College of Nursing & Health Care Professions

GCU News Bureau They came, they saw, they conquered. And, they gave a Lopes Up or two during their four-year academic journey at Grand Canyon University. Now they’re leaving the nest and moving on to their next steps as they graduate (some 30,000 of them) in 11 ceremonies over six days. Here is how traditional ground students, whose Commencement ceremonies were Thursday and Friday at GCU Arena, commemorated the big day on social media. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kris Gesink (@kgesink77) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Makenzie Meier (@mak.meier) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Garrett Firth (@garrett_firth) View this post on Instagram A post shared by GCU SIS Scholarship (@gcusisscholarship) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Christian Diaz (@iam.cmd3) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ms. Michelle ?? (@_chxlle_) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Garrison Godard (@garrisongodard) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maria Sparling (@mama_sparling) View this post on Instagram A post shared by vincent king ? (@vincentkinng) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dodge_Vader98 (@dodge_vader98) View this post on […]

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau The Friday evening ceremony of Spring Commencement at Grand Canyon University featured traditional students in the College of Arts and Media, the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. The crowd was so enthusiastic, it did the wave beforehand. Here’s a replay of the ceremony.  

Photos by Rick D’Elia GCU News Bureau The Friday morning ceremony in Spring Commencement at Grand Canyon University awarded bachelor’s degrees to traditional students. Here’s a replay of the ceremony.  

“Human Flourishing: Embracing Our Purpose,” the One Foundation topic for the 2021-22 academic year, sparked six deep discussions among GCU faculty. What made it even more interesting was the way they perceive flourishing amid all the problems in today’s world. “I think people were really playing off of that and thinking about the way students are processing that amount of change in a short amount of time. You can hear it,” said Dr. Jason Hiles, Dean of the College of Theology.

Teachers have a lot on their plate. They’re challenged not just by teaching Shakespeare and algebra, but by students’ behavioral problems, their social-emotional concerns and more. So even before the pandemic, schools could not find enough educators to fill their classrooms. Same for hospitals, which cannot find enough nurses to meet the need as the industry anticipates the retirement of a “silver tsunami” of nurses and serves an aging population. Those nursing and teaching shortfalls have been magnified over the past two years by the global pandemic. But instead of throwing up its hands in defeat, GCU got to work to try and solve those problems, from arranging emergency certifications for students to be substitute teachers, to helping working professionals earn an alternative route to teaching, to building the University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to move students into the nursing pipeline faster. Reprinted from the April issue of GCU Magazine.

Thousands of alumni, students, families and friends came to campus to participate in the University’s first in-person Homecoming Family Weekend since before the pandemic. There was no shortage of excitement as fan favorites returned and new events popped up. “This is the Disneyland of campuses. We really just enjoy coming out here,” said Warren Thompson, who came to campus with his family to visit daughter Bella. “It’s been great to connect and see some other students that our daughter has connected with and meet their parents. Everyone seems really down to earth.”

An action-packed weekend is upon us as this year’s Homecoming Family Weekend draws closer. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, events from Homecoming and Family Weekend will be restored to their in-person format. There is no shortage of ways to get involved on and off campus.

It started out as a simple question from one GCU student to another: “Do you want to send something into space?” Rather than just ponder the idea, they created STELLAR, which will be launching its first project, a microbial fuel cell, to the International Space Station in April. But while the team says sending projects into space is just cool, it emphasized that its passions run deeper. Ultimately, the group’s mission isn’t just a space mission but a humanitarian one, as well.

Nine months later, the Oscar Frayer bulletin still is shocking. “What? How could that happen? Not now!” was a typical response to the news that the GCU basketball star, his sister and a friend had been killed in an auto accident just days after he played in the NCAA tournament. Thankfully, 2021 was filled with happier moments, in particular the opening of the GCU CityServe warehouse, the awarding of more Students Inspiring Students scholarships, the energy of Lip Sync and other major events, and the inspiration of so many students and staff. Here are our favorite stories. They might be yours, too.

Photos by Ralph Freso GCU News Bureau The Friday afternoon ceremony of Winter Commencement at Grand Canyon University featured graduates of the Colangelo College of Business, College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, and College of Theology. Read the story about the event’s Commencement speaker here and see a slideshow below. For more Winter Commencement news, click here to view a slideshow from the Friday evening ceremony and here to read about that session’s student speaker.