GCU TODAY • 1 1
“Sounds to me you’re ready to say yes to this,” Brent Richardson said
to him.
Mueller recognized a unique opportunity for a private Christian
university with an investment model of funding. Grand Canyon was
positioned to offer a faith-based college education at low cost to students
and no expense to taxpayers while providing a reasonable return to
investors. The Richardsons had saved the school, and now he could be
the architect of its renaissance, with a goal of building the “city on a
hill” of which Christ spoke in the Sermon on the Mount.
This was more than higher education for him. This was a higher
calling.
“I now understood God’s purpose for my life,” Mueller says.
He joined GCU as its CEO in July of 2008, bringing with him Meyer
as chief operating officer and Dan Bachus as chief financial officer. An
initial public offering in November by Grand Canyon University Inc. —
traded on the Nasdaq exchange as LOPE — resulted in an infusion of
$230 million.
“The IPO was the smartest thing,” Maxson says. “It got us square
(financially) and gave us extra money to keep going.”
A dizzying, five-year transformation of campus was under way. The
funds enabled a massive renovation and expansion, ushering in new
classroom buildings and labs, residence halls, a food court, a Student
Recreation Center and GCU Arena. The arts program was restored, and
athletics began a transition to NCAA Division I. Community outreach
efforts intensified.
“Brian came in gently,” Baker recalls. “He didn’t puff himself up. He
was a work-ethic guy who got to know the people and the operation.”
Mueller says the biggest challenge was “putting in place what was
necessary to scale this in a high-quality way,” along with convincing the
Christian community of the merits of the investment-supported model.
For two years, he says, the work was “very, very hard.”
Those who had been along for the entire ride, who had been through so
many twists and turns, could only marvel at what was happening. Many of
them saw God’s hand on the wheel. How else to explain such a miracle?
“When Brian was brought on, that was the true birth of the Grand
Canyon we have now,” Helfers says, “and the rebirth of us as a Christian
university. It put us back on the path that I know the board of trustees
wanted when we went for-profit in the first place. This is a grand
experiment in what it means to be a for-profit, Christian institution.
“Now I can say I know why I was supposed to stay here. What energizes
me is the way we are putting together lives of faith and learning.”
Roat, who was first attracted to the school for its Christian heritage,
says she never considered in 2004 that GCU might fail.
“When I knew there would still be a Christian focus, I trusted,” she
says. “I’m glad I stuck it out. I believe in the University. If anything, the
Christian and community focuses have improved.
“I feel like I belong to a family here.”
2014 and beyond
What will the next 10 years hold for a healthy Grand Canyon University,
the little school that refused to die?
Mueller, 60, now GCU’s president as well as its CEO, is thinking
about that — and plans to be around for it. Technology programs are
ready to launch in the fall, engineering programs next year. A campus
in Mesa also will open in 2015. A K-12 partnership that already includes
nearby Alhambra and Maryvale high schools is seen as part of an
economic catalyst for west Phoenix.
By 2025, GCU could have 30,000 traditional students between its Phoenix
andMesa campuses, plus an additional 100,000 (mostly postgraduates)
studying online.
“This is mission-oriented,” Mueller says of the road ahead. “I could get
offered the job to coach the New York Knicks or UCLA Bruins, and I’d turn it
down. This is exactly what I want to do.”
Stafford, who had an up-close view of the worst of times, likes what he sees
fromGCU and says the school’s heartbeat, faint for so long, is now strong.
“I’m extraordinarily proud of all the things that have made Grand Canyon
what it is today,” he says. “BrianMueller is a wonderful leader. I’m thankful
to God that Grand Canyon is alive and well and meeting the needs of the
community as only it can do.”
Then and Now. . .
2007
2014
This view of GCU’s main entrance, at Camelback Road and 33rd Avenue,
has changed dramatically in only seven years.
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from gcu archives
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photo by darryl webb
