cruz-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senator Ted Cruz(R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Launches Campaign At Liberty University Praising Women twitter:description: He offers a message of female empowerment at a school with few women leaders twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51cde327ca519a2f/698784be5f570fd55db15df4/ted-cruz-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Launches Presidential Campaign at School Known For Glass Ceilings ## Video: Real Time: Ted Cruz Rallies The Right At CPAC 2015 [Watch (HLS stream): Real Time: Ted Cruz Rallies The Right At CPAC 2015](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KFQHEvq4.m3u8) (0:59)  _Published 2015-02-26. Ted Cruz fired up the conservative base during his speech on the first day of CPAC 2015._ by [Elizabeth Dias](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-dias/) ## Elizabeth Dias Mar 23, 2015 4:49 PM UTC  Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia.Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images by [Elizabeth Dias](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-dias/) ## Elizabeth Dias Mar 23, 2015 4:49 PM UTC Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launched his campaign for the presidency Monday with effusive praise for the boundary-breaking women in his life and a call for mothers, sisters and daughters to join his coming campaign. “The answer will not come from Washington,” he said of the challenges facing the nation. “It will come only from the men and women across this country—from men and women, from people of faith, from lovers of liberty, from people who respect the Constitution.” In a speech at Liberty University, the world’s largest Christian school, he praised the entrepreneurship of his wife, Heidi, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, who started in business as a child, baking bread and selling it at a nearby apple farm. His mother, he said in video message earlier in the day, was “a pioneer in computer science, smashing glass ceilings at a time when women were discouraged from following their dreams.” Her father, he continued in the speech, “frankly didn’t think that women should be educated.” The praise for gender equality was all the more resonant—or perhaps discordant—because of the setting. Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., bars women as a matter of theology from becoming pastors or holding high-ranking roles of church leadership. In fact, the leadership at Liberty, where more than half the student population is female, is almost entirely male. The school’s[ executive leadership](http://www.liberty.edu/aboutliberty/?PID=6911) is composed of 21 men and one woman, the executive vice president and vice-president of human resources. Liberty University’s [Board of Trustees](http://www.liberty.edu/trustees/index.cfm?PID=5313) is comprised of 38 men and two women whose husbands also serve on the board: Beverly LaHaye, founder of Concerned Women for America, and Gaye Overton Benson, for whose family the Liberty School of Business is named. The 32 positions on the[ committees of the Board of Trustees](http://www.liberty.edu/trustees/index.cfm?PID=5654) are also filled entirely by men. Likewise, all of the faculty are male at Liberty University’s Baptist Theological Seminary, where despite the ban on women becoming pastors, women can receive degrees. At the larger school, just over half of the residential student body is female, and just more than 60% of the online student population is female. “Women need to be advised that few opportunities presently exist for ordination of women among Baptist churches and Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary supports the Baptist Faith and Message as amended by the Southern Baptist Convention of June 2000,” the school tells applicants on its website. The larger Southern Baptist Convention believes the bible bars women from becoming pastors. “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture,” reads the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. There are some programs specifically designed for women. Liberty has a Center for Women’s Ministries, which educates “today’s woman in basic principles of Biblical femininity” and seeks to equip her “to effectively evangelize and disciple other women living in America and throughout the world,” according to its website. Career opportunities for women with this focus, the site says, include women’s ministry directors, teen girls’ leaders, and event planners. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters Christine Caine, an activist with Hillsong Church in Australia, partnered with the school in January to launch a broader initiative called “Propel” to equip Christian women for broader leadership, especially when they work outside the home. “For generations, women have navigated the nuances of being a woman in leadership without a roadmap,” Caine said in a [news release](http://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=132087). “Gaps in leadership training have forced women to compartmentalize their lives, separating work, church, home and personal life.” Liberty’s glass ceilings—and those of the religious constituency Liberty signifies and that Cruz is trying to court—could complicate his message going forward. In his announcement speech, Cruz cast himself as a values candidate, with a view of American history centered around faith. “What is the promise of America?” he asked at one point in his speech. “The idea that—the revolutionary idea that this country was founded upon, which is that our rights don’t come from man. They come from God Almighty.” Stylistically, his speech had more in common with Sunday preaching than a traditional campaign address. He roamed the circular stage, often turning his back to the television cameras, with a microphone affixed to his neck, telling the stories of redemption that lifted his family, and charting a road map for lifting the nation. “Today, roughly half of born again Christians aren’t voting,” he said. “They’re staying home. Imagine instead millions of people of faith all across America coming out to the polls and voting our values.” ### See 10 Presidential Campaign Launches  Mitt Romney launched his second campaign on June 2, 2011, in the first primary state, New Hampshire, with a scathing attack on President Obama's economic record. Stephan Savoia—AP  John McCain launched his second campaign on April 25, 2007, in New Hampshire with a speech that began with the Iraq War and foreign policy. Stephan Savoia—AP  Barack Obama launched his campaign before the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 10, 2007, with a speech that referenced Abraham Lincoln. Mark Cowan—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign on Jan. 20, 2007, by posting the words "I'm in" on her website. AP  John Kerry launched his presidential campaign on Sept. 2, 2003, in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., with a speech about the Iraq War. Lawrence Jackson—AP  June 16, 1999 Carthage, Tenn. Ron Edmonds—AP  George W. Bush launched his first campaign on June 12, 1999, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a speech about "compassionate conservatism." Harry Hamburg—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Bill Clinton launched his first campaign on Oct. 3, 1991, in Little Rock, Ark., with a speech about change. Cynthia Johnson—Getty Images  George H.W. Bush announced his first presidential campaign on Oct. 12, 1987, in Houston, Texas, with a speech about his work as vice president. Ed Kolenovsky—AP  Ronald Reagan launched his presidential campaign on Nov. 13, 1979,in New York City with a speech about the role of government. Walt Zeboski—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Launches Presidential Campaign at School Known For Glass Ceilings","datePublished":"2015-03-23T16:49:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:55.960Z","description":"He offers a message of female empowerment at a school with few women leaders","url":"https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/","keywords":["ted cruz","2016 Election topic","faith"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51cde327ca519a2f/698784be5f570fd55db15df4/ted-cruz-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Dias","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-dias/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51cde327ca519a2f/698784be5f570fd55db15df4/ted-cruz-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senator Ted Cruz(R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia.","caption":"Senator Ted Cruz(R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia.","creditText":"Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ted-cruz/","name":"ted cruz"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/","name":"Ted Cruz Launches Presidential Campaign at School Known For Glass Ceilings"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Real Time: Ted Cruz Rallies The Right At CPAC 2015","description":"Ted Cruz fired up the conservative base during his speech on the first day of CPAC 2015.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/KFQHEvq4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-26T21:46:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KFQHEvq4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/","duration":"PT59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3754071/ted-cruz-liberty-university/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```