Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Entrepreneur Kevin Youngblood knew Grand Canyon University and award-winning Arizona Homebuilder and philanthropist Tom Lewis would do great things together.
“I know that (GCU President) Brian Mueller only does big projects,” said Youngblood, who was the one who first introduced Lewis to Mueller and several GCU officials. “And I know that Tom Lewis is all about doing big projects. So absolutely I knew they’d do something really neat.”
Within two years of that first meeting, Lewis and GCU celebrated the opening of the T.W. Lewis Center for Student Success, a multifaceted facility designed to provide students with more tools, advanced avenues to employment and more exposure to the marketplace. It is the second major initiative associated with Lewis, whose T.W. Lewis Speaker Series spotlighting top business executives started last fall as part of his $2 million, five-year commitment to the university’s Colangelo College of Business.
Mueller reflected on another entrepreneur whose support has become integral to GCU’s success and how Lewis also is affecting the university in a major way.
“There aren’t many more influential people in Arizona than Jerry Colangelo. Getting him (involved with GCU) was a big deal for us. But having your support is every bit as big a deal as having his support,” Mueller told Lewis before an overflow crowd at the CCOB lobby that included university executives, trustees, deans, donors, professors and students. “We appreciate the gift, but we are also more appreciative of who you are and your willingness to spend time, like you just did, with young people.”
University Pastor Dr. Tim Griffin blessed the center before Lewis cut the ribbon while flanked by Mueller and CCOB Dean John Kaites.
Attendees toured the new first-floor amenities, which includes a broadcast studio and podcast room that will enable students to create content tailored to their specific interest or study. There’s also a ticker above the studio and podcast room displaying stock market updates.
Across the way, the Career Services Center occupies one of the facility’s offices.
“It’s a blessing to know Tom, who’ve I’ve known since the late ’80s, and for him to be part of this university,” finance professor Alan Klibanoff said. “… We couldn’t be more blessed. God’s grace has given us such fortunate things in the last seven years. … Having a whole center for student development, students can really appreciate this when they end their careers and look back and say, ‘I had the right path.’”
The timing couldn’t be greater for sophomore finance major Jayden Nelson, who transferred to GCU this fall.
“Having a place like this for me to come to and attend a lot of awesome events and meet a lot of professional people is a great opportunity for all of the students,” Nelson said.
Discussions between Lewis, Kaites and T.W. Lewis Foundation Executive Director Steve Smith began about 18 months ago and has culminated with the center’s opening. The mission was to create experiences and opportunities for GCU students that no other business college in America could.
For Kaites, the center’s opening around the two-year anniversary of his appointment as CCOB dean was a source of pride.
“What I love about Grand Canyon University is that President Mueller gives us the opportunity that if we have a good idea, we can run with it and make it a reality fast,” Kaites said. “And that’s what we do around here. We don’t waste any time getting things done. Whether it’s an exchange-traded fund on the New York Stock Exchange or the Center for Student Success, when he says go, we go. Praise God for that opportunity.”
Lewis shared his story with the audience – a story documented in his book, “Solid Ground: A Foundation for Winning in Work and in Life,” which he signed for students for at least an hour after he cut the ribbon to officially open the center.
Lewis said the hardship of living with an alcoholic father and the loss of his family’s home at 16 made him determined to never let that happen to him. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky and University of North Carolina before moving from Ohio to Arizona in 1979 and starting his homebuilding business 12 years later.
Lewis and his wife, in 2001, started their foundation, which awards college scholarships. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2017, he resurrected his bond with Christ and became committed to spending the rest of his life building His kingdom. His renewed faith brought him to GCU.
“I knew they were going to do big things, no question,” Youngblood said.
A six-minute video tribute to Lewis at the center’s opening featured testimonies from Mueller, Kaites, former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and CEOs Shannon Clancy of St. Vincent de Paul and Ken Brissa of Phoenix Rescue Mission.
“I know there is much more that Tom Lewis is going to do in the lives of young people,” Ducey said.
Lewis reiterated how much he loves the vibe of GCU students and their commitment to Christ. At the same time, he dispelled some myths, stressing that success and happiness are two different things, and that you have to work hard and smart, not just smart.
Thirty is not the new 20, he emphasized.
“In your 20s, it’s your defining decade,” Lewis said. “… Successful people don’t waste time.”
Lewis revealed he lost a college friend 10 days ago who requested to have his ashes spread at his fraternity house and at the football field at the University of Kentucky.
“I’ve actually thought about the same thing,” Lewis said. “Some day, when you’re 80 years old, you’re going to want to spread your ashes on GCU’s campus.”
He also chuckled about Mueller’s slogan of Find Your Purpose.
“Your purpose comes closer to the end than the beginning. You just don’t know it.”
The opening of the T.W. Lewis Center for Student Success is part of Career Readiness Week, which today includes a Disney Day Coffee Chat at the CCOB lobby from 1:30-3 p.m. and an Interview Strategies Webinar online from 4-4:45 p.m.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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GCU News: Homebuilder T.W. Lewis finds a new home for his philanthropic endeavors at GCU
GCU News: Lewis shares tips for business success at speaker series