Grand Canyon University begins process of returning to non-profit status - ABC15 Arizona
Grand Canyon University begins process of returning to non-profit status
Jul 30, 2015
Newly-incorporated Gazelle University, Inc. is in the early stages of buying up to $1 billion worth of Grand Canyon Universitys property.
The move could be the first step in returning GCU to a non-profit university, which is how the school existed for 55 years before becoming a for-profit corporation in 2004.
GCU management expressed interest last year in transitioning the University into a non-profit, allowing the University to conduct itself
on a level playing field with the other traditional universities with which the University competes, according to financial filings.
Gazelle University is organized as a non-profit.
Gazelle would use $1 billion of bond proceeds to pay for the core educational assets of Grand Canyon University,3300 W. Camelback Rd., according to details of the project obtained by ABC 15.
GCU turned itself into a for-profit enterprise in 2004 to remain in operation, according to financial filings.
GCUs CEO, Brian Mueller, said that it would require about $2 billion in order to transition GCU into a non-profit, according to a February article in the Phoenix Business Journal.
GCUs Mueller incorporated Gazelle University in November of last year and is on the five-member board of trustees of the new venture, according to business documents on file with the state.
The new Gazelle University will aim to provide an an academically-challenging, values-based curriculum, from the context of a Christian heritage. GCU is a Christian university.
Bob Romantic, a GCU spokesman, said the creation of Gazelle University is a preliminary step in the process of turning GCU into a non-profit. The universitys name would not change if the process continues as planned, Romantic said.
The cost of re-paying the up to $1 billion in bonds would not lead to a tuition increase, Romantic said.
A main reason for turning the university into a non-profit is to avoid paying taxes, Romantic said.
The university faces a potential $100 million tax dollar next year, according to Romantic.