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GCU’s Academic Excellence Site (AES) partnership with Westwood Elementary is multi-faceted, from a pre-service resident teaching program to the Learning Lounge, Canyon Professional Development, Leadership Coaching and Parent View. Among the many positive results: Westwood students are building skills, gaining momentum and developing a vision for higher education.

The sun wasn’t even up and the temperature was a frigid 40-something degrees. But that didn’t dissuade more than 200 Lopes from showing up, ready to paint and landscape, for the semiannual Serve the City. And for just the second time, Parent Council members, along with other parent volunteers, served alongside their children to make a difference in the Canyon Corridor, helping move GCU and partner Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona closer to their 700-homes-renovated goal.

When students identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle to fit in socially, GCU leaders collaborate with solutions. In Part 2 of GCU Today’s series, Dr. Tim Griffin, Pastor and Dean of Students, Dr. Sherman Elliott, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the father of a son on the spectrum and Student Disability Services director Beth Jamison discuss their experiences supporting students on the spectrum.

As Grand Canyon University grows, more students arriving on campus are identified with autism spectrum disorders. Efforts to welcome and include these students occur naturally on a campus where students look out for each other. Intentional efforts are expanding all across campus, from faculty members to Student Disability Services staffers who have implemented a new program, ASD Connection, to boost social and academic support. Part 1 of GCU Today’s series on the University’s approach to students on the spectrum includes the viewpoint of Austin Forney, a GCU junior who shared the highs and lows of navigating college life.

Men’s soccer coach Schellas Hyndman wanted one thing for youth attending Saturday’s Future for KIDS soccer camp: To have fun. But he also encouraged them to exhibit good sportsmanship, practice, work hard and to value their education, much like the soccer players who conducted the camp do. More than 160 youth, ages 7 to 12, attended the event, which marked the first time GCU men’s soccer has hosted a camp with Future for KIDS, a mentorship program that emphasizes education, ethics and athletics.

Kara Morrow is the first GCU Honors College student to be selected for a White House internship. The 2018 graduate is surrounded by exceptional students. Her sister, Kelsey, is a 2015 GCU graduate slated to complete chiropractor school in May, and her brother, Kaleb, a GCU freshman, is a National Merit Finalist and an aspiring forensic scientist.

The platforms are prepared, the debate topics are polished and the flyers are posted for the next election cycle for the president and vice president of the Associated Students at Grand Canyon University (ASGCU). In one corner, Samuel Yonan is running for president with v.p. running mate Bret Malkin versus Jacob Montgomery, an aspiring president, and Anthony Clark, his v.p. choice. The debate will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, on the first floor of the Student Union, North Dining Hall. Refreshments will be served as the candidates share their vision for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Complex foreign policy issues proved challenging but not daunting for GCU’s extemporaneous speech team members at the Jannese Davidson Memorial Tournament at Concordia University in Irvine, Calif. On the strength of a first place, a runner-up and a fourth-place finish by extemporaneous speakers, GCU placed second overall behind Point Loma Nazarene, in a 24-team event. GCU students spoke about issues impacting China, Venezuela and the European Union.

The marathon reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy brought the words of the 14th century Italian poet to life on the GCU campus on Friday. Students and faculty members, along with a few high school teachers, were among the 50 readers who combined to read all 100 cantos of “Inferno”, “Purgatorio’’ and “Paradiso”, a view of the afterlife. The project is the passion of Assistant Professor Jonathan Olson, who packed two lunches and reveled in every moment of the marathon.

GCU Dance coach Jacque Genung-Koch said it was “pretty exciting and super humbling” when her team won the Division I Game Day competition Friday in the Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships at Orlando, Fla. “We got the chance to do what we do at home, on a national stage. It was exciting to bring what we are, who we are at GCU, for other teams to see and for a judging panel,” she said. The team also finished second in the jazz competition.