The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University men's basketball student-athlete Nick Coleman among the 2021 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University Women's Basketball student-athletes among the 2021 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) officially announced Graceland student-athletes among the qualifiers for the 2021 NAIA Wrestling National Championships. The 64th annual event takes place March 5-6 at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. Graceland Wrestling Head Coach Zack Mullins commented, "I'm very proud of what this team was able to accomplish this weekend! We've come a long way over the years in building the program the right way and it has manifested into a group of guys that buy in to hard work, commitment and family. This year's motto has been 'Stronger Together!' so we are all excited to continue this journey at nationals together." The allocations each conference/grouping received to the 2021 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships were determined by a three-year average of a conference's all-American honors and national tournament qualifiers. Each conference determined how to distribute their allocated berths to the national tournament.

Graceland University students were elected by their peers to the Graceland University Student Government for 2021-22. The elected students will take office at the start of the fall semester 2021 as an integral part of the vibrant Graceland University student leadership community. Students serving in student government roles at Graceland gain valuable leadership experience and become a respected voice for the Graceland student body.

The Graceland University Music Department held its annual solo competition Feb. 7. This competition is open to all current music students and invites them to prepare a performance for adjudication and comments by outside adjudicators with diverse backgrounds in music. In addition to the competition for all music students, music majors were eligible to compete separately for one of three Anthony Hyde awards. The Anthony Hyde award was initiated by Graceland music alumni in 1982 to promote musical excellence.

Graceland University Men's Track's Cameron Johnson was named the NAIA Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week Feb. 3. Student-athletes are evaluated at the national level on their performance during the week prior to the announcement. Each NAIA awardee is selected from a pool of conference and Association of Independent Institution's award winners. Johnson has won the 55-meter and 200-meter events in two consecutive meets. Last week, he won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.46 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.68 seconds, leading to his recognition as the Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Week. Graceland Athletic Director Brady McKillip commented, "On behalf of the entire athletic department, we are very proud of Cameron and his accomplishments so far this season in such a trying year. Congrats to Cam on this award; it is well-deserved."

Graceland University Men's Track's Cameron Johnson was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Men's Track Athlete of the Week Monday, Jan. 25. The senior sprinter from Houston, Texas, won two of the three events he competed in during last Friday's Graceland Indoor Winter Series meet. He placed first in both the 55m dash and the 200m dash. In the 55m dash, Johnson ran a 6.51 and completed the 200m dash in 22.87 seconds. Track and field head coach Sheena James commented, "I'm so proud of Cam. He leads by example and works hard to maximize his potential. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of this indoor season pans out for him. There are great things ahead for Cam!" In addition to winning two of the events in Friday's indoor meet, Cameron also helped Graceland to a 2nd place finish in the men's 4x400m relay. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University has announced the Fall 2020 graduation list. Graduates from around the country and around the world have been recognized for earning undergraduate and graduate degrees from Graceland University between May 31 through Dec. 19, 2020. We congratulate all graduates on their accomplishments and offer our best wishes for success in the future!

Graceland University Men's Track's Cameron Johnson was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Men's Track Athlete of the Week Monday, Feb. 1, for the second week in a row. The senior sprinter from Houston, Texas, repeated his success from last week with two first-place finishes at the weekend home meet. Johnson won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.46 seconds. He also came away with another first-place finish in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 22.68 seconds. That makes four consecutive victories over the past two weeks in both of Johnson's sprinting events. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

The honor roll lists for Graceland University's 2020 fall term have been announced. Students with a GPA between 3.65 and 3.99 are named to the honors list. Graceland commends the students who have devoted their efforts and talents to their academic success!

The honor roll lists for Graceland University's 2020 fall term have been announced. Students with a perfect 4.0 grade point average are named to the president's list. Graceland commends the students who have devoted their efforts and talents to their academic success!

The honor roll lists for Graceland University's 2020 fall term have been announced. Students with a GPA between 3.25 and 3.64 are named to the dean's list. Graceland commends the students who have devoted their efforts and talents to their academic success!

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University football student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University women's soccer student-athlete Charlyann Pizzarello among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University women's volleyball student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University men's soccer student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches.

The Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) named Graceland University cross country student-athletes among the 2020 all-conference selections, selected by the Heart coaches. Racers who finished in the top 10 in the Heart conference meet earned all-conference honors, and those who finished number 11-15 received honorable mention recognition.

