Archive for March, 2010

Full competition will start next school year in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference under new coach Tom Flood. By Zane Ewton Communications Staff Grand Canyon University increased its intercollegiate athletics teams to 22 with the addition of men’s and women’s track and field in late December, and new coach Tom Flood is excited about the prospects. Flood thinks GCU track and field will give current students an opportunity to compete and will quickly become an attractive option for local high school talent. “We want student-athletes who are willing to work hard, have a great attitude and show up every day,” he says. “GCU is a great institution, and the good Lord will bless us with the students he wants for this campus.” GCU now has more sports than any other intercollegiate athletics program in Arizona. Flood is using this spring to give the University’s cross-country athletes an opportunity to continue training and compete. He also is recruiting for the 2010-11 season. Flood’s assistant coach is Dr. Kim Sims, head coach of GCU’s cross-country program. Next school year will kick off a full competition schedule, indoor and outdoor, for both the men’s and women’s track teams. GCU will compete in the […]

About 200 student, faculty and staff volunteers turned out on a glorious spring day to spruce up apartments and homes in the Canyon Corridor neighborhood, as part of GCU’s Serve the City project. By Doug Carroll Communications Staff How quickly could you paint the exterior of a house? A weekend? A day? Would you believe … three hours? Armed with rollers, brushes and big buckets of paint, a GCU team of 20 volunteers under the leadership of Sarah Clayton launched into attack mode on Saturday morning, March 20, at a home in the 3500 block of West Campbell Avenue. The task also involved some tree trimming and yard cleanup. Before noon, the workers were done and heading back to campus for sandwiches. “The best part is serving our community, but it’s also a chance to hang out with students and work as a team,” said Clayton, the resident director of the North Rim Apartments. For Serve the City, purple-shirted volunteers were divided into seven teams to tackle projects across the Canyon Corridor neighborhood. Work was done at the Willow Springs apartment complex and also at six homes in the community. Five of the homes received a fresh coat of paint, […]

By Paige Morris I am on a mission to obtain an education. And I am on a mission to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. On this journey, I discovered a peculiar scholarship for vegetarianism, established by the Vegetarian Resource Group. The scholarship requires that I promote vegetarianism in the community and write an essay documenting my success, challenges and experience. My name is Paige Morris; I’m 17 and a vegetarian. I am also an online student at Grand Canyon University. I plan to obtain a bachelor of science in nursing, specializing in pediatric oncology.  Sedona, Ariz., is a small community that caters to tourists, so one of my first stops was the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, where I had an appointment with Jennifer Wesselhoff, the president of the chamber. She listened to my desire of sponsoring vegetarianism in our community. She helped me map out promotional options in detail. A friend, Rick Wesselhoff, donated the domain name and helped me create www.sedonavegetarians.com. The website became complete with photos, recipes, restaurants, articles and a link to my favorite book, “The China Study,” which inspired my conversion to vegetarianism. The blog took on a life of its own, expanding into Facebook and Twitter […]

McCain Town Hall Meeting @ Grand Canyon University from Grand Canyon University on Vimeo.

A team from GCU will participate in the annual Bike MS event hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Arizona Chapter. Bike MS 2010 is scheduled for March 27 and 28 in Florence, Ariz. The goal is to raise funds toward finding a cure for MS. The members of this year’s GCU for Joy team include Eric Liu, Office of Assessment; Brian McGuire, Office of Institutional Research; Kevin Thrasher, Center for Learning Advancement; team captain Jim Helfers, College of Liberal Arts; and Lance Hinderleider, COE Enrollment. There’s room for more to join the team. Participation requires a $75 registration fee and at least $250 in donations. Bike MS is a two-day event. Cyclists can ride on either day or both, and they can choose any distance from 30 to 160 miles over the two days. Helfers, a cycling enthusiast, became involved with the event after learning his sister had been diagnosed with MS. “I believe that this is an important event for GCU, since there are members of the organization who are afflicted with the disease, as well as many of us who have family members who suffer from it,” Helfers says on a fundraising page for the event. […]

