Grand Canyon University, MercyMe's Bart Millard Unveil Recording Studio To Develop Emerging Christian Music Talent

New building, high-tech equipment add to growing appeal of Worship Arts program

PHOENIX, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Grammy-nominated artist Bart Millard and Grand Canyon University unveiled a new state-of-the-art recording studio on the GCU campus that will serve as a vital tool in helping emerging Christian music talent hone their skills as artists. GCU and Millard, who is program director of the university’s Center for Worship Arts, will offer students a chance to evolve their skills by writing, performing and producing potentially chart-topping musical tracks. Last year, three freshmen teamed up with Millard to produce the Center’s first EP, Canyon Worship. The original song “Christ in Me” on the EP climbed as high as No. 37 on the iTunes Christian singles charts. With the introduction of the recording studio, the university’s label, also named Canyon Worship, will continue to produce and release tracks. “This recording studio gives our students a chance that very few schools provide: the opportunity to combine their faith and musical talents,” said GCU President Brian Mueller. “The Worship Arts program teaches them everything from songwriting and performing to production and lighting with a hands-on director in Bart Millard who is very engaged in the process. Unlike many programs that focus just on the music, Worship Arts is grounded in our College of Theology while also bringing in curriculum from the Colangelo College of Business and the College of Fine Arts and Production.” The recording studio includes a 1,466-square-foot space with four isolation booths that can accompany bands of any size, and a smaller 254-square-foot studio built to accommodate vocal overdubs, voiceovers, solo instruments and post-production editing. The 1,172-square-foot, high-tech central control room seats two at the console, and also allows up to 20 additional guests inside the control room during session playback and mix-down. “It’s one of the bigger studios I’ve seen in my career,” said Millard, who as the longtime lead singer for the popular Christian band MercyMe has spent thousands of hours in such venues. “There are bigger ones, but they’re rare. Most of them are cubbyholes, and most people are doing their songs in rooms that are about the size of broom closets.” In addition to a large collaboration area, where up to 50 aspiring musicians can work together to write lyrics or music, the studio includes three fully equipped band rehearsal spaces, which can accommodate up to eight musicians and their gear. Each space has an electronic drum kit, a personal monitoring system and recording computer for demos or keeping a record of musical ideas as they evolve during sessions. Additionally, the studio will be used to record voiceovers, undertake sound design for theater, conduct closed production work and develop music videos. There are also three offices for studio staff and a small conference room for up to 12 people. “I’m really excited about the songs that are going to be created out of this studio,” Millard said. “I’ve always said great songwriters write about what consumes their heart, and we’ll have a room full of students in this program who are grounded in Scripture and consumed with Jesus Christ.” Since its introduction last year, the Worship Arts program has experienced significant enrollment growth. Capabilities of the center, such as the recording studio and the affiliation with Millard, have increased enrollment by 170 percent over the past year, with 154 students enrolled. The bachelors program offers four emphases – digital media, worship production, worship management and worship ministry. “This program will produce songs that show up on Christian music charts, but it’s not just about creating national recording artists,” Mueller said. “It’s about earning a degree that is grounded in theology and helps prepare the next generation of worship leaders who will spread the Gospel in local churches and throughout the world.” ABOUT GCU: Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. The university’s curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. Video – https://youtu.be/eWIzZ73c3OM Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150814/258640LOGO SOURCE Grand Canyon University RELATED LINKS http://www.gcu.edu

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Grand Canyon University Launches Ultimate Stem Showdown

