Academics

The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions has been extending its reach beyond GCU’s west Phoenix campus. In 2020, it opened Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing sites in Sun City and Tucson and now has opened its first ABSN site outside of Arizona. Eight students are about a month into their nursing program in Sandy, Utah, about 13 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Approximately 60 teams of students on Saturday spotlighted their work at the College of Science, Engineering and Technology Research Symposium and Honors Showcase in Antelope Gymnasium. Attendees could view a wide variety of research and scholarship, everything from presentations about a phone app and tote company, to talks on a Thailand internship and serving Mexico’s underserved, to testing marigold plants for antibacterial properties and looking at the diversity of arachnid populations in Phoenix.

Students play a big role in the fifth annual Kevin McClean Research Colloquium. They planned the event and managed the presentations on the first day Wednesday, when a lot of their peers were in the Colangelo College of Business classroom. The colloquium returned to in-person after having to go virtual last year, but it will be online today for two more sessions. Among the presenters was Dr. Kelly Damron, who is doing a study on the lack of diversity in the accounting field.

In the virtual reality world, pizza CAN grow on trees, and, as it turns out, you can do a little planet-hopping via a blue-light portal — at least that’s true in the worlds created by students in Dr. Isac Artzi’s virtual reality class. Students toured visitors through the worlds and games they created at a VR showcase event Wednesday in the Technology Building. “That learning curve of knowing nothing to creating an almost fully fledged project was insane, but it was super rewarding,” said one of the students, Paige Mabbitt.

For senior Hailey Borrowdale Mendez, the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica and Ecuador for two semesters completely changed her life. In addition to improving her Spanish, her time in Costa Rica also helped strengthen her bond to God and establish a love for a country that she found so delightful, she hopes to return after graduating next spring. “I think it’s beautiful that GCU makes it a priority to have relationships with so many organizations and that they give their students the opportunity to get to know other cultures and to grow their perspective,” she said.

GCU’s Mastering Anatomy Program students typically mentor fellow GCU pre-health students in the cadaver labs. But they had the chance this summer to do something a little different when they led dissections for graduate students from Franklin Pierce University who are working toward doctoral degrees in physical therapy. Michael Bodeen, faculty lead in dissection, was excited about the collaboration and the chance to connect GCU’s students with a nearby graduate school.

Dr. Kimberly LaPrade retired as Dean of GCU’s College of Education Monday after leading it through a decade of growth, innovation and national accreditation. Now, she and husband Larry are going to sail the world for six years. Her thoughts, as always, were with her colleagues as she departed: “It’s been more than a job because of all of you.”