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In This Issue |
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• New School Year is Underway
• GCU Ignites Christian Perspective
• Alumni Chamber of Commerce Breakfast
• Homecoming 2010
• In Loving Memory of Dr. Betty Beck
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Bible Verse
"Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about."
~Phillipians 4:8 |
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Check out Discounts for GCU Alumni
Announcing the GCU Alumni Savings Connection - your powerful new member savings benefit.
Have you heard the news? GCU Alumni members now enjoy incredible savings on movie tickets, travel, shopping and more. This value-packed benefit is the GCU Alumni Savings Connection, and it is free for all of our members.
Visit our website for more details. http://alumni.gcu.edu/index.php?page=discounts-for-alumni |
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GCU in the News
Click here to read the latest media coverage of the University.
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Happy Anniversary!
As GCU celebrates its 60th year, let’s also take the opportunity to recognize classes that are marking special milestones this year -- Congratulations!
| Class of 1959 |
50 years |
| Class of 1979 |
30 years |
| Class of 1984 |
25 years |
| Class of 1989 |
20 years |
| Class of 1999 |
10 years |
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GCU Trivia
GCU’s mascot is the Pronghorn Antelope. The Antelope reminds us of our heritage and humble beginnings.
The pronghorn antelope is the second fastest land animal on earth, able to sprint at approximately 60 miles per hour. The only animal faster is the Cheetah.
Did you know the GCU campus sits on 90 acres of land in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona?
Approximately 25,000 students are currently enrolled at GCU in the campus and online programs.
Grand Canyon University started as Grand Canyon College in 1949. The first graduating class in 1951 was comprised of only six students.
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A Note from the Director:
New School Year is Underway
 Grand Canyon University’s Phoenix campus is back in full swing as students return for Fall classes. GCU welcomed more than 400 new residents and another 1,300 commuter students to campus during our traditional Welcome Week events. It’s hard to believe that the University now has a total enrollment of 28,000 students, including our online campus. As the students moved in to their new campus home, GCU hosted its first University Fair. The Student Union was packed with local vendors and college resources. Alumni Relations was on hand as well as the GCU Guild. The one-time dirt field now rumbles with the noise of life on a college campus. The Alumni Relations offices sit in the Student Union, giving me the opportunity to witness all the changes and the new life at GCU everyday.
For some parents attending Welcome Week, this was not the first time they were on campus. I am proud to see the number of GCU graduates sharing their experience with their own children. As our alumni return, some for the first time in many years, they cannot help but notice the changes on campus. I had the pleasure of meeting several alumni during Welcome Week who remembered the Student Union as nothing more than a dirt field. Hegel Hall, the center of GCU student housing, was also just a dream not that long ago. And there are more to come.
During convocation ceremonies, our CEO Brian Mueller talked about new and exciting dreams as the University continues to grow. Within the next two years, we will be bringing music, fine arts and drama back to our campus and build our athletics programs, with a 5,000-seat events center in the works. Other additions include new state of the art classrooms and a field house for training and recreational facilities.
From where I sit, I see students the energy and promise students bring to GCU as they take steps toward graduation and their lives ahead. Soon they will be alumni, bringing their own children to our university. The power of a GCU education, with a center focus on Christ, is limitless and worth sharing.
As alumni, you provide a wisdom and resource to our students that they cannot find anywhere else. You have been here before. Keep these students in your prayers as they face the opportunities and challenges ahead of them in these formative years.
Madeline Winney
Director, Alumni Relations
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GCU Ignites Its Christian Perspective
By Pastor Mik Milem, University Pastor
 What does it mean to be a Christian University? To some, it may mean an environment in which everyone professes a faith in Jesus Christ and follows a strict set of rules and behaviors that are linked to a specific ideology. To others, it might simply refer to spiritual activities offered to students as an option. But what does it mean for Grand Canyon University? What does it really mean when we say in our Vision Statement that we are a premier Christian University educating people to lead and serve?
As GCU continues to enjoy tremendous growth and many exciting transitions, it is important that we stop and reflect on this statement, and on the Christian values and mission the University was founded upon 60 years ago. It is also vital that we ensure our words are supported by actions that are meaningful in today’s environment.
Our Christian Perspective
About six months ago, a group of faculty members and college leaders began meeting to create a statement that clarifies how our Christian Perspective supports the GCU Mission and Values Statements, and how it must be integrated into all aspects of our relationships.
The committee concluded that, “As a community, we strive to exemplify stewardship, excellence, and integrity through what Christianity calls the Fruit of the Spirit." What that means is that in all we do, our focus as individuals and as a university should exemplify what Paul defined in the Epistle to the Galatians chapter 5 as the Fruit of the Spirit:
Love – Joy – Peace – Patience - Kindness
Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness - Self-control
By demonstrating these traits in our actions with one another, our students and in the communities we serve, we reinforce and add meaning to our commitment stated in our Mission Statement:
Grand Canyon University prepares learners to become global citizens, critical thinkers, effective communicators, and responsible leaders by providing an academically challenging, values-based curriculum from the context of our Christian Heritage.
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Disney Tip-Off Classic:
GCU Men's Basketball Season Kicks Off at the Disney Tip-Off Classic
The GCU Men’s basketball team and its new coach Russ Pennell start their season at the Disney Classic Basketball tournament in Anaheim, Calif., October 30 – November 1. The tournament is at the Anaheim Convention Center.