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PHOENIX, July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Grand Canyon University is taking a creative approach to filling the demand for workers in science, technology, engineering and math. This fall, GCU will bring the best young science/engineering minds across the state together in the Ultimate STEM Showdown, a spirited competition to give students a chance to win nearly $20,000 in grants for their high school classrooms, along with university scholarships. As part of the competition, four-member high school teams will blend technical capability with creativity by designing an apparatus for the mechanical, electrical or biomedical engineering labs housed in the university’s new College of Science, Engineering and Technology. Registration begins July 28 and the competition will culminate in an event on Nov. 6 at Grand Canyon University Arena, when student teams unveil their designs and explain how they will bring their bright ideas to life. “The need for STEM workers far outpaces the number of graduates interested in these disciplines,” said Brian Mueller, GCU’s president. “Through the Showdown, we hope to galvanize the education community and ignite students’ passion in science, engineering and related areas of study.” Students from high schools across the state are eligible to participate. Entries will be evaluated by a blue ribbon panel of judges comprised of industry executives, educators and public sector leaders. The top three teams will earn grants of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, for their classrooms. In addition, senior participants on the top teams will be awarded GCU scholarships up to $2,500. For more information about the Showdown or to download the entry guidelines, visit www.gcu.edu/stemshowdown. About Grand Canyon University: Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. The University’s curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit gcu.edu. Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/AQ19393LOGO SOURCE Grand Canyon University RELATED LINKS http://www.gcu.edu More by this Source Grand Canyon University logo Grand Canyon University Serves Up, Tees Up New Golf And Tennis Management Bachelor’s Degree Programs May 05, 2015, 15:21 ET Grand Canyon University logo. Grand Canyon University To Launch Hospitality Management Program, Turn Nearby Hotel Into A Teaching Laboratory For Students Mar 02, 2015, 16:58 ET View all news by Grand Canyon University Journalists and Bloggers Visit PR Newswire for Journalists, our free resources for releases, photos and customized feeds. You can also send a free ProfNet request for experts.

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Grand Canyon University Serves Up, Tees Up New Golf And Tennis Management Bachelor's Degree Programs

Sedona Salutations, a series of free yoga classes, offers classes every Saturday for seven weeks.

PHOENIX, May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Grand Canyon University is launching new golf and tennis management undergraduate degree programs this fall to help students extend their passion for the sports into rewarding careers. Designed to fill a niche in the hospitality and recreation industry, Grand Canyon University’s golf and tennis management bachelor’s degree programs are part of GCU’s hospitality management program available through the university’s Colangelo College of Business. “There is a significant demand in the tennis industry for business-savvy professionals with a love of the game, but a shortage of formal training options available,” said Dr. Randy Gibb, dean of the Colangelo College of Business. “Likewise, many golf enthusiasts pursue jobs as teaching professionals, but lack the management skills needed to take their careers even further. Our programs are rooted in rigorous business and management coursework that allow students to marry their love of sports with a viable career.” Both programs will equip students with the business skills necessary to manage tennis and golf operations. Specifically, the tennis management program, the first of its kind among NCAA Division I schools, will be accredited by the United States Professional Tennis Association and will equip students with the skills needed to manage tennis operations, including facility management, merchandising, event planning and introduction to food and beverage management. “Business is a popular degree among tennis players, and there are a lot of them going into the tennis business,” GCU tennis coach Greg Prudhomme said. “There’s a demand in the tennis industry for more qualified professionals, and the reason is that there’s not a lot of formal training available. As a result, most of the people getting hired are former players.” The golf course program, which includes classes in golf course management and operations, sports retail management and sales, marketing and revenue generation in the golf industry, and sports event planning, will teach students how to manage public, private and resort-style courses. As part of their hands-on education, students will play a major role in the operations and management of Maryvale Golf Course, which is currently being renovated by GCU under an agreement with City of Phoenix. Under GCU and student management, the course is expected to reopen to the public this fall and also will serve as the home course of GCU’s men’s and women’s golf teams. Both programs require students to complete a 120-credit curriculum and a minimum of 100 hours of industry experience, with opportunities for internships at tennis and golf courses across the country. In addition to core business courses like accounting, finance and marketing, students will take classes in player development to learn the skills needed to become effective instructors. For more information about GCU’s tennis and golf management programs, visit www.gcu.edu. About Grand Canyon University: Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. The University’s curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit gcu.edu. Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/AQ19393LOGO SOURCE Grand Canyon University RELATED LINKS http://www.gcu.edu

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A Record 5,500 New Students Descend On Grand Canyon University

