A Letter from Dr. Karen Riley
Good afternoon Regis!
The past few weeks have been filled with accomplishment and have provided us with opportunities for growth and reflection.
On Monday we submitted our Four Year HLC Assurance Review. Regis University is nationally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. As a part of the 10-year cycle, universities are required to submit a 4-year progress report. This report was 115 pages long (37,000 words) containing links to over 300 documents of evidence. The comprehensive effort was led by Heidi Blair with Kristi Gonsalves-McCabe. More than 50 members of our community served on teams who wrote, edited, revised and approved this report. We will have more information in the next couple of weeks, but for now I want to focus on the collaborative effort. A huge thank you to Heidi and to Kristi for their leadership and deliberate and intentional approach. I want to thank Janelle Ramsel, Mike Ennis, and Rona McCall who served as team leaders, as well as members of the cabinet and countless others who provided input into this document and the process. I appreciate all of them and their efforts. Now that the report has been submitted to HLC, their Peer Reviewers will have a month to request any follow-up information. It’s possible they will request virtual meetings to ask questions or discuss the contents of the report. We will follow up with any departments or units as necessary to ensure people feel prepared for their questions.
I would be remiss if I did not comment on the accomplishments contained within the report. The last 18 months have been filled with efforts and initiatives designed to improve and enhance our university. From Student Thriving to software enhancements, from Manifest Magis to the Inside Out Prison Program, from Athletics to Facilities, Regis is on an impressive trajectory because of your collective efforts, so thank you for all of your continued work. It is making a difference.
I’d like to thank Student Affairs for providing a vehicle for students to share their thoughts and concerns at the recent Student Summit. The students used their voices, which is what we encourage and promote through our mission: “to build a more just and humane world through transformative education at the frontiers of faith, reason and culture.” The Universal Apostolic Preferences also charge us to Journey with Youth. It is a privilege to teach and to mentor the next generation of professionals and leaders and as such we have a responsibility to listen and to act with them on a path of continual growth. We have an opportunity to listen and to learn. We also have a responsibility to work together to create an inclusive environment that exemplifies our Jesuit Catholic values of living a life for and with others. Follow up activities and initiatives are currently underway and we will be asking for your counsel, support, and engagement as we move forward together.
One of the issues that was raised by the students involved the use of discriminatory language in the classroom. I have discussed this with the Academic Deans who are bringing it back to their teams within the colleges and schools. I have also attached the Regis University guidelines regarding discriminatory language for our collective awareness.
Finally, in the last Digest we provided the research and creative works of our faculty for 2021-2022. We heard from some of you that we missed a few publications. Our sincere apologies. The document went through many reviews and unfortunately, we still missed some. We will continue to share the accomplishments of faculty, students and staff in this Digest and will work to ensure that the documents that we produce are comprehensive.
In gratitude,
Karen