"They genuinely engage in dialogue and employing the Socratic method and those are good things that are often lost in large lecture-hall situations," Sowell said, adding that the school has the potential to grow if it can accomplish a sometimes difficult accreditation process.

Money is a big hurdle for the small school, which opened in 1992 as a branch of the Coral Ridge Baptist University in Florida. A lot of things have changed over the years, including splitting from Coral Ridge. George Wythe has recently moved to a fixed-credit model and developed an 80-page written format whereby new faculty can be trained, changes made based on suggestions gained from the peer-review process. The school is also looking at more refined financial standards as recommended by the liberal education academy.

Construction on a new 200-acre campus in Monticello has been halted due in part to current economic conditions, but also because university officials are "earnestly focusing on accreditation," Groft said.

"Our students are told they have a mission in life, that they are born to do something, to help society in some way," he said. "Getting an education is not just about putting food on the table. We tell our students to find the thing they were meant to do."

Students pay just more than $3,000 per semester at George Wythe, with some courses now being offered online. Instruction involves reading from a list of classics believed to have been studied by founders of American government, and classroom discussions are lead by mentors instead of traditional professors.

The nontraditional education isn't for everyone, but Ben Brown transferred from his community college in Wyoming because he didn't feel like he was getting what he wanted from higher education. He too plans to go to law school and says the school has prepared him well, having taken the LSAT, at least practice versions, every semester. He said students have to work hard to succeed.

"My education is my responsibility," Brown said. "If I want something I have to go and get it. If you don't feel like that, you don't last here."

The school offers a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and statesmanship, a master's of arts in education and political economy and a doctorate in constitutional law.

"If there was ever a time for more statesmen and fewer politicians, it's now," said Beck, the fundraising headliner.

E-MAIL: wleonard@desnews.com

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