Ground was broken Tuesday on the four-story College of Arts and Sciences classroom building, scheduled to be completed by Aug. 1. The building was designed by the Phoenix architectural firm of Orcutt Winslow and will be built by Pono Construction of Glendale.

Construction will begin in a week.

GCU College of Arts and Sciences Faculty and Staff.

“This building will represent the mind, body and spirit of everything we do on campus,” CAS Dean Mark Wooden told those assembled for a brief ceremony. “It will be the academic heart of this University.”

The building’s first floor will house Christian Studies, Spiritual Life and a small chapel. The building also will have a DNA analysis lab — the only one on an Arizona campus, Wooden says — for use by GCU’s forensic-science students.

CEO Brian Mueller also spoke at the groundbreaking.

“Long before I got here,” he said, “there were people working here who built great programs. We’re in debt to them. They helped build our academic brand.”