Archive for November, 2018

When GCU biology professor Dr. Galyna Kufryk saw that some of her microbiology students were struggling with the math in her course, she turned to GCU math professor Dr. Filippo Posta, who helped her put together a self-paced math lesson students could take that targeted the microbiology concepts she was trying to teach. After three years of collecting data, the results are impressive. Exam scores went up by 10.5 percent, on average, in the group of students using the math guide. Kufryk and Posta presented their findings at the recent Association of American Colleges & Universities conference in Atlanta.

The growth of the Center for Worship Arts program at GCU is being felt in churches in Arizona and beyond. Aaron Bolton and Mallory Denson are just two of the students who have graduated and gone on to worship ministry careers at local churches. “We’re thrilled,” said Dr. Jason Hiles, Dean of the College of Theology.

More than 3,000 students turned out for the winter formal, Hanging of the Greens, featuring dining, dancing, crafting snow globes, savoring GCBC hot chocolate in four flavors, letter writing to home with postage paid by the Canyon Activities Board (CAB), and notes to the homeless for the Can you Spare a Story initiative. “It is beautiful how they didn’t just make it a dance,’’ said senior Stephanie Fairchild. “They incorporated the arts and crafts and Can You Spare a Story. That is heartwarming.’’

“There’s real science going on … there’s real innovation,” Provost Dr. Hank Radda said during Wednesday’s Undergraduate Learning Community and Research Symposium. Student presenters spoke to the audience about everything from the Desert Owl Population Improvement Project to the Bible Virtual Reality Project and one team’s attempt to help nonprofits digitize their paper surveys.

Allie Stuckey, whose blog is called “The Conservative Millennial,” drew a big crowd to Howerton Hall on Wednesday evening. While sharing her views about where progressives have gone wrong, she also urged Christian conservatives to gain more knowledge of the Bible and be better able to use it when they discuss their political beliefs.

Handel’s “Messiah” preaches the word of God through music, said GCU Assistant Dean of Music Dr. Juan de Dios Hernandez, who conducted Tuesday night’s annual presentation of the masterwork. Hernandez added that performing the oratorio is a reflection of GCU’s mission as a Christian university. The concert, featuring the Canyon Choral Society and Canyon Symphony Orchestra, ushered in the holiday season and will be performed one more time in a singalong version Friday at La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church in Scottsdale.

The GCU Recording Studio usually is a busy place, and part of the reason is the relationship that has been built with the high school community. Concert bands, choirs, jazz bands and other musical groups have gotten an opportunity to come to the studio and make professional-sounding recordings, and Valley Christian Schools took it to the next level by turning it into a video.

Dr. Howard Carlson, an adjunct GCU professor in the College of Education and the reigning Arizona Superintendents Association Superintendent of the Year, shares experience and insight in his new book, “Accelerated Wisdom: 50 Practical Insights for Today’s Superintendent.” Carlson, the superintendent of the Wickenburg Unified School District, shared several of the book’s main points in a question-and-answer session with GCU Today.

In this week’s Fitness Facts, Connie Colbert has lots of tips for how to practice healthy eating habits at holiday parties. You’ll be surprised to know how many pounds a few cookies here and there can add to your frame over time.

In this week’s Mental Health Vitamin, Dr. Deb Wade has a message for today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Today. Ralph Waldo Emerson had some wise thoughts years ago about staying in the present, but the wisest of all are right there in the Bible.