A Message from President Aceves

Dear Colleagues,

As Commencement draws near, I am excited to announce our Honorary Doctorate and Civis Princeps Award recipients. These extraordinary individuals exemplify noteworthy achievements. To shed light on their accomplishments, I have asked Provost Jake Bucher, and Vice President of University Advancement, Kelly Purdy, to provide a brief summary of these remarkable individuals. 

Here is what Jake Bucher, Provost, shared.

“I am so excited that Dr. Jessica Hernandez will be joining us at the 2024 Commencement as our Honorary Doctorate recipient and speaker. Dr. Hernandez is an Indigenous scholar, scientist, and community advocate. Her background ranges from marine sciences to environmental physics, with bachelor’s degrees in Italian Studies, and Marine Science from the University of California - Berkeley, Master’s degrees in Marine and Environmental Affairs, and Environmental and Forest Sciences, and a PhD in Environmental and Forest Sciences, all from the University of Washington. She advocates for climate justice and land rights through her scientific and community work.  I believe Dr. Hernandez’s work and expertise is a timely and needed fit for Regis as we continue our pursuit of supporting access to education, including diverse sources of knowledge. Furthermore, as Regis explores our responsibilities to sustainability and Laudato Si, Dr. Hernandez’s background and insights can help inform how we fulfill this value to care for our common home. 

Her award-winning book “Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science” is incredibly influential in our understanding of sustainability and decolonizing knowledge and education.  The book had a profound impact on me and I was so happy to hear others at Regis had a similar experience, in fact we are hoping to have it as our “One Book, One Regis” for 2025-2026. Dr. Hernandez is currently working on her second book, Growing Papaya Trees: Nurturing Indigenous Roots of Climate Displacement & Justice. Forbes has named Hernandez one of the 100 most powerful & influential women in Central America and I am grateful that she will be joining the Regis community to celebrate and send-off our 2024 graduates.

I also want to highlight Susan Kiely as an Honorary Doctorate recipient. While Susan cannot be present at commencement, it is my privilege to award her this honorary doctorate in recognition of her dedicated efforts to support low-income and homeless women and their children over many years. Susan is the founder of Women with a Cause, a nonprofit organization, and she remains actively involved in empowering women in Ethiopia and Africa through partnerships with the Mother and Child Rehabilitation Center and Women with a Cause. Susan's longstanding friendship with Regis and her remarkable contributions make her truly deserving of this honorary doctorate." 

Here is what Kelly Purdy, Vice President University Advancement, shared.

“Bestowed annually at Commencement, the Civis Princeps award is Regis University’s highest honor. Recipients must have performed significant acts of service with honesty, integrity and dignity without expectation of material reward or recognition while exhibiting high moral character and embodying the values of the Society of Jesus and Regis University.

Dr. Donna Auguste, Ph.D., is a business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has received many accolades for her work and her trailblazing spirit in the world of technology and engineering.  Auguste is a first-generation college graduate and the first African American person to enter the doctoral program in computer science at Carnegie Mellon. She also received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Science from Regis University.

While her professional distinctions are impressive, it is Auguste’s commitment to serving those at the margins through her philanthropy and faith which truly exemplify our Jesuit Catholic values. In the early 2000s, as Denver saw increases in the numbers of immigrants from East Africa, Auguste described in a Catholic Register interview a number of parishioners “experienced a calling to look more broadly at who our neighbors are and to initiate outreach programs with a more global perspective.”  She and her church group organized the Global Outreach Ministry, which was the inspiration for founding the Leave a Little Room Foundation years later when she sold her first business. Her philanthropy and ministry work has included building homes and clinics on a Navajo Reservation in New Mexico; building a hospital wing in Haiti; providing grief counseling to child soldiers in Uganda; and distributing winter clothes at shelters in Chicago and Denver.

We are humbled to call Donna Auguste a member of the Regis community, and we are proud to name her this year’s Civis Princeps awardee.”

Thank you, Kelly and Jake. A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in selecting our award winners. Through discernment and a commitment to excellence, our recipients truly embody the spirit of our institution. Together, let's celebrate their remarkable contributions to our community.

Kindly,

Salvador D. Aceves, Ed.D.

President