Online Life

It all began with Mark Glazier and his seven-foot Santa Thunder. The Tempe enrollment manager sent us a photo of the custom-made Antlered One in a Santa suit, standing sentry at his desk, and wondered if we would post it on GCU Today. We did last week, inviting others to send photos of their Christmas-themed work stations. The good news: We heard from several people. The bad news: The cell-phone shots weren’t so hot. So on Wednesday afternoon, we took a field trip to Tempe and Peoria to see for ourselves what the season hath wrought.

Employees at GCU’s Peoria offices received a surprise visit Friday afternoon from a pair of standup comedians, Robert Wagner and Floyd Haas. The occasion was a team-building exercise organized by Regional Director of Operations Reggie Alfonso. “We wanted to change it up,” said Alfonso, who was seeking a departure from the usual activities such as flag football, potlucks and games.

GC+You is a weekly blog contributed by GCU Dean of Students Tim Griffin and Student Development Director John-Paul Reiger. This week they hand over the duties to ASGCU Multicultural Director Matt Muchna.

Grand Canyon University has learned of a marketing scam. The scam is targeting financial institution websites and .edu websites; it claims that your privacy has been breached at Epsilon Corporation. A virus on your computer detects you are logging into GCU.edu (or other financial and/or academic institutions’ websites) and a pop-up window, designed to look as though it is from the bank, directs you to a non-American Savings Bank website. It asks you to click through to a site purporting to offer a “free” credit report.

Although Brooklyn-born Deborah Lynn Lovell has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), it took her years to admit it. Her mission in life now is to help people avoid making the same mistakes. She is now following another dream — earning a college degree. She enrolled in the Communications program at Grand Canyon University.

By Doug Carroll Communications Staff A completely redesigned website for Grand Canyon University is less than a month from being up and running. The new-and-improved www.gcu.edu, in the works for most of a year, officially will debut during the week of June 27, according to Senior Marketing Manager Suzanne Lyons. An extensive review of the site will take place during the week of June 13. “We’ve constructed this website in such a way that it can grow with the University,” Lyons says. “I think people will like the way it has integrated our online, campus and prospective students. There will definitely be a sense of community.” Visitors to the site will notice dramatically improved navigation, and the site’s flexibility will allow changes to be made swiftly. Components such as photo slideshows and video will be much more prominent. The site also will emphasize Search Engine Optimization (SEO), to help with marketing to prospective students. “We looked inside and outside the education space at what made a good website, and we also responded to what our internal staff said they wanted,” Lyons says. “We asked, ‘What would be the student’s expectations when they came to our site?’” Community outreach efforts such […]

For many, Memorial Day is just another holiday. A day to barbecue, hang out at the pool and enjoy not having to be at work. But for those who have served in the armed forces, the day means something else.
GCU has a variety of active and veteran military students taking classes on campus and online. For two online master’s students, husband and wife Chris and Janice Voeller of Kansas, Memorial Day has a special meaning that only those who have put their lives on the line could possibly understand.

Online learning is a unique experience. Online students do not have the chance to hang out in the hallway before class. They do not get lunch in the cafeteria. They do not get to play volleyball on the sand courts by the pool. A group of online students wanted a deeper connection with Grand Canyon University despite never setting foot on its campus. How have they done it? Facebook, of course.

Grand Canyon University gave a rousing sendoff Friday afternoon to the Class of 2011 and to Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, in the final Commencement to be held at the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. With the opening of the 5,000-seat Arena in September, Commencement will be on campus next spring. An estimated 2,200 degree candidates participated Friday in the ceremony at the baseball stadium, which hosted GCU for the third consecutive year. The University conferred more than 8,000 degrees, and those included the first members of its College of Doctoral Studies.

The February 2011 issue of FYP is now available on campus and online. Get your copy at locations around Grand Canyon University.