Recent News

After he won the Mr. GCU talent competition in February, Jard Cassell spoke for a lot of people when he said of the fall semester, “I’m looking forward to seeing faces again. Faces at GCU are so warm and welcoming.” Indeed, it is a universal hope and dream that masks will no longer be necessary when the students return in late August. But there are plenty of other things to look forward to as well. Reprinted from the April issue of GCU Magazine.

How people communicate has changed drastically over the past several years, and anyone with a mobile phone knows just how crazy that can get. GCU will equip students for those continued changes with six new programs of study. New bachelor’s programs in Social Media and Professional Writing and three new Communications emphases will launch in the fall and highlight the ethics, civility and judgment in media and communications that are sorely needed these days.

The Masters Tournament made it a big weekend in the golf world, but every weekend is big at GCU Golf Course. The reputation of the facility GCU completely redid in 2014 continues to rise along with the amount of use it’s getting thanks to its affordability and playability. And not only is the course a boost for west Phoenix — the Lope House restaurant also is open to the community.

Before seniors Morgan McCall, Ryan Ardelt and Alex Cavanaugh walk the Commencement stage later this month, the trio of friends had one more project up their sleeves. What started as an original submission to a 24-hour playwriting festival was adapted to an audio broadcast performance scheduled to premiere at 7 p.m. today. “It feels like coming home,” said McCall, the director. “It’s all amounted to this. All of us have worked really hard in this program, and our friendship has led up to this moment and all of our skills have led up to this moment.”

It’s hard to tell who got more out of this week’s Colangelo College of Business event that brought together nearly 300 students and eight members of the Sports Business Advisory Board. The students got a ton of questions answered, and the advisors got to see their possible future employees in action. “I was super impressed with the questions the students asked,” said one of those board members, Tami Nealy.

Taylor White, a trip leader for GCU’s Outdoor Recreation Program and aspiring athletic trainer, always was looking for the next adventure. He lived life big and bold. He lived life to the fullest. But that adventurous spirit was extinguished when White was struck by an SUV and killed while on a nighttime jog with a friend on April 8, 2018, just three weeks before he was to marry fellow GCU student Sarah Tedeschi. Three years later, to the day, the Phoenix Police Department announced that two suspects were arrested in the hit-and-run case — suspects that Taylor’s parents, Angela and Nate, have chosen to forgive while also seeking justice for their son. “We have to (forgive), for the good of ourselves,” said Nate, “because we cannot hold that.”

When Will Gonzalez hears others say about another person, “Oh well, that’s their lot in life. That’s what they are,” he disagrees wholeheartedly. “I think you can intercept people at different points in their lives,” he said. “I think there is the potential for redeeming.” It’s what makes the city of Phoenix prosecutor so passionate about his work in the community, particularly in schools. His work has included everything from presenting teen dating violence programs to advocating for restorative justice in public schools and bringing a $3.6 million Boys & Girls Club to one campus. It’s also why Gonzalez, a GCU alumni and Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, was recently named the Phoenix Union High School District Alumni of the Year.

Kent Hughes wanted to make his silver anniversary special, but wife Liz’s chronic lung disease and a global pandemic were determined to cast a shadow over the whole affair. That is, until he spoke with his wife’s support team at Hospice of the Valley, which got in touch with DreamCatchers GCU. DreamCatchers member Jayden Orr said, “‘Yeah. That is something we can make happen,’” and they did.

The pools are open. The hammocks are spread out. The lawns are green. And GCU students have a laptop they can take anywhere on the pleasant campus to do the final two weeks of instruction online. Many opted to stay instead of leaving for home early to finish the semester — as of Monday only one in 10 had moved out.

When community partner CityServe called to see if GCU could distribute two truckloads of Farmers to Families Food Boxes on Good Friday, “I knew there was only one answer to give. I mean, you don’t say no. This is your opportunity to say yes,” said Community Relations Director Debbie Accomazzo. The University rallied and found homes for approximately 2,300 boxes of food, just in time for Easter weekend.