Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Grand Canyon University's Ingram Honors College broke ground Monday on what will be its new home, a showcase facility at the entrance to campus that symbolizes the college's new epoch as it strives to become one of the most impactful honors colleges in the nation.
“Today, we don’t just break ground, we declare a future built on courage, conviction and calling,” Ingram Honors College Dean Dr. Breanna Naegeli said of the facility, set to open to students in fall 2026. “This building is not the dream. It is the platform for the dream – a place where ideas are tested, leaders are forged, and faith and excellence meet to shape lives of influence and impact.”
Surrounded by tractors and dirt mounds, the campus community and special guests gathered around Building 33, once the Education Building, as university leaders and honors students gave addresses that reflected the college’s growth and future.
University President Brian Mueller, Sheila and Mike Ingram (the college's namesake), Naegeli and a group of the college’s student leaders sported GCU-branded hard hats as they dug shovels into the ground, marking the official start of construction.
A time capsule packed with a Bible, USB with uploaded videos of the college’s finest moments and prayer notes from students and faculty, will be buried where the ground was broken. Students also wrote parting messages on classroom walls.
“This building will be more than classrooms, offices and study areas,” said junior Kaylee Aschbrenner, a student leader in the college. “It will be a hub where collaboration thrives and ideas from different vocations come together. Where students challenge each other to grow, and faith, scholarship and service intersect.”
Added junior Jordan Ward, “This is something we don’t take lightly as Ingram Honors College students. One thing I can say about President Mueller and Dr. Bre is they are go-getters. When they say something will be done, it will be done, and it means a lot to us that they care about us in this capacity to let us grow, serve and flourish.”
Butch Glispie and Pono Construction has built most of the campus’s facilities and will helm the renovation of the existing building as it's expanded to a 51,000-square-foot, three-story, showcase structure. The vision for the space is that it will foster academic and professional excellence and spiritual formation for students.
It will feature lecture halls, classrooms, student lounges, offices space, a soaring two-story glass lobby and an indoor-outdoor gathering space for building community. The renovated facility will be a hub for student innovation, research and collaboration, equipping strong scholars and bold leaders.
“This is going to be a place where the very best and brightest high school students in America come prepare to lead America,” Mueller said.
The groundbreaking was not only a celebration of what’s to come but also of the immense growth of the college since its early years.
First emerging in 2013 with 59 students, what was once the GCU Honors Institute by 2015 became the university’s ninth college.
In February, the college announced its new name, the Sheila and Mike Ingram Honors College, marking a new era for the university. Today, nearly 3,000 students are honors students. They represent more than 140 academic programs with a collective 3.9 unweighted GPA.
“This started with 59 students, and now there are over 3,000. We are coming into a program that is not broken,” Mike Ingram said. “We are just here to add help, give them help where they ask for it, where they need it, and let them keep doing what they are doing.”
“When I heard they are interested in developing the students holistically, not just giving them a great education, but giving them a great spiritual foundation, giving them the ability to fill out a resume, give an elevator pitch, I told Dr. Bre, we are in. They are Christ-based, and that makes a big difference.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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