(Editor's note: This story is from the May 2016 issue of GCU Today Magazine. To view the digital version of the magazine, click here.)
GCU Today Magazine
Photos by Darryl Webb
Grand Canyon University continued to be an impact player in west Phoenix and beyond in 2015-16. Here are the stories that made the most impact:
1. Community revitalization
The local crime rate goes down 30%, home values go up 30%, and the Habitat for Humanity and Neighborhood Safety initiatives continue to make a difference as GCU fulfills its lead role in transforming west Phoenix.
2. Hotel, golf course open
The University provides jobs for both students and the community by re-opening two local businesses as the Grand Canyon University Hotel and Grand Canyon University Championship Golf Course. Both thrive.
3. Growth in academics
The accent on STEM education takes shape as GCU offers engineering degrees for the first time, and the new hospitality management and golf course management programs open in conjunction with the new venues.
4. Growth in K-12 initiatives
Students Inspiring Students is created to provide up to 800 full-tuition scholarships for high school seniors, and the STEM Scholars partnership and the Learning Lounge continue to benefit all pre-college students.
5. Growth in enrollment, grads
Ground campus enrollment reaches 15,500, and the University passes a huge milestone by reaching the 100,000 mark in alumni — after adding a whopping 68,426 members between 2010 and 2015.
6. Growth on campus
The new engineering building, Lopes Way and The Grove residence halls open. Next up are the Student Life Building, soccer stadium, three apartment buildings and a second engineering building.
7. Athletics on rise
The men’s basketball team wins 27 games, including its first two Division I postseason victories, and the men’s and women’s track and field teams sweep titles in the Western Athletic Conference indoor championships.
8. Worship Arts album
The new recording studio gives Center for Worship Arts students a place to work with state-of-the-art equipment to create great Christian music, and they use it to produce the second-year program’s first full album.
9. Speech and Debate
The Speech and Debate Team ranks in the top 25 in two different categories, wins its third straight Division III title in the Christian College Forensic Invitational and is chosen to host the event next year.
10. Nonprofit effort ends
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE) announces that it is terminating its current effort to convert Grand Canyon University to a nonprofit entity after the Higher Learning Commission denies the request.
Honorable mention
GCU freezes tuition for the eighth straight year, President Brian Mueller is voted Businessperson of Year by the Phoenix Business Journal, the GCU Foundation Run to Fight Children’s Cancer attracts thousands of runners and cancer survivors, students and staff continue to bring their passion to mission trips around the world and community outings close to home, and the University is again the home for significant events such as Forensic Science Day.
