2 0 • GCU TODAY
S
ervant leadership. Ethics.
Entrepreneurship. Dr. Randy
Gibb recites those principles
slowly, carefully, with
passion and intensity. They
are his ideals. They are Jerry
Colangelo’s. And their goal is to instill them
in the Colangelo College of Business at Grand
Canyon University.
It has been five months since Gibb took over
as dean of the college, two since Colangelo’s
highly influential name was added to the signs
on Building 35. The energy with which Gibb, a
former Air Force colonel, has attacked his new
role has been evident in a multitude of ways,
beginning with the Fall Tipoff event, which drew
more than half of the fast growing college’s 2,001
students to GCU Arena for a sneak preview of his
enthusiasm, a chance to explore internships and
other ways to get involved.
“The energy there really excited me,” said
Dylan Ju, an entrepreneurial studies freshman.
The energy of the students has done the
same for Gibb, who spent 26 years training Air
Force pilots to be leaders. “I’m really impressed
with their entrepreneurialism and how socially
aware they are,” he said.
The news cycle out of CCOB this fall has
been a steady stream of major initiatives:
Interns for Entrepreneurs and Seed Spot.
“Conscious Capitalism.” Colangelo Scholars.
The GCU Shark Tank. Master’s degree in
sports business and bachelor’s degrees in
hospitality management, golf management
and business information systems are being
developed.
“I’ve been known to be a person who’s a
dreamer,” Colangelo said.
His impression of what’s happening in
CCOB and, on a broader level, GCU is similar.
“They’re dreaming big.”
Gold standards
“His biggest influence is simply the
person he is and how he’s conducted
his business his whole life. It’s
extremely relevant to everything
we’re doing. There’s an overarching
ethical component to everything that’s
going on.”
—Dr. Brian Smith, director, Colangelo School
of Sports Business, on Jerry Colangelo
Newly renamed college
invests in an enterprising
approach to learning
Business
B Y R I C K V A C E K
David LaJeunesse, flanked by
Colangelo College of Business
Dean Dr. Randy Gibb (left) and
Phoenix icon Jerry Colangelo,
displays his OverflowBottle, a
startup he created to provide
funds for new sources of
water in Africa.
photo by darryl webb
not as usual
