The College of Education classroom building, already a huge hit with students, staff and visitors, became even more spectacular this week with the installation of the Times Square-style video screen on the second level of its eastern exterior. Components for the screen arrived Wednesday from China. The project is the work of Darren Bak of Atlanta-based Innovation Sports Marketing, and Bak was on hand to oversee the installation by local company Christy Signs and its crew of eight.

GCU’s largest college celebrated the opening of its new home on Thursday — and what a home it is. A formal dedication was held for the new College of Education building, which opened to classes on Jan. 5. The two-story facility, wedged gracefully between the library and Fleming, has 19 classrooms and represents a permanent destination for the college, which has bounced around over the years.

The new College of Education building opened Wednesday to its first day of classes, and it wasn’t difficult to find enthusiastic impressions along its hallways. Students and staff raved about the two-story building, wedged between the library and Fleming but shining like a diamond.

For evidence that good teachers make a difference, Exhibit A might be Joy Weiss. Weiss, 35, was recognized as the 2010 Arizona Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation for her work in her first-grade classroom at Balsz Elementary School, near 44th Street and Loop 202 in Phoenix. All of her students are English Language Learners, most of them the children of Hispanic and Somali immigrants.

The University has tapped one of its own exemplary graduates, Dr. Kimberly LaPrade, to the position of Dean of the College of Education.

The new home of the College of Education will create unprecedented instructional opportunities and also be a structure that unifies the south end of campus. The 19-classroom facility, which is on target to open in December, received a ceremonial topping off by its Pono Construction crew on Wednesday morning, Sept. 15. GCU administration treated the workers to pizza on the east end of the second level.

Grand Canyon University’s College of Education is recognized for producing outstanding teachers. Hear from faculty and students about the value of a degree from the Grand Canyon University College of Education.