Grand Canyon Univeristy

It’s been a productive 10 years for the College of Doctoral Studies. What started as eight graduates a year in 2011 to nearly 500 graduates in 2021, the college has just crossed off its next big milestone — reaching 2,000 signed dissertations once the college’s dean, Dr. Michael Berger, signed Dr. Kortney Song’s. The best part — Song’s chair, Dr. Nicholas Markette, was the college’s first graduate. “Doctoral degrees change lives,” Berger said. “Going through it changes your life, getting it changes your life, it changes the way you think, it changes the opportunities that are available to you, and that’s a lot of lives that have been impacted by Grand Canyon.”

The Honors College has grown so much in the last eight years, one day dedicated to service events wasn’t enough. This week, it hosted its first Commitment to Service Week, providing an opportunity for multiple Honors clubs to volunteer at nonprofit organizations. “We just wanted to integrate service much more heavily and integrate this initiative into the college this semester,” Honors College Program Manager Anya Cofrancesco said. “We just decided to go big and make this a huge campaign. It’s been incredible to see their (students) compassion and just rolling up their sleeves and getting into the community.”