Archive for January, 2012

GCU celebrated the topping out of the new four story College of Arts and Sciences building Tuesday morning under a beautiful sunny sky. “It’s been fun to watch the progress,” said CAS Dean Mark Wooden. “When they first started on it, I was impressed by the footprint. Now, I am amazed by its shadow.”

The Office of Career Services has chosen Josh Girgenti as its Student Worker of the Month. Girgenti is a sophomore with a dual major in health-care and business administration. As a worker in the Antelope Reception Center in GCU Arena, he serves as a receptionist and is the assistant to the ARC’s director, Shannon Landers. “He is an excellent leader and a great motivator,” Landers says. “Josh exemplifies Christian camaraderie. His willingness to serve is clear in his excellent customer service and leadership qualities.”

GCU’s faculty and staff are doing amazing things every day, taking on the world with a great support system behind them. One such staff member is Military Enrollment Counselor Chris Kirk, who is making the most of a helping hand from a club on campus. Kirk serves as vice president of an innovative new sports memorabilia company called The Fan Post. Together with founder Ken Sandy and director of media relations Brandon Hesterman, they design and sell mini football goal posts and basketball hoops, suitable for games of finger football and basketball.

Grand Canyon University and Ethington Theater are proud to present A Midsummer Nights Dream. “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Never was this truer than in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Follow the hilarious angst of teen love out of Athens and into the forest as four more of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers try to find a safe place to love who and how they please. Add into the mix a fractured fairy kingdom and a group of construction workers turned artists, and you have one of Shakespeare’s best loved plays. Written soon after Romeo and Juliet, the Bard takes a shot at the blindness of love and hits a bull’s eye. Friday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 12 at 2:00 p.m. Friday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 19 at 2:00 p.m. To Purchase Tickets Please contact the Ethington Box Office at: 602.639.8880 or ethington@gcu.edu.

Faith Based Marketing Specialist Spencer Fehrenbacher is hitting the road for another Rock and Worship Roadshow, only this time he’s got a new travel partner in Stephanie Cashin — and the effort will be bigger and better. “It’s all about the power of the sun and our beautiful campus,” says Cashin, who will be with Fehrenbacher on a seven-week, 26-city tour covering 17,000 miles, starting Thursday in Biloxi, Miss. “We want to show prospective students how nice it is here (in Phoenix). While students in Chicago and Spokane are freezing in January and February, we have a beautiful, sunny campus to offer them.”

Washington High School, near Glendale and 23rd avenues, is doing big things and has even bigger plans. With 1,671 students on campus and a large minority population including refugee students from Burma in Southeast Asia, Washington has had to find different ways of making sure that all of its students receive a quality education regardless of background. Washington is one of two schools in the Glendale Union High School District being sponsored by GCU this year in Beat the Odds. The other is Cortez High. The program provides extra training and resources for principals to tackle the various challenges they face.

GCU’s Musician of the Year from 2010-11, who plays both piano and guitar, is now a senior and she’s setting her sights on the future. Already Forte is building the connections needed for a shot at success. “My favorite thing is just sitting down and writing music,” she says.

Kent DelHousaye, the teaching pastor for Bethany Bible Church in Phoenix, spoke about love at this morning’s Chapel in the Arena. “If we had a slogan as Christians, what would it be? I think it would be ‘Love One Another,’” said DelHousaye, citing teachings found in 1 Peter 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13:8, John 15:12-13 and John 13:34-35. DelHousaye said love for others must neither give up nor run out. “Love is borne out in commitment and proven in faithfulness,” he said. “We need to do better on love.”

In a message that was about as subtle as an oncoming freight train, pastor and author Francis Chan called on Christians to leave their comfort zone and take the business of making disciples seriously. Chan, speaking at a packed GCU Arena on Friday night, didn’t sugarcoat what he described as “the failure of the church” to adequately equip believers to advance the Gospel message. “We haven’t been training people to stand on their own two feet,” said Chan, who for the past year has been planting churches in an especially tough part of inner-city San Francisco. “Your gifts are to equip you for the work of service. The goal is for you to be able to make disciples.”

Dr. James Beggs is looking for a few good roll players. The kind who can really wheel and deal. Ones who won’t just sit there and take it. The esteemed College of Arts and Sciences professor will be prowling the sideline, coaching a team from Banner Health and GCU against the Banner Phoenix Wheelchair Suns during a scrimmage at halftime of Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game at GCU Arena. “Although there is no ‘i’ in ‘team,’ it has occurred to me that there are three ‘i’s’ in ‘annihilation,’” says Beggs, who hopes his squad can avoid that fate.