Founded in 1949, Grand Canyon University, a private Christian school, flourished for five decades. The early years of this century were not kind to the university, with enrollment falling below 1,000 by 2008. The school brought in Brian Mueller as president. Mueller had helped establish the University of Phoenix as an online education powerhouse and brought some of his technical team and his love for Christian education to GCU. They invested $100 million to establish the technology infrastructure for online growth, which provided the financial momentum to invest over $1 billion in the campus. Today Grand Canyon University has 90,000 online students and nearly 24,000 students in-person on their Phoenix campus.
As a Christian university, Grand Canyon is intentionally committed to living out Christian faith within the context of a missional community, “strategically united in carrying out a mission that centers on following Jesus Christ in word and in deed, and in sharing the love of Christ generously to all who participate in the life of the community.” This works itself out in at least two important ways. One, is their “Integration of Faith, Learning and Work” initiative. The second is a five-point plan to deliver both help and hope to the neighborhoods around their campus. You can read more about each in the article linked below.
Technology has been at the core of the university’s growth and living out their mission. The university’s Christian mission not only shapes how the technology is used but also in how technology decisions are made. The technology exists to support people, made in the image of God and worthy of dignity and respect. The concepts of love and service are inherent in any technology decisions.