Academics

Assistant Professor Katy Sell of the College of Education has found Arizona to be magnetic — her family moved out of the state three times during her childhood but kept coming back. She also looks for ways to make her teaching magnetic with an informal style designed to keep students engaged.

Dr. Randall Downs loves music, so it’s easy to see why he loves his role as Worship Arts Coordinator for the College of Theology. He has been a worship pastor for more than two decades and also plays in a folk group. And then there’s the hobby that he finds entertaining.

Marcie Burger’s love of technology has made her a natural fit for the Online Full Time Faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She strives to make the online classroom as much like a traditional classroom as possible, and she also has a passion for helping those in need become more balanced, self-confident and independent.

Alison King, Assistant Professor in the College of Fine Arts and Production, says she’s an introvert, but she has a lot to say about a lot of things — especially history and Southwest architecture. And she certainly applies that energy to teaching. “I tap into emotion to make ideas stick and encourage people to care,” she writes. “I’m told my enthusiasm is infectious.”

Dr. Valerie De La Torre, Instructor of Theology for Grand Canyon Theological Seminary, is a Grand Canyon alumna and is thrilled to be back on campus in an online teaching capacity. She loves it when students get a concept, and check out her little secret about Ethington Theatre.

College of Science, Engineering and Technology Assistant Dean Dr. Jon Valla and Sciences Program Director Dr. Bina Vanmali knew their college needed a course that honed students’ critical thinking and analysis skills. So they tasked the faculty with doing just that. More than a dozen faculty from across disciplines, led by Andrea Strock and Dr. Brian Sillanpaa, went into think-tank mode and redesigned Science 150. About 1,000 prehealth and forensic science students took the hands-on, project-based course in the fall. The neat thing about SCI-150? It teaches science concepts through music-based projects, including students building their own musical instruments and Rube Goldberg machines.

Dr. Stephanie Nilsen, Assistant Professor in the College of Education, has a doctorate in Infant and Early Childhood Development with an emphasis in Mental Health and Developmental Disorders and says she is “a firm believer in social and emotional approaches to education that take into account trauma, mental health and exceptionalities.” But she also is a skilled musician — check out how many instruments she can play.

Dr. Kathy Archer, Associate Professor of Economics in the Colangelo College of Business, has an interesting take on the role of economics in our lives. It’s one of the many things she is curious about, which is what makes her online classroom so vibrant. One thing that has a lot to do with it: where she spent her high school years.

One of the most high-profile faculty members of the College of Fine Arts and Production is Michael Kary, mainly for his considerable teaching ability. But Kary also is well known to audiences around the Valley for his work as an actor. Find out more about what drives him to perform.

Great writing can change the world. Students Kyla Hansen and Jen Gutierrez didn’t know how much until they plunged into GCU’s new opportunities in grant writing. They were new to it but helped the Glendale Union High School District land a grant that could change the lives of underprivileged students.