A Message from President Aceves

Colleagues,

In the next few weeks, we will share Regis’ strategic plan for your review, reaction, and feedback. The strategic planning committee has been crafting a document that provides a roadmap for us to follow, ensuring that, as a community, we continue working towards a common purpose. From my perspective, I see the new strategic plan as helping us to renew our commitment to institutional planning.

I envision a future that embraces a culture of planning. By this, I mean planning will be deeply ingrained in our community and valued. It means that individuals and teams consistently engage in strategic thinking, setting goals, and outlining actions by which to achieve them. I see a culture of planning as promoting collaboration, foresight, and adaptability, ultimately improving decision-making and effectiveness.

As Provost Jake Bucher and I began our work together, I asked him to reflect on what he has experienced since arriving at Regis and to begin outlining his academic vision. Here is what he shared:

“What can the community expect from the Provost this year? In looking at the year ahead, my initial focus is on systems and processes. Between the cyber-attack, the pandemic, and changing dynamics in leadership and enrollment, a lot of the great work that has been done, has been done 'on the fly.' This has been both necessary and well done, but it is neither optimal nor sustainable. To have proper student and faculty support, we need solid structures. To optimize individual programs and our overall academic portfolio, we need a solid system for comprehensive program review. For proper stewardship of finances and resources, we need solid processes. And for all of these proper structures, systems, and processes – we need solid data. This might seem like an almost trivial focus given the larger goals of Academic Affairs and the University, but we cannot set and achieve those larger goals without strong infrastructure. We cannot keep spinning our wheels in this way where we don’t make progress beyond the day and task at hand and when everyone’s tread is wearing too thin. 

This year you can expect access to, transparency from, and collaboration with the Provost Office. We will make strides in right-sizing our work, ensuring more equity as well as improving efficiencies. Included in that right-sizing will be autonomy-respecting silo-busting, through more synergy across colleges and across campus offices. Again, I don’t share these as expectations for others, but to take ownership for what others can expect from the Provost Office. We will use this fall to develop an Academic Strategic Plan to establish momentum and set our direction. This work starts immediately with forthcoming listening sessions and continued collaboration with the Provost Office, units, and individual colleagues. Thank you all for your role in this work, and for holding me accountable to mine. I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come and where we’ll be at the end of this year.”

I share Jake’s excitement, knowing what our community can accomplish working together. In addition to this excitement, I am also inspired by the energy and enthusiasm our students add to the life of the institution. Spending time with our new and returning students this past week, I know how much they will benefit from our commitment to building an inclusive, compassionate, and dedicated community focused on the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The strategic plan, a culture of planning, and a focus on systems and processes that supports a community of learners leads me to believe in a hope-filled future.

Kindly, 

Salvador D. Aceves, Ed.D

President