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Grand Canyon University history
Grand Canyon University company history timeline
The college was founded as a nonprofit institution in 1949 in Prescott.
And there’s no question which artifact is its most treasured: It’s the film of the 1951 grand opening of the Phoenix campus – especially considering how beat up it looked when it was discovered.
GCU relocated to Phoenix, Arizona in 1951
Doctor Dave Brazell founded the baseball program in 1953 and coached the team for 28 years.
In May of 1984, college trustees voted to prepare for transition to university status on the school’s 40th anniversary.
Grand Canyon College was renamed Grand Canyon University in 1989.
GCU's campus grows in 1990
In the early 2000’s, GCU struggled with financial support.
The university faced a critical juncture in September 2003, teetering on the verge of insolvency and facing the prospect of bankruptcy.
Suffering financial and other difficulties in the early part of the 21st century, the school's trustees authorized its sale in January 2004 to California-based, Significant Education, LLC, making it the first for-profit Christian college in the United States.
In 2006, the Grand Canyon University campus received a US$150 million makeover including a brick promenade, an aquatics center, with pool and hot tub, and a café offering an assortment of games and big-screen televisions.
In 2009, Grand Canyon University's campus began work on a $60 million campus expansion project which includes a 500-bed dormitory, a 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m) fitness and recreation center, 125-classroom facility, food court and bowling alley, and a 5,000 seat arena.
As part of our commitment to keeping tuition rates competitive, GCU has kept campus tuition costs frozen since 2009.
GCU’s nontraditional student body increased from approximately 22,000 students at the start of 2009 to over 60,000 online students currently.
Two new residence halls opened in the fall of 2012, Sedona Hall and Camelback Hall, each with 500 beds.
In March 2013, former Phoenix Suns shooting guard Dan Majerle was hired as the 13th men's basketball coach.
Mailander had been eager to get the project started ever since the Library moved to its new location in the Student Union during the 2013-14 academic year.
Two additional residence halls opened in the fall of 2013, Chaparral Hall and Saguaro Hall.
The three-year-old arena is already undergoing major expansion beginning in Spring of 2014 with the goal of expanding to about 7,000 seats.
An apartment-style residence hall, the Papago Apartments, opened in fall of 2014 along with another traditional residence hall, Ocotillo Hall.
By 2014 the accumulated student loan debt of Grand Canyon students was estimated to be more than $5.9 billion.
In fall 2014 the school announced the exploration of a return to non-profit status.
A 2015 economic impact study revealed that the university was adding about $1 billion into the state's economy each year during its expansion.
But then the University transitioned to nonprofit status in 2018, which made it eligible for grants.
In 2018, GCU transitioned back to a 501(c)(3) institution, which provided faculty and students with equitable opportunities to:
In 2021, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by GCU that claimed the university didn't receive all the coronavirus relief funds to which it was entitled, because it was a non-profit entity.
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Grand Canyon University competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindenwood University | 1827 | $28.0M | 1,316 | 54 |
| Gonzaga University | 1887 | $232.0M | 2,531 | - |
| Creighton University | 1878 | $394.3M | 2,000 | 21 |
| Tyler Junior College | 1926 | $16.0M | 959 | 1 |
| Midwestern State University | 1922 | $8.1M | 1,101 | 46 |
| University of San Diego | 1949 | $365.2M | 2,365 | 76 |
| Western Texas College | 1971 | $6.7M | 140 | 8 |
| California Baptist University | 1950 | $203.5M | 2,453 | 46 |
| Phoenix College | 1920 | $43.0M | 1,049 | - |
| Florida Gulf Coast University | 1991 | $50.0M | 1,726 | 58 |
Grand Canyon University history FAQs
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