Graceland University Men's Cross Country's Dillon Grover was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week Monday, Oct. 26. Grover has consistently improved throughout the year and has been one of the Heart's top runners all season. This weekend tabbed Grover's third top-ten finish of the fall. He placed fifth to open the season at the Viking Invitiational, won the Yellowjacket Invite, then earned third last week ahead of this recognition. Grover set a personal record at 25:30.36 this weekend and posted the fastest time in the Heart this fall. He helped the Graceland men's team to a fourth-place finish out of the nine competing teams in the Mustang XC Jamboree. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Abraham De Anda was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. De Anda picked up an assist in the Yellowjackets' win at Park University earlier in the week and scored two goals in their win Friday night over Evangel University. On the season, De Anda now has four goals and an assist for 9 total points in Graceland's 10 matches thus far. In their match at Evangel, De Anda had a season-high in total points (4), goals (2), shots (5) and shots on goal (4). Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University music student Daryn Nowlin was accepted to La Musica Lirica, a prestigious international summer opera training program in Novafeltria, Italy. Read the whole story here.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2019-20 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes Sept. 15. Over 10,000 total NAIA student-athletes were named to the annual list. Graceland University had 47 individuals earn scholar-athlete status for the year. The Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete program recognizes excellence in the classroom for NAIA student-athletes with junior or senior status and with an academic standing of a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA. Students must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended two full years as a nontransfer student or one full year as a transfer.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Pedelson Finda was named Heart Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday, Sept. 28. Head coach Bryan Courtney said, "Pedelson worked really hard this offseason with no guarantees that we would even be able to play. I am very happy to see his diligence and hard work pay off for himself as well as our team." Finda commented, "I'm beyond blessed to receive this honor in one of the best conferences in the NAIA. This award is a result of hard work, dedication, passion and love for the game. Although this was an individual award, I wouldn't be able to accomplish without the endless support and camaraderie from my coach and teammates. We are one family that prevails together, win or lose. Therefore, this is not my award, this is ours!" Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Two Graceland University golf student-athletes were named Heart Golfer of the week by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday, Sept. 14. Freshman Isabelle O'Brien was named Female Golfer of the Week, and senior Jordan Lester was named Male Golfer of the Week. The pair of Graceland golfers turned in a solid performance from the team's first competition of the 2020 season at the Mount Mercy Invitational Sept. 12-13. Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Liam Smith was named Heart Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday, Sept. 7. Head men's soccer coach Bryan Courtney commented, "Liam was a steady presence in net all game. It is nice to have him back and fully healthy to begin this season." Smith posted a clean sheet in goal for Graceland to help lead them to a 2-0 win in their season opener over Ottawa University Saturday, Sept. 5. He was in goal the entire 90 minutes of the match and had six saves. Coach Courtney added, "We are looking forward to seeing the positive impact that Liam brings to the team this season with his physical ability and leadership qualities. He is athletic and technically sound in the goal, but equally important is his quality of character. He is always positive and encouraging and sets a great example for his teammates." Each week, award winners are nominated by members of the Heart and selected by a voting panel of member institution Sports Information Directors.

The Graceland University Theatre Department is pleased to announce incoming freshman Naomi Thomsen as the recipient of the Stage Door Scholarship award. This is Graceland Theatre's most prestigious scholarship and comes with a $10,000 award each year for four years. Thomsen will begin her freshman year at Graceland this fall as a theatre major, but this will not be her first experience with the theatre department. Her high school does not have a theatre program, so, during her junior year, she reached out to Graceland Professor of Theatre Tracy Salter, MFA, to request the opportunity to gain audition experience and receive feedback. Salter immediately recognized her talent. Then, during her senior year, Salter invited Thomsen to audition again, and she was cast in the Graceland production of "Lighting the Way." "I'm thrilled that Naomi has chosen Graceland's Theatre Department to be her new home away from home," shared Salter. "Her motivation, professionalism and talent are serious assets to the program." This year, audiences will be able to see Thomsen in the upcoming production of "Antigone," opening Sept. 24

Graceland University Men's Soccer's Dylan Fox has been named the Heart of America Athletic Conference's nominee for the annual Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award. The award recognizes one student-athlete who excels academically and athletically, and embraces the core values of Champions of Character. Fox, a defender on the soccer team, saw action in 15 games last season and was selected as a Freeman Award recipient for Graceland in October. The five-time president's list selection is currently triple majoring in computer science and information technology, mathematics and data science. Fox also served as a House President, an Academic Student Council representative and a member of Graceland's Association of Student-Athletes during the 2019-20 academic year. The national winner for the Walker Award will be announced publicly during the NAIA National Awards Day in September.

Graceland University students were named as award winners in the Department of Art Annual 2020 Juried Student Art Exhibition. The Graceland juried exhibition consists of artwork submitted by students in designated categories. It is judged by an individual or panel, according to certain measures. Graceland students entered works in one of three categories: two dimensional art, sculpture and graphic design.

Graceland University inducted a new class of members into the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society for 2020. Graceland's chapter (272) has been in existence since 1987. Alpha Chi was founded in 1922 and is a coeducational academic honor society and a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. The purpose is to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction. To be accepted, juniors and seniors from all academic disciplines must place in the top 10% of their class. Congratulations to these students on their hard work and achievement.

Students in the English department at Graceland University have been recognized for their achievements and contribution to the department, and have been rewarded with scholarships for their respective talents.

Amy Austin received the 2020 Graceland University Alma and Kathryn Blair Prize in History for Best History Paper.