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By Debbie Accomazzo For GCU News Bureau “When Grand Canyon University steps up to make a difference, things happen!” Phoenix Rescue Mission Community Relationships Officer Pamela Morrison said, and now is our time to join the PRM mission in easing the burden of families in need of hope, healing and transformation. Last year, almost 18,000 people in Maricopa County were homeless — 40 percent of them in families. During a season that brings joy to so many of us here at GCU, our aim is to help spread that sense of merriment to children and families whose desires closely mirror ours … a sense of stability, the hope for prosperity and the gratification of peace in one’s heart. For the second year, GCU will support the Phoenix Rescue Mission Christmas Winter Wonderland Event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Community Solutions Center, 1801 S. 35th Ave. On this special day, the community is invited onto the PRM campus to rejoice in the season. Those who would otherwise go without celebrating Christmas due to financial strain will be greeted with a carnival-like environment where they can just have fun together. You can be part of creating […]

To call Kevin Warren accomplished might be an understatement. The GCU Athletics Hall of Famer played college basketball at an Ivy League School before transferring to GCU to finish his undergraduate degree — his 23.3 points per game average during the 1985-86 season is fourth best in GCU basketball history. He went on to become a lawyer and run his own firm and now is the only black chief operating officer in the NFL. But Warren’s accomplishments should hardly be a surprise. He is carrying on the legacy of his parents.

GCU News Bureau Grand Canyon University Theatre tells the origin story of Peter Pan in Tony Award-winning “Peter and the Starcatcher,” based on the book “Peter and the Starcatchers” by New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson and Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist Dave Barry.

“Why is There a Robot in My Operating Room?” We’re not sure why, either. But high school students found out why on Health Sciences, Engineering and Technology Day, where they learned about biomedical engineering (the reason there’s a robot in your operating room), discovered “The Unseen but SHOCKING World of Engineering,” stopped by a suture station, toured the cadaver and DNA labs and more. More than 950 high school students attended HSET Day Wednesday on the GCU campus.

Photos by Gillian Rea GCU News Bureau The Thunder Bolt shopping spree winner, Dave Argo, and his startled wife, Susan, were among the happiest members of the extended Lopes clan on Family Weekend. The campus was transformed Saturday into a dynamic display of family love, including a chance for homesick Lopes students to reconnect with their parents and siblings. Laughter, hugs, leisurely lunches and Lopes spirit ruled Family Weekend, and no amount of rain could douse the feeling. Families connected on the bowling alleys and billiards tables in Thunderground, among other events.

In this week’s Mental Health Vitamin, Dr. Deb Wade says repairing a broken marriage is not easy, but it is possible.

Dr. Rachel Velarde, associate professor of voice, grew up with world influences, considering her mom was a Chinese scholar and dad and Arabic scholar. Her recital with pianist Dr. Luis Rodriguez-Morales, whose “Love Songs Around the World” is included in the program, pays homage to the world influences that helped shape both performers. The recital is coming up Sunday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tempe and Tuesday at GCU.

GCU News Bureau A Grand Canyon University graduate has become a major part of the national sexual assault case involving Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Rachel Mitchell, chief of the Special Victims Division in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, was tabbed by Senate Republicans to question Kavanaugh and the first woman to accuse him of assault, Christine Blasey Ford, during a Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday. Mitchell spoke as the interrogator on behalf of the 11 male GOP members of the committee, while the 10 committee Democrats spoke for themselves. The hearing began Thursday morning and is scheduled to wrap up this afternoon. A USA Today story characterized Mitchell’s initial questioning as a “considerate, businesslike manner befitting an experienced career sex crimes prosecutor” in which she avoided the “barbed clashes” or “politically-laden” remarks of others on the committee. Kavanaugh has been accused by Ford of sexually assaulting Ford when they were teenagers. Since Ford came forward, allegations from two other women have emerged. Kavanaugh has denied all the accusations, according to The Associated Press. Kavanaugh is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mitchell graduated from GCU, then Grand Canyon College, before […]

We Are Messengers’ Darren Mulligan wept, he said, when he and his family left Ireland for America. They didn’t want to leave their family or their home in the countryside. But he believes this is where God wants him to be. Mulligan stopped by the GCU Recording Studio Wednesday, before his band’s appearance at GCU Arena for the Air1 Positive Hits tour, to talk to Worship Arts students about his hard-living days, his return to church, his family and his songwriting process.

Collecting things — baseball cards, Beanie Babies, stamps — is perfectly natural. But like most anything, extremes can be unhealthy. Dr. Deb. Wade writes about hoarding, an anxiety disorder that affects 2 to 5 percent of the U.S. population.