Academics

Dr. Enrique Lopezlira, Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance in the Colangelo College of Business, teaches a subject that always has great relevance in our everyday life and is even more front-and-center during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is fascinated about how, in his words, “the economic way of thinking continues to improve our understanding of human behavior.”

Dr. Christian Wilder, an Online Full Time Faculty member for the College of Theology, has an innovative way of making online students feel more connected to the campus. He also some interesting thoughts about the Old Testament.

Spring break wasn’t much of a break for the GCU faculty, which had to transition ground classes to an online environment after the COVID-19 outbreak forced University officials to close much of the campus. But the hard work paid off. Instructors reported a seamless transition on the first day of classes Monday.

GCU was ready for this. After ground students were sent home to finish their studies at home because of the COVID-19 outbreak, leaders and faculty kicked into high gear by sharing its vast storehouse of expertise on online learning to insure a seamless transition as online instruction begins today. “GCU has been at the forefront in its investment in technology. We are at a time when that investment allows us to function, quite literally,” said Dr. Seanan Kelly, assistant professor in the College of Doctoral Studies and an expert in online instruction.

Dr. Mark Spalding, Spanish Program Faculty Lead for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has some innovative and engaging ways of teaching the language — so engaging, in fact, that some of them have gotten married after bonding in his class.

There’s a simple reason why GCU’s online student population has grown to more than 80,000: It also has 182 full-time instructors that make those students feel connected to the University. Reprinted from the February issue of GCU Magazine.

In these trying times, it’s important to remember how talented GCU students are. Check out the photos sophomore Rylie Mayo took at the recent Innings Festival in Tempe.

Pascale Lee, Lead Faculty, B.S. in Health Care Administration for the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, like to keep it real for Health Care Administration students by using real-world scenarios in her classes. But she has a lot of other things going on, too: She’s a mom, she loves dogs and, away from campus, she works with youths who are struggling with drug addiction.

Dr. Charlotte Wheeless’s journey to receiving her doctoral degree had it’s fair share of obstacles, one of which included the unexpected loss of her husband Gene just three months after her first residency. Yet she decided to persevere and since graduating in October has advanced in her career at Williams Baptist University from assistant professor to associate professor and was granted endowment for her chair position as well.

Dr. Jason Ward, Faculty Manager for the College of Doctoral Studies, knows his way around the world — and around its languages, too. Check out how many continents, countries and states he has visited and how many languages he has studied. He also has a long list of scholarly presentations. But the key to his classroom presence, he says, is humor.