GCU Magazine

February 2025

A few of our favorite things

Grand Canyon University is celebrating its 75^th anniversary – and preparing for the big 75^th anniversary Amethyst Gala – so the GCU News team thought it would do something fun: feature 75 things we love about GCU. From the Havocs, to GCBC, to the cool engineering workshops, to Chapel and those lovely sunsets viewed from atop Halo Garage, there certainly is a lot to love.

New home

When Tom Lewis was left without a home for his philanthropy, a visit to an “eye-opening” Chapel, where he saw the joy in students, connected him to the university. “GCU has been a breath of fresh air, and I’m optimistic about it,” said Lewis, who’s putting his financial support behind the new T.W. Lewis Center for Student Success.

Plugging into jobs

GCU’s partners in the electrical industry had a problem. There just weren’t enough electricians to meet demand in the field. So the university stepped up and created the Center for Workforce Development, which is booming. It has expanded to Austin and has added machinist, semiconductor and construction pathways.

Coaching dynamo

Roy Polk never played professional baseball after his time at GCU, but he has moved mountains as a coach. In his career, he has scored 1,373 victories, earned five Southeastern Conference championships and eight College World Series to be regarded as the “Father of SEC Baseball.”

Fems in STEM

Women earn only 24% of the bachelor's degrees awarded in engineering and 21% in computer science, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. But Women in Tech, the Society of Women Engineers and CybHER are set on supporting the campus's female students and their STEM ambitions

Heart for nursing

Anna Gibb, Olivia Willingham and Leah Peterson all pushed through GCU’s challenging nursing program together. Now they’re making an impact as telemetry nurses – they monitor patients who require continuous cardiac and vital sign monitoring. They also work on the same floor at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

Girl powered

Juliet Awolumate didn’t make it back home to Nigeria to see her mother before she passed away. But her mom’s influence hasn’t waned. Like her mom, who wanted to get her degree from GCU, Awolumate is now a GCU online student. And like her mom, who worked in a nonprofit to help widows start businesses, Awolumate has done the same, starting her own nonprofit to mentor young girls.