\u201cThey threw everything that they had at us for five years \u2013 everything,\u201d GCU President Brian Mueller told KTAR News 92.3 FM\u2019s The Mike Broomhead Show. \u201cIt cost us $8 million to $10 million in legal fees to defend ourselves. Through that whole process, we never stopped growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
GCU president thinks school was targeted for religious reasons<\/p>\n
Mueller believes the Christian school<\/a>, which will have over 130,000 students when the fall semester starts after Labor Day, was targeted for religious reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a few people in Washington, D.C., that it became very obvious had an ideological problem with the largest private university in the country being a Christian university,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mueller wonders if government knew the allegations wouldn\u2019t hold up but had other reasons for taking legal action.<\/p>\n \u201cTo some extent, people argue that the process was the punishment,\u201d he said. \u201cThey knew they weren\u2019t going to be able to win. They knew they had nothing that was substantial in terms of criticisms of us, but putting us through the process, they were hoping to slow us down.\u201d<\/p>\n GCU president accuses government of \u2018witch hunt\u2019<\/p>\n The school weathered investigations from multiple agencies over its nonprofit status<\/a> and doctoral program disclosures as well as a record $37.7 million Department of Education fine that was later rescinded<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a witch hunt,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cThey were going to try to find one thing that they could pin on us and they finally came up with this doctoral thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Mueller said there isn\u2019t a way for GCU to recoup its legal fees or hold the government accountable. He\u2019s ready to move forward, saying demand for what the school has to offer \u201cis unlimited.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt never impacted the people that are supportive of ours,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cBut it did vindicate us, I suppose, with some people that maybe didn\u2019t know us and were on the fence.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow @kstonezone<\/a><\/p>\n We want to hear from you.<\/p>\n Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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