Boskie, Colangelo, Donaldson and Ingram bring vision to GCU
Grand Canyon University isn’t just adding four new faces to its board of trustees.
It’s adding global powerhouses.
“What these men bring to the board is something a little more unique, because what we’re looking at is an expansion of our university on a global basis,” said Dr. Fred Miller, board chairman. “And to do that, you need people who have a big foothold, not only in the local community, but on a national basis.”
Those new trustees, whose one-year terms started Aug. 28 after a board vote, include sports business icon Jerry Colangelo; Christian film production company founder and former major league baseball pitcher Shawn Boskie; real estate developer Mike Ingram, the founder of one of the largest private landholdings in Arizona; and Dave Donaldson, co-founder of CityServe, a multistate network of faith-based nonprofits that confront poverty in their communities, including at GCU CityServe.
The business and faith heavyweights – influential leaders and visionaries in their fields – will join Miller, a retired medical director, as well as former health care CEO Peggy Chase, educators Dr. Lupita Hightower and Dr. Jim Rice, and community affairs director Marion Kelly.
Their addition is happening during a landmark year for the university, which started humbly in Prescott, Arizona, on Sept. 14, 1949, and now, in its 75th anniversary year, has grown to become the largest Christian university in the country.
Miller said the board, made up previously of educators and medical doctors, has been keen on widening its sphere as it looks to its next evolution on a global scale: “The thought was, why don’t we begin to look at bringing on more board members but with a different perspective to broaden our scope of educational process.
“We finally came up with the names that we thought would bring positive things for the growth of the university and that’s going to move us forward.”
Humanitarian visionary Dave Donaldson remembers meeting GCU President Brian Mueller for the first time.
It was supposed to be a quick 30-minute meeting.
“All the snapshots were that the president of GCU was one of the most impressive leaders. Everyone said, ‘You’ve got to meet him.’
“The meeting ended up being two hours. We became fast friends,” said Donaldson, who partnered with the university to create GCU CityServe. Through the initiative, GCU has distributed more than $13 million worth of goods to more than 50,000 families since it launched in fall 2021.
That meeting was all it would take for Donaldson to know his Christian worldview aligned with the university. And it was all he needed to know to say yes to connecting even deeper with GCU by joining the board.
New trustee Shawn Boskie, a GCU Alumni Hall of Famer whose 15-year career in professional baseball includes stints with the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles, to name a few, has been involved with GCU for two decades.
He first heard about the university from a fellow ball player and found a new purpose after baseball, graduating from GCU, he said, “as a 50-year-old.”
Like Donaldson, he felt an immediate connection to the university and its Christian mission – a feeling that has intensified through the years, as he’s gone from student to an advisor and board member for the Colangelo College of Business. He also became involved with GCU’s Canyon Ventures innovation center, which supports startups, and has been an angel investor with the Canyon Angels investment group.
“I continued to be impressed by Brian Mueller and (Provost Dr.) Randy Gibb and all of the professors and instructors. … They’re really interested in educating students in a (Christian) framework to build those foundations.”
Boskie, who followed his baseball career by founding his own Christian film production company, Canyon Productions, said, “I’m grateful to have found a university with a biblical philosophy that reflected my worldview.”
Sports business magnate Jerry Colangelo became involved with GCU at an integral time in his life, he said, and has expressed in talks at the university that he’s proud of his connection to GCU.
In college, he thought he’d become a teacher and coach, but something in his gut told him to take a few business classes.
He owned the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Arizona Diamondbacks, to name a few, was head of USA Basketball and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
But, like Boskie, he found a renewed purpose at GCU, fulfilling that dream to become a teacher. He is frequently on campus speaking to students in their classes and visiting with student groups.
The Colangelo School of Sports Business opened in 2012, and in 2014, the business college was renamed the Colangelo College of Business in his honor.
“His connections all over the world are an amazing boost to the university,” Mueller said at the Colangelo Servant Leadership Awards in 2019. “We were struggling for credibility early on, and having his name here gave us credibility.”
Colangelo sees GCU as a platform to help encourage young people.
“I love being on campus,” he told GCU Magazine in 2017. “I love being around young people. That helps keep you young.
“This came along at the right time in my life. I think it’s been a win-win.”
A man of strong faith, Colangelo also has celebrated servant leadership through the Jerry Colangelo Servant Leadership Awards at GCU. The awards honor those who go beyond deals at the desk and focus on service before self, humility, love and care for their team, and stewardship of their organization.
Those are qualities that describe Mike Ingram, who founded Phoenix-based land and development business El Dorado Holdings, one of the largest private land holdings in greater Phoenix and Maricopa County.
Ingram has worked with Colangelo for four decades, including on their latest venture, Teravalis (previously called Douglas Ranch), a 37,000-acre community in Buckeye, Arizona, that will include 100,000 homes and 55 million square feet of commercial development.
