On 4/18/24, Fox news published this story indicating that the Department of Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, issued threatening statements against Grand Canyon University and other colleges during a House Appropriations Hearing on 4/10/24.
He apparently went so far as to say that he vowed to shutdown GCU. Several news outlets are now covering this story including Resist The Mainstream, American Greatness, End Time Headlines, Constitutional Rights PAC, and others. OAN put out this video on this story.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., asked Cardona how the administration is working to shut down GCU, which she called “a predatory for-profit school.”
Cardona openly embraced their enforcement methods, declaring, “We are cracking down not only to shut them down but also to send a message not to prey on students.”
These recent developments seemed like a substantial uptick in the story that we reported on 5 months ago. As a result, we wanted to provide this brief update. For our most recent subscribers, The Fruited Plain covered this story back in November 2023. To learn more about the case involving the US Department of Education vs GCU, you might benefit from starting here.
Plainly stated, GCU was fined by the Department of Education in October 2023 for an unprecedented $37.7 million. Apparently, we are supposed to believe that the US Department of Education, led by Secretary Miguel Cardona, does not like it when a Christian university takes egregious actions towards students by offering them a wide range of educational opportunities at affordable prices. How dare GCU actually carry out its mission of educating students?
As shared earlier, the US Department of Education is NOT recognizing GCU’s nonprofit conversion as it pertains to the IRS. The latest assault came from Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT) as she referred to GCU as a “predatory for-profit university.”
Grand Canyon University shared this communication with its student body on 4/18/24.
First and foremost, we are neither predatory nor a for-profit.
These statements and many others made by GCU about its IRS status as a non-profit appears to be based on factual evidence. However, the Department of Education is refusing to acknowledge GCU’s non-profit status. Why? Aren’t facts just facts? Or do facts no longer matter?
In addition to the communication with its student body, GCU News published this response for all to see. Brian Mueller serves as the President of GCU.
If a government-run institution produced those kinds of outcomes, it would be applauded. At the largest private Christian university in the country, it draws unwarranted threats from the Secretary of Education and the ire of the federal government.
It has become quite clear to our team that GCU poses some sort of threat to the US Department of Education. Is the unique GCU higher education model “laying waste” to the traditional model of higher education? Or does something else pose a threat? What makes GCU and the two or three other Christian colleges different from all the other colleges in the US? Why GCU?
We do not claim to have a definitive answer to this question. So what do reporters do when answers are unclear? We do the unthinkable - we start digging further by asking more questions.
Why is GCU such a threat to the Department of Education that it would need to take such a drastic stance, threatening to shut it down altogether?
Is it because of their rapid growth and/or general “success” as a university? Are they simply growing too fast or becoming too well known? GCU did host the college Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championship on 4/4/24 that was aired on ESPN.
National exposure that results in a positive vibe for college hoops would normally be seen a good thing, right? A GCU player named Gabe McGlothan actually won the slam dunk competition, much to the excitement of the local Havoc nation that came out in big numbers to cheer on all of the competitors.
Or is GCU a threat to the Department of Education because of the land that the university sits on? Is there something unique about this particular swathe of land? The only unique and rather obscure thing that we could find is that there is a land owner who refused to sell his land to the university and still claims ownership of his home that happens to be situated in the center of the campus.
Clearly, this is a unique and odd detail that only applies to the GCU campus, but would this potentially be some sort of a threat to the Department of Education? This line of thinking makes little or no sense to us, but it is worth noting as this may simply be a lesson that college students can never be taught. What our we referring to? The lesson is that land owners in the US are like little sovereign nations, in and of themselves. This land owner is teaching a valuable lesson to thousands of students each day. We are not suggesting that we support the land owner. We are simply saying that there is a lesson to be learned. The land owner has rights and he has exercised those rights by remaining in his home. GCU has honored his wishes.
Or is GCU a threat to the Department of Education because of its status as a non-profit? This seems to make the most sense, only because the Department of Education continues to not acknowledge and allows others in authority to make false and inaccurate claims that GCU is for-profit. The IRS recognizes GCU as a non-profit and so does the state of Arizona. Why is the Department of Education demanding that GCU be seen to be a for-profit behemoth predator? Does this all seem odd to you?
It might be time for all of us to visit the campus, do some more investigative reporting, and grab some eats at the Havoc House.
Two things are clear. First and foremost, GCU is wreaking havoc on the Department of Education. And secondly, and perhaps more importantly, a fight is brewing in Maricopa County, established in 1871, that every freedom loving American needs to pay close attention to. At the very least, any and all Christian colleges located in these United States are wise to pay very close attention.
Remind us again, how does a county become incorporated 40 years before a state?