New academic programs, expanded campus await incoming class

PHOENIX, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Grand Canyon University will welcome the largest group of incoming students in its history when classes resume Aug. 25 on the burgeoning Phoenix campus. GCU’s class of 5,500 new students carries an average incoming GPA of more than 3.5 and will have several new academic programs to choose from. The school is ramping up its science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) offerings with degrees in computer science and information technology in 2014-15, followed by three engineering programs the following year. In addition, GCU is launching its Center for Worship Arts this fall. The Worship Arts program, under the leadership of MercyMe founder and lead singer Bart Millard, will prepare students for careers ranging from national recording artists and songwriters to audio and lighting technicians and worship leaders at local churches. To prepare for the influx of new students – which brings total enrollment on the traditional Phoenix campus to a record of nearly 11,000 — GCU has added three new residence halls, a classroom building and a parking garage for the 2014-15 school year. “The student demand for what we’re doing here on our Phoenix campus just continues to grow,” said Brian Mueller, president and CEO of Grand Canyon. “We’re finding that there’s no end to the interest in obtaining high-quality Christian education that is also affordable.” GCU has frozen tuition on its ground campus for six straight years – students pay an average of $7,800 per year in tuition after institutional scholarships — while also investing $400 million into the campus infrastructure during that time. The university plans to spend another $400 million in capital expenditures during the next five years, growing its Phoenix campus to 25,000 students while also opening a satellite campus in the East Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Incoming students will be greeted by Welcome Week activities that include GCU’s traditional Move-In experience, dive-in movies at the pool, an Ignite candle-lit ceremony, a free concert on Saturday, Aug. 23 at GCU Arena by the crossover alternative rock band Switchfoot, and the university’s largest Chapel service ever on Monday, Aug. 25. Move-In is a GCU tradition in which more than 2,000 faculty, staff and student volunteers assist new students by hauling furniture and luggage to their dorm rooms. The process, which resembles a NASCAR pit stop, takes only a few minutes as volunteers descend upon a vehicle, unload everything and take it to the student’s dorm room – well before parents have time to park the car and rejoin their son or daughter. “The GCU community really turns out to welcome our new students,” said Tim Griffin, GCU’s pastor and dean of students. “It really saves the parents and students a lot of time and energy and makes them feel part of the GCU community right from the beginning. “Students who experienced Move-In as freshmen come back out to volunteer and pay it forward to the next incoming class. Our faculty and staff are all chipping in. Even our president, Brian Mueller, rolls up his sleeves and helps lug luggage. That’s just who we are as a university.” The first Chapel service could test the capacity of GCU Arena, which was renovated over the past six months to add an upper deck and increase capacity to about 7,000 seats. Mueller said construction crews worked overtime in order to have the massive project completed in time for the start of school. “It’s going to be such a rallying point for the University, the way we’re kicking it off,” Mueller said. “Welcome Week and the Switchfoot concert, with students and parents and staff all there, it’s going to be great. And then to have Chapel in there on Monday – that sends a real strong message to the community. That’s how we want to start our week.” Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. The University’s curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit gcu.edu. Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/AQ19393LOGO SOURCE Grand Canyon University RELATED LINKS http://www.gcu.edu

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Grand Canyon University Launches New College To Focus On Science, Technology, Engineering And Math

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PHOENIX, July 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Grand Canyon University is creating a new College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) to better align its academic offerings with the school’s focus on STEM education and job opportunities in those fields. CSET will include computer science and information technology programs that will launch this fall, engineering programs that are planned for 2015, and existing programs such as biology pre-med, pre-physical therapy, pre-physician assistant, pre-pharmacy, exercise science and forensic science that had been housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. “We’ve seen such huge demand from students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and we knew we needed to develop the best possible learning environment for those disciplines,” said Dr. Mark Wooden, dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. “Creating this new college really allows us to focus on the needs of those students.” Research from the Washington-based non-profit group Change the Equation found that there are 1.7 STEM jobs for every one unemployed person in Arizona, compared with more than four unemployed people for every one non-STEM job. “Educating a stronger STEM workforce in Arizona will help fill those needs,” Wooden said, “and also help Arizona attract more high-tech companies that count on having that workforce in place.” Wooden previously served as dean of GCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, which is being split. Lab-based sciences, technology and engineering will now fall under CSET, while traditional liberal arts programs will become part of the new College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) under the direction of acting dean Dr. Sherman Elliot. CHSS is applying a similar employment-focused mindset to its programs, which include communications, counseling, English literature, history, justice studies, psychology and sociology. “Our humanities and social science programs focus on application and critical thinking,” Elliot said of the new humanities college. “These programs hold immense value to students who are looking for the opportunity to apply their skills in a wide range of industries.” GCU currently has nearly 50 percent of its traditional students studying in the hard sciences. GCU offers more than 150 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs, emphases and certificates. To learn more about the new colleges, visit www.gcu.edu/newcolleges. Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona’s premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. The University’s curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit gcu.edu. Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/AQ19393LOGO SOURCE Grand Canyon University RELATED LINKS http://www.gcu.edu

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