Campus Life

Whether you packed on too many pounds for the holidays or just want to get healthier, Canyon 49 Grill has got you covered. On Monday, the restaurant will introduce some new menu items that should fit right in with those goals for the new year, including the addition to the menu of Chuck’s Corner, named after Corporate Wellness Administrator Chuck Howard. Howard and Canyon 49 Sous Chef Mike Willison teach the Healthy Cooking class once a month for employees, students and GCU Hotel guests, and some class favorites are on the menu.

The second decade of the new millennium has come to an end, and it was a big decade of explosive grown for Grand Canyon University — not that the University isn’t continuing to evolve. The new decade begins with the opening of the new five-story Student Advising Services Building, the largest post-tension structure on campus, along with the introduction of the Herd Stop mini-mart on the first floor of the Antelope Apartments. The semester also will see the return of the usual suspects, from TEDxGCU to Mr. GCU, the College of Fine Arts and Production’s presentation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” and, of course, men’s basketball at the WAC tournament. Here’s a look of what’s coming up this first semester of 2020.

Every year, we get a few heartwarming stories that make you shake your head when you realize what people do to make the world a better place for their families and their communities. GCU Today picked 10 from the last year that stood out in our minds. Here’s an opportunity to catch up on the ones you missed … or maybe enjoy them again.

The spring semester schedule of Chapel speakers has three interesting new names, two of them from Phoenix. But there also are several returnees who have commanded the attention of the Chapel audience when they’ve come to campus before.

Thanks to a $3.2 million grant from the Kern Family Foundation, GCU is instituting a new pastoral program that will make it possible to obtain Bachelor of Arts and Master of Divinity degrees in just five years — with the fifth year tuition free. Reprinted from the November issue of GCU Magazine.

GCU News Bureau A festive time was had by all at Saturday’s employee Christmas party. Carolers made a joyful noise. Christmas cookie decorating kept up the spirit of the young ones. Bounce houses abounded, along with train rides, plenty of food and an evening of basketball. ‘Twas resplendent. Here are a few images below of the event, provided by photographer David Kadlubowski.  

Frosty, Rudolph and “Stranger Things” Demogorgons? They’re all part of a blizzard of Christmas decorations on campus, particularly at Building 71, which always keeps the season merry and bright — and spirited. As it has the past few years, the Curriculum Design and Development and Academic Web Services departments led the way with its annual Christmas decorating contest. “It’s just a fun way to sort of bond with your team and build that camaraderie — and to have that creative outlet,” said curriculum developer Jason Brown.

Zane Courtney, the student speaker at the Friday evening session of Winter Commencement, had a straightforward message: The Department of Digital Film Production, like GCU, is all about collaboration. “In GCU’s culture, there’s this unsaid bond between every Lope,” he said.

Mary Van Vleck, the student speaker for the Winter Commencement ceremony Friday afternoon at GCU, remained under the radar in the Worship Arts program for a while. But then her peers and professors saw her talent and attitude and the love she brought to the Recording Studio.

The campus food scene added another student-run business when Canyon Pizza Co. opened for the fall semester. It is managed by Melanie Schissel, who has worked at GCU since graduating from the University in 2017. “GCU has been such a huge blessing in my life,” she said. Reprinted from the November issue of GCU Magazine.