Archive for May, 2022

By Emily Orvos Campus Registered Dietitian Have you ever walked into the grocery store and noticed how many plant-based alternatives to animal products are available? You can replace meat, milk, cheese, yogurt and even eggs with a plant-based option. With so many alternative options, it’s natural to ask yourself, “Should I be eating plant-based?” This is something I get asked about a lot, and it’s important to consider your taste preferences, lifestyle and values when making this decision. What is a plant-based diet? It’s also important to note that there’s no official definition for a “plant-based diet,” though most registered dietitians agree that it simply means a diet consisting mostly of fruits, veggies, grains, plant-based proteins, beans and legumes. Eating these foods exclusively indicates a vegan diet. Incorporating more plant foods into your diet has countless health benefits since these foods contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to support proper bodily functioning. Individuals who eat more plant foods have lower rates of many chronic diseases – hypertension, heart disease and cancer, to name a few. There are also gut health benefits because of increased fiber intake and an enhanced gut microbiome from the micronutrients of all the […]

By Dr. Carlton Huff College of Humanities and Social Sciences How can you improve individual and collective health and wellness? Clearly, many people are tussling with this task. It becomes a frequent question of where to begin, whom should I follow and so forth. However, the reality is that it has to start today and with you. Yeah, I said it. You. Wellness isn’t just a catch phase. In fact, it is much more. Wellness encapsulates a meaning that extends from the blood that runs through the veins in your smallest toe, on your left foot, to the tip of the final membrane that hangs from the edge of your brain like a cliff. Wellness lifestyle utilizes a vitalistic philosophy expressed through six aspects: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental and spiritual well-being. I know, seems like a compilation of a lot of big and boring words. But it means that you must acquire as much information to establish a holistic inventory of your own individual health-related needs. However, be advised that if any one of these dimensions is neglected over time, it will adversely affect your health, well-being and quality of life. In “Moral Basis for Vegetarianism,” Mahatma Gandhi was quoted […]

Ukraine has a special place in Sven Olson’s life. His last post in his 27-year military career was at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. It also was where Olson, an adjunct professor at GCU, met his wife, Iryna, and volunteered his time helping American families hoping to adopt Ukrainian children. Olson recently was part of the Ukrainian Crisis Task Force for the U.S. Department of State and started a nonprofit with his wife whose first project is to help rebuild Ukraine. But most incredible of all is how Olson regained his sight and ability to move after a scuba diving accident.

GCU News Bureau Julie Blair, Assistant Director of Academic Programs for the College of Education, knew where to go for subjects of her videos. She reached out to former colleagues in the Special Education Department of the Peoria Unified School District. The result was innovative teacher preparation courses to train Grand Canyon University students to work with K-12 students who have moderate to severe disabilities. The videos are found in each course of the program and share a “day in the life” of working in the classroom environment. Curriculum developer Lisa Tourek assisted Blair in their development. Grand Canyon University Curriculum Design and Development and Academic Web Services collaborated with Sunflower Center in Peoria on the following videos: Survey of Moderate to Severe Special Education  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4e2QbOeWYmPoXfQNPEI29nD Moderate to Severe: Professional, Ethical, and Legal Practices  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4f5d_aLk-rHl3wAPh-7487Q Assessment and Eligibility in Moderate to Severe Special Education  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4dnOjXJfYxXlkgT44Oj4IO6 Moderate to Severe: Care, Collaboration, and Communication  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4fygXY8dKD74_Kq2i8ANXLg Moderate to Severe: Instructional Planning, Strategies, and Assessment  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4dra040OfaVuZPqL_0cKSFS Moderate to Severe: Classroom Management and Behavior Analysis  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4f1VH03N9CFT0hVBGQ_36Lk Postsecondary Transitional Planning for Moderate to Severe Exceptionalities  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4c-n4aKxchIzZdykxmWhgO5 Moderate to Severe: Adaptive Communication  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4efLDr2A44b29TBPs7WZkFO Moderate to Severe: Methods of Teaching Functional Mathematics and Science  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUILpQb1wc4dOmnxI3WZEoOsagUC0gH1U Moderate to Severe: Methods […]

It was more of a giant leap than a small step for the STELLAR research team, which in its first year launched its first project, a microbial fuel cell, into space. The battery, which harnesses the power of a bacteria called shewanella to turn waste into energy, has been on the International Space Station since April 27. The STELLAR team has been busy on Earth receiving and analyzing data so it can improve the fuel cell while it prepares for the next step: to take the battery to underdeveloped communities on mission trips.

When the grueling fourth installment of the Army Combat Fitness Test was rolled out, Maj. Troy Merkle, the officer in charge of GCU’s Army ROTC, connected with Exercise Science faculty to help cadets improve their fitness even more. Exercise Science adjunct professor Anthony Acevedo answered the call, assessing cadets’ fitness and nutrition levels, meeting with squad leaders to improve workouts and more. But the heavy lifting begins this fall as faculty develop a tactical athlete certification course for ROTC cadets. “We’re using science to advance their training,” said Acevedo.

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau The Foster Care Summit on Thursday at Grand Canyon University offered networking among child welfare professionals in Arizona to find and share resources for their important work. Arizona first lady Angela Ducey and Director of Arizona Department of Child Safety Mike Faust joined GCU leaders, such as Dr. Sherman Elliott, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), and Dr. Kathleen Downey, Assistant Dean of Behavioral Health in CHSS, in leading the group toward solutions to challenges of children in foster care. GCU faculty and alumni were well represented, including Dr. Carlton Huff, Makisha Gunty and Dr. Julie Orme of CHSS, and 1976 alum Dr. Carlian Dawson, a board member of the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation.

A diverse group of child welfare professionals from across Arizona tackled goals to improve foster care in Arizona on Thursday at the Foster Care Summit at GCU. Arizona first lady Angela Ducey and Director of the Department of Child Safety Mike Faust challenged the group, with representatives from nonprofits, churches and government agencies, to place more children with kin. ““The state does not make good parents,” Ducey said.

Director of Public Safety Michael Caputo found great value in the FBI’s National Command Course, which he attended earlier this month. Caputo joined dozens of other chief executives of small agencies (50 or fewer officers) from around the country in discussing best practices and current trends, especially mental health issues. “It was neat for me to go into the training side and go back and be a student,” he said.  

She was in third grade, and all her immigrant parents wanted for her someday was a job out of the heat. But after Erika Delgado Valadez and her 83 classmates at an Avondale elementary school were promised a full scholarship by the Rosztoczy Foundation, the dreams became bigger. Valadez and four others in that class 10 years ago are living out their dreams at GCU. After the foundation looked at the results of the scholarship on the class, it announced more promises to third graders in Phoenix and put Erika and the program in the national spotlight.