A Message from President Aceves

Dear Colleagues,

As I indicated in last week’s Regist, we will share a draft of the strategic plan with everyone next month. Over the past year, colleagues across the university have devoted countless hours to developing a robust roadmap for the institution. I asked both Fr. Kevin Burke, S.J., vice president for mission, and Dr. Samit Shah, dean of pharmacy, who co-chaired the Strategic Planning Committee, to provide their thoughts as we begin sharing the draft plan with our community:

“Working on the strategic plan with a team of incredible colleagues drawn from across the campus has been a blessing. It has been an opportunity for us to recalibrate the way we imagine the University, and it has inspired us to ask what the Catholic university of the 21st century could be. Many thanks to President Aceves and former Provost Karen Riley for laying the groundwork for building the strategic plan and collecting feedback from the Regis community about our strengths, opportunities, threats, areas of growth, and aspirations.

The committee used the feedback gathered from the Mission Priority Examen and the Spring 2023 Campus Conversations. We then asked President Aceves to share his vision for the University over the next three to five years. We used a “gap analysis” to determine the areas we need to focus on to make the greatest progress between our current and envisioned state while remaining rooted in our mission and history.

In the course of our work, we first identified what we considered three foundational elements upon which we would anchor our pillars: (1) our mission; (2) our commitment to providing a transformative and excellent education; and, (3) our commitment to achieving and sustaining financial and stability. Taking these three assumptions as the “bedrock” on which the pillars of our strategic plan could be built, we then identified three pillars for our plan:

• Regis University is the destination for Jesuit Catholic education in the Rocky Mountain region;
• Regis University is an employer of choice;
• Regis University is a trusted community partner.

The committee unanimously agreed on the pillars and proceeded to draft objectives that, over time, would capture our identity and our aspirations. The committee members were especially careful in ensuring that the objectives were consistent with the feedback received from the Regis community and that the objectives highlighted what is distinctive about Regis University. Over the coming weeks, we are excited to share the committee's work and will solicit your feedback.”

I am deeply grateful to Fr. Burke, Dr. Shah, and the Strategic Planning Committee for their inspiring work. A plan of this magnitude must reflect the many perspectives and voices as we imagine our shared future. As we embrace and adapt to the changes over the last several years, we also know that our Jesuit Catholic values will anchor and guide us as we move forward in our journey.

We look forward to sharing the plan in September, and I eagerly await your input and feedback. Thank you for choosing to be at Regis and being a part of the Regis family.

Kindly,

Salvador D. Aceves, Ed.D

President