Grand Canyon Times

Grand Canyon University recently held a "Governor Appreciation Luncheon" for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, during which GCU President Brian Mueller honored Ducey for a thriving college climate.

“This is the best time that, I think, has ever existed in Arizona to be a college student,” he said in a release from GCU.

Mueller and other political, business and clergy leaders paid tribute to Ducey for his eight years as governor. GCU's partnership with the Arizona Department of Child Safety to award Fostering Futures Scholarships was also lauded at the event.

Mueller said the work of Ducey and other educators has made life better for Arizona's students.

“What’s happened is that because of all these companies, because of all these jobs, the supply and demand in the labor force has flipped," he said.

Mueller and others credited Ducey with a strong economy, which benefits graduates.

“Being a college student today, you walk out of a place like Grand Canyon or ASU or any of our institutions, with the business climate that exists today, you don’t have just one job offer. You have a multitude of job offers," he said. "Our kids are getting a choice."

Ducey, in return, credited Mueller for GCU's national growth.

"Unbelievable, what I’ve seen here," he said. "You know, there’s a lot of people in positions with big titles, and they’re good talkers and they tell you everything they’re going to do. But this guy has exceeded every expectation.

“Every time I come back to this campus, it’s a new journey," Ducey said. "You should be very proud of everything you’ve accomplished at Grand Canyon University and what a school of faith can do. And as he reminds me every time I see him, he’s done it all without one taxpayer dollar, and I’m very happy about that.”

Ducey said also called the GCU partnership with Arizona Department of Child Safety “an accomplishment that we’re incredibly proud of.”

Ducey also said that GCU was a university that "prepares young people for the future. That’s really where a lot of my hope and optimism lies," he added.

Kevin Youngblood, entrepreneur-in-residence at GCU’s Canyon Ventures business incubator, said Ducey's leadership has been critical to Arizona's economic boom.

“In 2015, we needed a governor who understands that the backbone of Arizona was not Wall Street, it’s Main Street," he said. "It was moms and pops who have hustles that turn into businesses which developed into enterprises. It was communities that wanted safe and prosperous places to build and grow, and we needed a governor who understood that."

Youngblood added that Arizona "needed a cheerleader for small business. We needed a fighter to tackle regulation and onerous taxes. And we needed a visionary to help shape a future where the people of this state could not only get by, but flourish,” he said.

Debbie Moak, Director of Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family said Ducey would leave office "with his character intact. That’s amazing.”

Republican Christine Jones, who ran against Ducey for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Arizona, said that in today's political climate, "we should be celebrating good leadership. And there used to be a time when you could say something nice, even about the people with whom you disagree, and it was viewed as a sign of strength, not weakness. So I’m honored to be doing this today for you,” she added.

Jones said that when she ran against Ducey, "the more people I talked to in the state of Arizona, the more I learned that he has a lot of really good, deep friendships. I can’t tell you the number of times I talked to somebody on the phone and they would say, ‘Well, Christine, I would love to support you, but one of my very best friends is running for governor.’ And they really meant it.

"Because Doug is a person who nurtures and takes care of his friends and his friendships,” she said.

Ducey said he and Jones "went on an odyssey together in 2014, and it almost, to me, seems like the good old days, when you could have a discussion and a debate but then understand that you wanted to serve the people for the greater good and you would need the alliance and the relationship and the partnership going forward,”

The event was faith-based, and Ducey spoke about his faith and how it's led him.

“My faith has been critical at many moments and every day of this journey,” he said in the release. “I want to thank everyone in this room for your leadership in support of our faith-based institutions. They are the one non-negotiable for our nation, going forward. This is where we are going to find the answer.”

While much of America is currently divided, he added, Arizona is not.

“Over the last eight years,” he said, "it’s been an incredible privilege to work with so many here today to prioritize things and protect religious freedom. I’ve tried to operate as governor of all the people and, to the best of our ability, even in a time when there are real issues to be discussed and debated on, to have unity inside our state. I do think it is better when we are together as Americans and as Arizonans.”