College of Education

On Saturday, GCU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences is hosting its first annual conference to help students prepare for the National Evaluation Series (NES), an exam Arizona students are required to pass before student teaching and to receive the required certification to teach.

Photos by Darryl Webb GCU News Bureau Moments of triumph and delight highlighted fall commencement exercises Saturday morning at Grand Canyon University Arena.      

“Of Thee I Sing,” the musical political satire that opens tonight at Ethington Theatre, gives the audience a delightful reason to laugh out loud at a fictional presidential campaign. The delight comes in all forms, from the visual spectacle of 1930s-era costumes, a stage filled with stars and stripes, humor ranging from subtle to slapstick, singing that is at once beautiful and hummable and cast full of actors who clearly enjoy the art of comedy.

Wayne Purdin is lead curriculum editor at GCU during the week, but on Saturdays he has a different assignment: He and his wife, Julie, offer their views on Christianity in their “God and Country” radio show on KFNX (1100 AM). “We’re all looking for answers,” he said. “Whatever the religion or politics, it seems like God is missing and we need to get back to our roots.”

Pantheon Enterprises’ co-founder and CEO Laura Roberts’ message to Grand Canyon University’s Colangelo College of Business students Wednesday was widely applicable for future business professionals: Learn. Think critically. Understand. Act. And, if necessary, rebel.

GCU’s Project Management Club and business students are collaborating to host what may be the largest TEDx program ever held in Arizona. The all-day TEDx event, scheduled for March 1 at GCU Arena, will feature short, powerful talks on a almost any topic. ” I have no doubt we will fill the Arena for the local program,” said business student Jedidiah Woods.

An event-packed celebration with tours, soccer games, outdoor movies, bowling, chapel, a nine-hole golf tournament, fun run and hugs — that’s just part of the fun at Family Weekend, scheduled Oct. 7-9. “It’s a great time of year, and students have been on campus long enough to have gained their footing. The time is right for a weekend visit with their parents, their families,” said Jeanne Lind, Parent and Family Programs Coordinator for GCU Office of Student Engagement.

Larry Hinkle, a former United States Marine, stopped by campus Wednesday during the cross-country walk he’s doing to raise money and awareness for fellow veterans. He was extremely impressed by GCU’s Veterans Center. “My eyes have been opened here. I never knew this type of place existed,” he said while visiting with students.

The first “Lunch and Learn” of the Integration of Faith, Learning and Work speaker series featured a discussion about what it means to not live by bread alone. Dr. Moronke Oke of the Colangelo College of Business stressed the importance of putting purpose, principles and people at the top of our pyramid, and Joshua Danaher of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences talked about being authentic in our daily thoughts and actions.

The Integration of Faith, Learning and Work is an important part of the classroom experience at GCU, and this year the faculty is having more input than ever into the program. The goal, of course, is to benefit students, and Dr. Jason Hiles, dean of the College of Theology, is confident that will be the result of his decision to form a faculty task force to help him plan and execute the program. Members of the task force already are seeing the benefits.