But Ingram also has joined Colangelo in recent years in building a relationship with GCU.
“I’ve been involved with higher education at several universities,” Ingram said. “… But I must say, my first love has grown to be Grand Canyon University over my alma mater and the others.”
What has excited him about GCU has been the spirit of the student body and the positive enthusiasm.
But also, “Grand Canyon is very unique. The leadership has a tremendous vision of where they want to go and how they’re going to get there … (Author and pastor) Henry Blackaby, he said, if you want to make something happen, get in there where it’s already happening and be a part of it – find someplace where you can, hopefully, be beneficial
“And things are already happening at Grand Canyon, whether I’m there or not.”
Boskie said what’s exciting for him is getting the chance to work with impactful leaders who will bring their vision, and their passion for Christian education, to lead GCU into its next 75 years.
“It’s really exciting,” Boskie said of his next chapter with GCU. “High-quality people tend to attract other high-quality people. … I look forward to seeing it (the university) keep expanding.”
Donaldson, who just returned from a trip to the Gaza border, will share the work he’s doing there when he speaks at GCU Chapel on Sept. 30.
Like Boskie, he’s thrilled to serve alongside the new board of trustees members and to continue to witness the university's evolution under the helm of Brian Mueller, all leaders he considers to be “the Mount Rushmore of Arizona.”
Colangelo has been a hero of his before he knew anything about GCU, he speaks of Ingram’s passion for students and pastors, and he says Mueller “is one of the finest leaders in the world.”
Miller added that another aspect the new trustees will bring is their strong faith, as they inspire the university’s growth, not just in education, “but education in a Christ-centered environment.”
“We’re the largest Christian university in the country now and probably, pretty soon we’ll be one of the largest universities in the country. It’s not about being large and being huge in terms of growth, it’s about the product that you try and provide for the community as it relates to communication, providing an academic and challenging environment and value-based curriculum, and global citizenship.
“These new board members will have the ability and the resources to help us with these goals as we go forward.”
Donaldson said when Mueller named the others being invited on the board, “It was like, wow! I felt from the beginning I was part of the DNA of GCU.
“It’s an honor to serve alongside these heroes of the faith.”
Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at [email protected] or at 602-639-7901.
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More on the new trustees
Jerry Colangelo
Sports icon Jerry Colangelo started his career in 1966 with the Chicago Bulls as marketing director, scout and assistant to the team president. He was just 26 years old. He became the youngest general manager in 1968 when he was hired by the Phoenix Suns.
He would go on to own the Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Arizona Diamondbacks, selling those teams in 2004.
He served as director of USA Basketball from 2005-2021 and was honored as the NBA’s Executive of the Year four times.
Outside of sports, he has placed a priority on community service and has served such organizations as Valley Big Brothers, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Phoenix Art Museum, Thunderbirds and the Phoenix Community Alliance, to name a few.
Mike Ingram
Mike Ingram founded El Dorado Holdings Inc., a Phoenix-based land and development business, in 1987 and, as CEO, has built the company into one of the largest private landholdings in the greater Phoenix and Maricopa County region.
He is committed to several business and civic organizations and serves on the boards of the U.S. Department of Interior International Wildlife Conservation Council, Arizona-Mexico Commission, the Translational Genomics Research Institute Foundation, Mayo Clinic Arizona Leadership Council, and many more.
He is also actively involved with Pinnacle Forum, Focus on the Family, and Campus Crusade for Christ and its ministries. A recent inductee into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Ingram has remained committed to higher education and charitable endeavors throughout his life.
Shawn Boskie
Shawn Boskie, who graduated from GCU with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics in 2018, is the founder and CEO of Canyon Productions, an independent Christian film company. For more than 10 years, Boskie served as vice president of development at Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group.
In 2001, he wrapped up a 15-year career as a professional baseball pitcher, nine of which were played in the major leagues.
He is a board member of Elevate Phoenix and the Arizona state board of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and he serves on the GCU advisory boards for the Colangelo College of Business and the College of Arts and Media.
Dave Donaldson
Dave Donaldson is the former national director for Operation Blessing and co-founder of Convoy of Hope. With those organizations, he forged global partnerships with churches, organizations and businesses to mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers worldwide.
In Washington, D.C., Donaldson served on the C-SAT Council for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association. He also hosted the first National Summit on Foster Care and Adoption with the U.S. Children’s Bureau and has served on numerous boards, including the National Football League (NFL)-sanctioned National Courage Awards.
In 2016, Donaldson retired from Convoy of Hope to co-found CityServe International. As initiatives of the organization, he hosts trips to Israel and spearheads efforts to provide aid and education for refugees in the Middle East.
Donaldson is the author of the bestselling Rock Solid discipleship program and co-author of “Revolution of Compassion” and “Relentless: Pursuing a Life That Matters.”
