A Message from President Aceves

Dear Colleagues,

Joined by an inspiring group of faculty, staff, students and senior leaders, I was honored to be at last night's Denver City Council meeting to receive a proclamation honoring Regis' designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). We're grateful for their commitment to being strong advocates for inclusivity, equity, and economic opportunity.

You may know that the HSI designation was born in the post-Civil Rights era, from an effort to dramatically increase Latinx high school and college enrollment, with the understanding that educational attainment is one of the best paths toward greater economic success and influence. While significant progress has been made, especially in high school achievement, much work remains at the college level. While the number of Latinx individuals earning doctorates has increased by 70 percent in the last two decades, they still represent just 7% of all doctorates earned. This makes recruiting a Latinx professor a challenging task. Despite this reality, we are committed to doing our part to ensure our university reflects the community it serves.

We have an impressive and record-setting freshmen class coming to Regis in the next couple of weeks. Over 50% of admitted students have a GPA of 3.7 or higher. 56% are first-generation students, and nearly 49% identify as Latinx students. Noteworthy for this class is 2027, their expected year of graduation. In 2027, Regis University will celebrate its 150th anniversary, and it will be marked by tremendous excitement and pride. In addition, Regis has welcomed students for our summer bridge program aimed at strengthening the academic readiness and success of participants and establishing a more inclusive, diverse, and values-centered Regis campus culture by infusing it with the gifts that first-generation students bring to campus.

I encourage you to attend this Friday's annual Academic Excellence workshop, Regis as a Hispanic Serving Institution: Leaning into Servingness, hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence. The day-long workshop will focus on learning how to incorporate our mission into this new designation and build a stronger community of inclusivity. As an HSI, we will lean even more into serving and inspiring our students to make our world more just and humane.

As we look to the new academic year, we are grateful for Denver's City Council's recognition and support. We know that, in partnership, we will help make our city a vibrant community for all.

Kindly,

Salvador D. Aceves, Ed.D

President