Mitt Romney, on the cusp of making history as the first Mormon to win a major party’s nomination for president, will deliver the commencement address at Liberty University, a bastion of evangelical Christians founded by the late televangelist Jerry Falwell.
Romney’s address, scheduled for May 12, comes as the former Massachusetts governor is laboring to consolidate the conservative base as he moves from a bruising and divisive primary campaign into a general election against President Obama.
This will be Romney’s first visit to Liberty’s campus in Lynchburg, Va. Several other candidates addressed students there last year, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). Liberty is the alma mater of one of Romney’s senior advisers, Mark DeMoss, who has been helping the candidate build bridges to the evangelical community. And Brett O’Donnell, who helped Romney prepare for...