GCU TODAY • 2 1
What students
are saying about
the Colangelo
College of Business
“It has set me up incredibly well
in that my mindset going into the
business world is going
to be spot on.”
AustinWalker, senior
“All my professors have been
very helpful. I can’t imagine
it’s that way elsewhere.”
Karinna Rotter, sophomore
“They helped me get my resumé
together and gave me interview
tips, down to what I should wear.”
Bri Johnson, senior
“Colangelo is quite a risk-
taker, and leadership skills and
communication are part of that.”
Kirby Kwok, senior
“A lot of things are geared toward
STEM. It’s not a traditional business
school. It’s more innovative.”
Chelsea Evans, freshman
The highlight of the CCOB school year
thus far was the Sept. 25 event in the Student
Union to celebrate the renaming of the college
under the Colangelo banner and announce
that two scholarships to the college will be
awarded every year in his name. It was nothing
short of a coronation, but make no mistake:
With his servant leadership background,
Colangelo will make sure his CCOB students
are treated like royalty.
“We want to become a new kind of business
school,” Gibb said, “and Mr. Colangelo wants
to be fully involved. …We’re going to have
the gold standard in everything we do, from
how faculty treat our students to instruction to
even picking up litter — all the details.”
He takes that litter-ally. As he’s walking to
his office, Gibb picks up a piece of trash near
the Quad. Gold standards are gold standards.
Sophomore David LaJeunesse has noticed
the way those standards are applied to
everyday teaching. “I really like the emphasis
on servant leadership, and I like the way they
incorporate Christ into what they do in the
classroom,” LaJeunesse said. “I think it’s cool
to be part of that.”
‘Conscious Capitalism’
“Conscious businesses will help
evolve our culture and social systems
so that billions of people can flourish,
leading lives infused with passion,
purpose, love and creativity (in) a
world of freedom, harmony, prosperity
and compassion.”
— From the “Conscious Capitalism” credo
At the core of what Gibb is trying to
accomplish is a book that he wants every
CCOB faculty member and student to read.
“Conscious Capitalism,” which promotes an
ethical approach to what it calls “the most
successful form of human social cooperation
ever created,” is what Gibb considers “just the
right way to do business.
“The whole point is that business is good
and provides values for society, and we want
all of our graduates to learn here to serve with
a higher purpose, which aligns with the values
of the University,” he said.
But the CCOB emphasis on ethics extends
to studying how business is conducted in the
world around us, as demonstrated one fall day
in an Introduction to Sports Business class.
The topic was the controversy surrounding the
handing by National Football League officials
of domestic violence cases.
Students’ critical-thinking skills were
challenged as they discussed the core values
involved in the league’s decisions, and instead of a
textbook—obviously not applicable in the case of
such a current event — they studied three articles
published two days earlier and culled by Smith.
“We’re not feeding you material that’s 20
years old. Here’s something that happened
this morning, and we’re talking about it this
afternoon,” he said.
Sold on entrepreneurship
“Meeting with Randy has been
awesome. The minute Randy stepped
on the job it was game time. … That
spirit of GCU really shows through.
I think of it as more than a university.
It’s more like an entrepreneur.”
—Courtney Klein, co-founder and CEO,
Seed Spot
CCOB’s partnership with Seed Spot, part
of the “Interns for Entrepreneurs” program, is
designed to provide affordable help for startups
as well as valuable experience for students. A
group of students visited the Seed Spot office
in October for “Venture Friday,” in which
entrepreneurs being trained by the Phoenix
business incubator delivered three-minute
presentations. Gibb’s goal is to place 250 student
interns in businesses of all kinds by next summer.
LaJeunesse is a prime example of how the
entrepreneurial spirit is intertwined with
servant leadership at GCU. The Christian
studies and finance/economics double major
has launched his own startup, Overflow
Bottles, to provide the funds for new sources of
water in Africa.
GCU President/CEO Brian Mueller loved
the idea so much he said he would arrange
to have the bottles placed in the campus
bookstore. Gibb had a front-row seat for
LaJeunesse’s presentation at the GCU Shark
Tank, a monthly gathering modeled after the
TV show of a similar name that is designed
to let students see how their entrepreneurial
ideas are received by an audience.
“I think there’s an exciting vibe here on
campus and in CCOB,” Gibb said. “And I think
students want to be part of it, to be part of this
Christian-based, conscious capitalistic and
entrepreneurial spirit in everything we do.”
Game time, with passion and intensity.
