GCU to hold ceremonies for record graduating class next week
Apr 16, 2021, 3:00 PM | Updated: 4:00 pm
(Facebook Photo/Grand Canyon University)
PHOENIX – Grand Canyon University will honor a record graduating class of around 28,000 students with in-person ceremonies starting next week.
This school year’s class, the largest in the Phoenix private school’s 72-year history, includes degrees completed in the summer and fall of 2020 and spring 2021, according to a press release.
“It’s a testament to those students’ resilience and determination to complete their degree during challenging circumstances,” GCU President Brian Mueller said in the release.
“They should be very proud of their accomplishments.”
Commencement for traditional-aged students will take place Monday and Tuesday at GCU Arena and be streamed online.
The ceremony for the College of Education and College of Humanities and Social Sciences will begin at 10 a.m. Monday. The College of Fine Arts and Production and Colangelo College of Business will follow at 3 p.m.
Another session will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday for the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions; College of Science, Engineering and Technology; and the College of Theology.
Each graduate was permitted to invite two guests, who will be seated with social distancing.
The mother of Oscar Frayer, the GCU basketball player who died in a car crash just three days after playing in the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance, will accept his diploma during the Monday morning ceremony.
A virtual commencement for working adults in the online program is set for 10 a.m. on May 15. The school also has tentative plans for an in-person ceremony for the online class in September.