College of Doctoral Studies

This week’s Antelope Intros features two GCU graduates with diverse backgrounds. One was born overseas and loves the sports teams from another West Coast city, the other loves sci-fi and showed it with the skill she taught her little sister.

Joy Patrick-Akpan, a doctoral learner from Lagos, Nigeria, had flown for 37 hours on her first trip to the United States for the recent residency, but you’d never know it by the way she carried herself. You understand why when you hear about the challenges she overcomes daily to do her doctoral work.

By Darryl Webb GCU News Bureau  

By GCU News Bureau In the cool, crisp minutes before Friday’s commencement at Grand Canyon University, Dr. Michael Berger joked that he’d seen a range of reactions to the suddenly stormy and briefly rainy skies. The locals were the ones bundled up under sweaters and jackets. Out-of-towners didn’t seem to feel the chill in the 60-something-degree air. Still, the rain was minimal, the puddles puny, and anyone unfamiliar with April in the Valley of the Sun had to marvel at how the crystal-clear weather blended with the ceremony message about new opportunities and wide-open futures for GCU’s 560 morning graduates. Their degrees were conferred in the Colangelo College of Business and the College of Doctoral Studies, and most completed their degrees entirely online. Berger, dean of GCU’s College of Doctoral Studies, is a concierge and guest-greeter each year at commencement, actively intercepting anyone he can to route them to tickets, entrances, restrooms or whatever they might need before he has to “step away and do the dean thing” with other University leaders at the ceremony. He is one of hundreds of GCU volunteers who make commencement a warm and inviting atmosphere for locals and visitors alike. Spotting the College of Doctoral Studies regalia in the crowd, Berger introduced himself to learners whom he might have known […]

As part of its Homecoming/Canyon Day festivities, GCU will induct eight new members into its Alumni Hall of Fame during a ceremony Saturday on campus. The alumni, who were selected from each of the University’s colleges and athletics department, have dedicated their lives to helping others through education, nursing, counseling, science, coaching and the law, while reflecting GCU’s spirit and Christian ideals. Saturday’s ceremony, at 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union, second floor, is open to the GCU community and their guests and also will be live streamed here. GCU Today has a story about the inductees and what makes them tick.

Eric Gabriel, one of the online learners who will be honored on campus this weekend, has turned losing his right leg into an opportunity to show others how to attack such a life-changing event. He has done so with humor and no-quit attitude, as demonstrated in this GCU Today story.

Saturday’s celebration of the eight newest members of the GCU Alumni Hall of Fame featured passionate speeches, none more emotional than that of Michael Kary, who teaches in the College of Fine Arts and Production. But all eight had something important to say.

By GCU News Bureau Grand Canyon University will award a $10,000 scholarship to an online student in a drawing during Online Student Night on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Phoenix campus. GCU is inviting all online students to a 5 p.m. reception at the Antelope Reception Center before the men’s basketball game vs. New Mexico State. Students will have an opportunity to mingle with fellow online learners and meet with the online faculty members, enrollment counselors and student service advisers (SSA) they deal with on a routine basis via computer or telephone. “That will be the best part about this event,” said Brian Mueller, GCU’s CEO/president. “The SSAs and enrollment counselors often become part of these students’ daily lives with their support and encouragement. Those relationships are what set our online experience apart from so many other schools.” All online students and their families will get free admission to the game, and three online students will share their stories of perseverance and determination during the reception and will  be recognized during the game: ● Gary Skinner, who is blind, has shown his determination in his quest to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Skinner is on course to graduate this spring and plans to pursue a master’s degree […]

Grand Canyon University’s non-traditional commencement ceremony returned to campus and to the more spacious GCU Arena on Saturday. The extra seats were a blessing as family members and friends of nearly 1,900 online students for morning and afternoon ceremonies.

Grand Canyon University is in the process of updating how its Public Safety force responds to emergencies and how the campus community is alerted to potential threats.