Brian Mueller
{{Short description|American academic and university administrator}}
{{for|the American ice hockey coach and player|Brian Mueller (ice hockey)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Brian E. Mueller
| image = Brian Mueller GCU Basketball 2015 (cropped).JPG
| title = President of Grand Canyon University
| term_start = July 1, 2008
| term_end = present
| predecessor = Kathleen Player
| successor = Incumbent
| blank1 = Salary
| data1 = $621,000; total annual compensation $3,161,128 (2013){{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/brian-mueller/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615074234/http://www.forbes.com/profile/brian-mueller/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 15, 2013 | title=Forbes' Brian Mueller Profile | work=Forbes | accessdate=October 30, 2014}}
| website = [http://www.gcu.edu/About-Us/Leadership-Team.php gcu.edu]
| education = Concordia University (BA, MEd)
}}
Brian E. Mueller is an American academic and university administrator. He is the current president of Grand Canyon University and CEO of Grand Canyon Education. Mueller has been the President of the university since July 1, 2008, and a director since March 2009.{{cite web | url=http://investors.gcu.edu/phoenix.zhtml?c=221997&p=irol-govBio&ID=184124 | title=Grand Canyon University Investor Relations | publisher=Grand Canyon University | accessdate=October 30, 2014 | archive-date=May 3, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503074114/https://investors.gce.com/?c=221997&p=irol-govBio&ID=184124 | url-status=live }} Mueller is also the CEO of the for-profit publicly traded Grand Canyon Education Inc that provides services to GCU.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshmoody/2018/07/17/for-profit-giant-goes-nonprofit-amid-questions-and-concerns/|title=For-Profit University Giant Goes Nonprofit Amid Questions And Concerns|last=Moody|first=Josh|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-04-18|archive-date=2019-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212131235/https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshmoody/2018/07/17/for-profit-giant-goes-nonprofit-amid-questions-and-concerns/|url-status=live}}
Prior to taking the reins of Grand Canyon University, Mueller was the president and a director of Apollo Education Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix. Mueller also held executive positions with the University of Phoenix Online including CEO, chief operating officer, and senior vice president. While in a leadership position, enrollment at the University of Phoenix grew from 3,500 to 340,000.{{cite web | url=http://www.gcu.edu/About-Us/Leadership-Team.php | title=GCU Leadership Team | publisher=Grand Canyon University | accessdate=October 30, 2014 | archive-date=May 3, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503074117/https://www.gcu.edu/about/leadership-team | url-status=live }}
Personal
Mueller grew up in a middle-class family in Wisconsin with seven siblings.{{cite web | url=http://mylifemagazine.com/ceo-series-an-interview-with-brian-mueller | title=CEO Series: An Interview with Brian Mueller | publisher=My Life Magazine | accessdate=October 30, 2014 | archive-date=October 31, 2014 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20141031003236/http://mylifemagazine.com/ceo-series-an-interview-with-brian-mueller | url-status=dead }} Mueller graduated from Concordia University with a bachelor's degree in secondary education and a master's degree in education.{{cn|date=January 2024}}
Career
Mueller's first job in higher education was at his alma mater, Concordia University. He was a professor at the university from 1983 to 1987 as well as the university's head men's basketball coach.
Mueller was a high school teacher before heading to Arizona State University to enroll in a Ph.D. program, but got a job working for the University of Phoenix as an enrollment counselor in hopes to better support his family financially.{{Cite web |last=Desai |first=Rishi |title=Flexible Education is the Future - Brian Mueller, President of Grand Canyon University |url=https://www.osmosis.org/raisethelinepodcast/revolutionizing-the-economics-of-education-with-brian-mueller-president-of-grand-canyon-university |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210222537/https://www.osmosis.org/raisethelinepodcast/revolutionizing-the-economics-of-education-with-brian-mueller-president-of-grand-canyon-university |access-date=2023-02-10 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |url-status=live }} Three years later, he was put in charge of marketing and enrollment.{{Cite news |date=Feb 3, 2010 |title=Interview: Brian Mueller |work=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/interviews/mueller.html |access-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210221032/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/interviews/mueller.html |url-status=live }} At the University of Phoenix he rose to a leadership role, as president, his team designed what the department of Education later termed as "predatory".{{cite web |title=Sweet V Cardona 2022 |url=http://www.ppsl.org/cases/sweet-v-cardona |access-date=2024-05-03 |archive-date=2024-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429143952/https://www.ppsl.org/cases/sweet-v-cardona |url-status=live }}
Mueller was hired in 2008 at Grand Canyon University when the university went to the public market for an infusion of capital investment to put towards the West Phoenix campus. Under Mueller's watch, the university's ground campus enrollment has jumped from about 1,000 to over 20,000 as of the fall of 2018. Enrollment in online programs is over 70,000. Mueller's goal for the ground campus is to increase enrollment to 25,000 and continue to expand the campus.{{cite web | url=http://www.universityherald.com/articles/11006/20140820/grand-canyon-university-welcomes-largest-group-of-incoming-students-in-schools-history.htm | title=Grand Canyon University Welcomes Largest Group of Incoming Students in School's History | date=20 August 2014 | publisher=University Herald | accessdate=October 30, 2014 | archive-date=31 October 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031013030/http://www.universityherald.com/articles/11006/20140820/grand-canyon-university-welcomes-largest-group-of-incoming-students-in-schools-history.htm | url-status=live }}
Mueller finished fourth in the Phoenix Business Journal's 2014 Businessman of the Year voting behind Michael Bidwill (Arizona Cardinals), MaryAnn Guerra (BioAccel), and Bob Parsons (GoDaddy).{{cite web | url=http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/pulse/survey/who-do-you-think-should-be-businessperson-of-the-year/15917581 | title=Results: Who do you think should be Businessperson of the Year? | publisher=Phoenix Business Journal | accessdate=November 30, 2014 | archive-date=December 6, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206184639/http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/pulse/survey/who-do-you-think-should-be-businessperson-of-the-year/15917581 | url-status=live }}
On December 28, 2023 the Federal Trade Commission announced that it filed suit against Grand Canyon Education, Grand Canyon University, and Brian Mueller (the chief executive officer of both) for deceiving prospective doctoral students about the cost and course requirements of its doctoral programs and about being a nonprofit, while also engaging in deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices.{{Cite news|access-date=December 28, 2023|title=FTC Sues Grand Canyon University for Deceptive Advertising and Illegal Telemarketing|url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/12/ftc-sues-grand-canyon-university-deceptive-advertising-illegal-telemarketing|archive-date=December 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227221459/https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/12/ftc-sues-grand-canyon-university-deceptive-advertising-illegal-telemarketing|url-status=live}}