By Doug Carroll Communications Staff Jean Marseille of Phoenix has seen plenty in his work as an intensive-care nurse at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital. But nothing prepared him for the devastation he witnessed on a weeklong relief trip to his native Haiti in the wake of the January 12 earthquake. Marseille, whose wife, Alicia, is a GCU Enrollment Manager, was on a plane to the Dominican Republic only days after the earthquake hit. From there, he bused into Port-au-Prince, where the Rev. Rick Frechette, a Roman Catholic priest, runs the free St. Damien Pediatric Hospital and a nearby orphanage. “When I got there, it was like nothing I had seen before,” says Marseille, 37, who grew up in the same orphanage. “All the buildings were damaged, and people had no place to go. I saw so many injured. There were things they couldn’t show on TV.” Marseille got busy, helping a team of a dozen volunteer doctors who saw more than 700 patients a day and worked around the clock with little rest. To support relief efforts coordinated by Frechette in Haiti, more than $25,000 was raised by GCU employees, students, alumni and friends — a sum that was matched […]

As summer approaches and students prepare to return home, get jobs or do whatever it is that college students do in the summer, several GCU students will put their personal ambitions on hold and commit themselves to a mission. The following students have signed up for mission opportunities in Kenya, the Dominican Republic and Germany.  Beth Nowatzki Junior – Nursing Ever since I served in Kenya in June 2008, God has placed a huge desire in my heart to help His children in need, especially in a medical sense. Adequate medical care and disease education are far too limited to people in Third World countries. I am a nursing student, so I feel it’s important to reach out to these people, provide the best care possible and equip them with the tools and resources to stay healthy. And while providing this much-needed care, people can be introduced to the ultimate healer, Jesus Christ. I am thrilled to be used by God and to be able to share His love with those in the Dominican Republic this summer. Our team will care for their physical and spiritual wounds.      Karissa Kelsey Junior – Athletic Training My inspiration for this trip began while […]

Apparently a few stealth Antelopes were at work late into last evening (or early this morning), marking a new state rivalry: the (Christian) Antelopes vs. the Sun Devils. The mission: Put a fresh coat of GCU Purple on “A Mountain,” which overlooks the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, just in time for the Antelopes to face the Devils tonight in a non-conference baseball game at ASU’s Packard Stadium. Rumor has it the clandestine operation was unexpected, as the A Mountain is typically only “protected” during the ASU/UA rivalry. Perpetrators surely will be held responsible at tonight’s game, as the Channel 3 helicopter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sChX7Z1dyA) did a fly-over this morning, notifying ASU fans of the violation. Watch out for Antelope fans with purple shoes. ASU hosts GCU at 6:30 tonight, and discounted tickets are still available for $7 from the Events Office on the GCU campus. Group seating will be behind the Antelopes’ dugout. Call (602) 639-7587 for information.

The Center for Learning and Advancement (CLA) has developed its series of student workshops into webinars that are now available for all campus and online students. The live webinars are scheduled through the remainder of this semester. Students can register by clicking on the dates and times below that best fit their schedule. All webinars are scheduled for Mountain Standard Time. Live webinars include: Test-Taking Strategies This webinar will demonstrate techniques to improve test performance, with a focus on multiple-choice tests. Register for a session now by clicking on a date below: Tuesday, May 4 – 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 5 – 3 to 4 p.m. Reading Strategies Workshop This webinar will provide you with effective ways to improve your reading comprehension of college texts. Register for a session now by clicking on a date below: Tuesday, March 9 – 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 10 – 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 11 – 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 12 – 3 to 4 p.m. Research Tools Workshop This webinar will demonstrate different ways of conducting research. Register for a session now by clicking on a date below: Tuesday, March 16 – 10 to 11 […]

The Phoenix campus of Grand Canyon University took center stage on Friday, March 5, for a town hall with U.S. Senators John McCain of Arizona and Scott Brown of Massachusetts. McCain, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2008, is seeking re-election in 2010 to a fifth term in the Senate. His representatives approached the university about serving as the site for the event, which attracted a crowd of 1,500 to Antelope Gymnasium for remarks by the two lawmakers on issues such as jobs, health care, federal spending and national defense. Brown, the newly elected senator to the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy, sought and received McCain’s support in his recent campaign. His upset victory in January made him the first Republican since 1972 to be elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. “It was the election heard around the world,” McCain said of Brown’s triumph. Media outlets such as NBC News, the Boston Globe and the Associated Press dispatched reporters, production people and satellite trucks to cover the event at GCU, along with all four of the major television stations from metropolitan Phoenix. Kelly O’Donnell of “The NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams” reported live from the campus promenade […]