Skip to main content

Menu

Officers

Jon Althouse
Michael Rochelle
Stephen Hayes
Stephen Hayes
Eric Cook

A Tribute to Mitchell Craig Laird

Mitchell Craig Laird was born in Mooreland, Oklahoma. Mitch was a standout pitcher at Woodward (OK) High School where he was honored as a firstteam Oklahoma All-State pitcher and was selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. Mitch chose an education over his life’s dream of professional baseball.

Mitch began his collegiate career at Eastern Oklahoma State College. His time there was highlighted by a perfect game. He transferred to Grand Canyon College (now GCU) where he continued his outstanding baseball career. In his senior year, Mitch was named All-District and led the Lopes pitching staff in innings pitched, strikeouts, wins, and earned run average. He set a GCU record with 18 strikeouts in a single game – a record that stood for over 45 years. In his four years as a collegiate pitcher, Mitch never had a season with an earned run average over 2.00.

Mitch was selected in the MLB draft a second time but again elected to continue his education. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from GCU and a Juris Doctor from Arizona State University College of Law. After being admitted to the bar, he founded the law firm now known as Laird & Associates, P.C. Mitch’s ties to GCU remained strong. He served as outside counsel to GCU for over two decades, as an adjunct professor of business law for many years, and as president of the GCU Alumni Association.

In 1995, Mitch purchased two Burger King restaurants and grew the business to 32 restaurants over the course of 20 years. As an active member of the business community, Mitch served as the President of the Southwest Franchisee Association, Chairman of the Board of the National Franchisee Association, Chairman of the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, and on the board of directors of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.

In late 2003, when GCU found itself in serious financial trouble and other law firms said it was not possible to complete the necessary sale in the available time, Mitch’s law firm stopped work on all other clients and worked around the clock for months to complete this first-of-its-kind transaction. Had the sale not been completed, GCU would have closed its doors in the middle of the school year. Not only would Canyon Institute not exist, but GCU would not exist as it is today, if it existed at all.

After the sale of GCU, Mitch served as Chief Executive Officer of Canyon Institute from its foundation until his passing in December 2025.

In 2004 Mitch Laird was honored by GCU with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and was elected to the GCU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2015.

As a student at GCU, Mitch met the love of his life, Becki (Bell) Laird, who would become his wife of 52 years. They had three sons. If you were to ask Mitch, he would probably say his greatest accomplishment and honor was raising his three sons Matthew, Michael and Mark. Mitch always spent time with his sons. He coached them, taught and mentored them. He set an example for his sons on how to be a Christian man. Mitch loved to travel, play some golf; but the thing he loved most was spending time with his grandchildren— cooking, watching them play baseball, going to plays, concerts, and many other events.