College of Humanities and Social Sciences

It wasn’t a complete shock to GCU Justice Studies students this summer when racial tensions flared regarding police officer actions across the country. They had created plans to help alleviate those issues in their Community Based Strategic Planning class. More importantly, they provided solutions.

July 4 is the day Americans celebrate the nation’s independence. But how that date emerged and how we have celebrated it through the years are a series of surprises revealed by Dr. David Dean, Assistant Professor of History at GCU. He wrote a compelling summary of the holiday for GCU Today with historical peculiarities, such as what two presidents died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Mental health counseling and religious faith haven’t always been on the same page. Today, that is changing. Dr. Laurie Tone, adjunct counseling instructor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, led a webinar Thursday that described how the integration of faith and counseling can give people hope, especially in these uncertain times.

GCU students in School Counseling practicums across the country found a way to make the best of the bad situations caused by the pandemic. Facing emptied schools, they fashioned creative ways to be of service to their communities. “It reflects GCU’s mission, which is to help the best way we can,” said Angelica Corona.

Miranda Diaz was worried about her future. She was living at home with her Texas parents because of the pandemic and ready to graduate from GCU in two days. Then, the phone rang. She landed a job, thanks in part to the growing partnerships between GCU and behavioral health agency employers in Phoenix.

How students would perform in their classes during a pandemic — that was a big unknown. But now that the semester has wrapped up, GCU’s leaders were thrilled to hear how their students did. Compared to the same time last year, their course completion rates improved, meaning more students passed their courses. Also, a larger percentage of faculty members received high marks from students this year compared to last year on end-of-course surveys. Those numbers were the final measure of all the University’s distance-learning efforts, said Provost Dr. Hank Radda. “It’s sort of the piece at the end of the story, about everything we did all those weeks ago when we began the transition to online.”

Lynette Collins has brought her real-world experience to her GCU online classes in social sciences and education for 10 years. The adjunct instructor was selected as the featured teacher for April in Honored, a nonprofit that promotes excellent teaching. But you’ll also see her the latest season of “Girls Incarcerated” on Netflix. Here’s why.

Tony Barrera struggled to find a balance between his Latino heritage and American culture as he tried to answer the “Who am I?” question. But then he came to GCU and was accepted so readily by other students, he found his identity — and told his story in this “My LopeLife,” reprinted from the April issue of GCU Magazine.

There is one overarching factor in how GCU administrators and faculty are judged: Did their students get good jobs after graduation? It is the true meaning behind the University’s “Find your purpose” slogan. “It’s the passion to serve our students that our faculty and staff have,” Provost Dr. Hank Radda said, “which makes them willing to dive in, shepherd and advise students toward their ultimate career goal.”

Karisa Neels, who graduated last month, not only overcame a tough childhood to excel at GCU, she landed a rare full scholarship to New England Law. What she decided to do while there was borne of that tragedy. She wants to help victims of domestic violence.