You are invited! GCU students and employees are already making plans to attend. We need a sea of purple in support of our basketball team as it kick starts what should be an exciting season.
For more information, contact Helen Bleach at (602) 639-6722.
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Alumni Housing Scholarship:
Alumni Hegel Hall Scholarships still available
The Alumni Hegel Hall Scholarship offers a total of $2,000 towards on campus housing. This scholarship is available to decendents of alumni and there are still funds available. Make sure to inform your child or grandchild of this opportunity if they are living on campus in our Hegel Hall Suites.
If you have questions, please contact Madeline Winney in the Alumni Relations Office at mwinney@gcu.edu or (602) 639-6311.
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Alumni Chamber of Commerce:
Who are You? Branding Identity through Social Media
Please join the Chamber on September 17, 2009 for our third quarter meeting to discuss: Who Are you? Branding Identity through Social Media, presented by Jobing.com.
How can you use social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook) to benefit your business? Using case studies and real world stories, Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell of Jobing.com will open you eyes to the social media world that is growing every day.
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
• Understand social media and social media technologies.
• Identify the benefits and risks associated with social media.
• Attract clients and candidates through social media.
• Connect with employees with social media initiatives.
• Identify the social media strategy that best fits your organization.
Topic: Who Are you? Branding Identity through Social Media
Date: September 17, 2009
Time: 8:00 a.m. (Doors open at 7:30 a.m.)
Where: Ethington Theatre*, Grand Canyon University
3300 W. Camelback Road,
Phoenix, AZ 85017
For further information or to RSVP, contact Madeline Winney, Alumni Relations Specialist, at (602)639-6311 or mwinney@gcu.edu.
*Please note change in location
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Save the Date:
Grand Canyon University Celebrates Homecoming
January 29-31
 Grand Canyon University will celebrate Homecoming, January 29-31, 2010, and invites all alumni back to campus for a weekend of events, games and celebrations.
The event kicks off Friday, January 29, with a welcome reception, picnic and alumni games. Saturday, January 30, highlights include a student and alumni gathering BBQ, the GCU men’s and women’s basketball teams hosting Dixie State and a postgame bonfire. The festivities conclude with a student and alumni chapel service at Ethington Theatre, Sunday, January 31.
All GCU colleges and departments will be on hand with breakout events and gatherings, every opportunity to reconnect with classmates and see how much GCU has grown since 1949.
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Memories from the Past:
In Loving Memory: Dr. Betty Beck
Dr. Betty Beck, GCU Founding Professor Emeritus, passed away in August at the age of 102. Her legacy and commitment to GCU has been felt since its doors were opened 60 years ago.
Betty Beck's Legacy and Commitment to GCU
Betty and Roland Beck were among a handful of academic pioneers who came to Prescott, Ariz., in 1949 to help establish a Baptist school – Grand Canyon College, now Grand Canyon University. The Becks formerly served on the faculty of Montezuma Baptist College in New Mexico, which closed due to a shortage of funds.
 In 1951, the Becks and others from New Mexico and Prescott moved to Phoenix to build the tiny college into a beacon of Christian Education. Pastor L. D. White of Calvary Baptist Church plunked a shiny silver dollar on a wooden table at the front of the room and proffered its value as the first donation toward a Baptist college in Arizona. Dozens of others followed, including a widow with a jar of pennies and a Montezuma alumnus who wrote a hundred dollar check.
Despite many setbacks and delays, Grand Canyon College was established soon after, with the Becks were among its first faculty members. Roland taught in the department of education and Betty taught in the college of English. Betty later went on to chair Grand Canyon’s Department of English and Modern Languages for many years. Dr. Beck was awarded the honor of Professor Emeritus in 2001.
Together, the Becks brought to Grand Canyon the qualities of dedication and self-sacrifice that were essential if the College was to survive those beginning years. Their vision for the school and their dogged determination kept them striving while many others gave up the task as hopeless."
A dedication to the couple in Grand Canyon’s 1967 Canyon Trails yearbook states:
DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO ARE DEDICATED – Dr. Beck and Dr. Roland Beck.
"Tomorrow is built on yesteryear. In order to move forward there must be a firm foundation on which the builders can stand today."
"Grand Canyon College is fortunate to have such a foundation. Dr. Roland Beck and Dr. Betty Beck have been with Grand Canyon University since its beginning in Prescott in 1949. It is to these pioneer builders that we proudly and respectfully dedicate the 1967 Canyon Trails. In their years of service and dedication they have given abundantly of their time, talent, and prayers. Their contributions will continue to live in the lives of Grand Canyon College graduates. We, who have been their students, will never be able to express fully our deep appreciation for their faith and courage which gave life to a vision - a Christian institution in a desert wilderness."
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Career Services Opens Resource Center to Students and Alumni
Career Services Director Jackie Smith and her team have been hard at work this summer preparing the Career Services Resource Center for new and returning students.
The Center is available in the GCU Student Union, and offers help with everything from selecting a career path to writing a resume or participating in a mock job interview. A reference library and job search resources are also available.
"One of the great selling tools we have is that we are here to assist every student to be prepared to go out and get a job," says Smith. “We won’t get a job for them, but we will give them every tool they will need."
The Center is also available for alumni. According to Smith, when you are a GCU student, you are a GCU student for life.
A virtual Career Center Website is now available online. The site offers the same resources available to campus students, as well as job listings with quality local and national employers. Smith says a number of exciting new improvements are coming to the Career Services site in the very near future.
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