A Letter from Dr. Jake Bucher

"Premiering Innovation"

In a past newsletter, I owned my cheesiness (more specifically, I named it as being “unapologetically corny.”) That, along with or fueled by my deep-rooted dad-joke humor, has led to framing this month’s communication on innovation as a television premier guide. I will preface it by reminding our community that Regis is absolutely a place for innovation, we continue to be at various frontiers despite hardships and limitations. I am grateful for all the innovative thinking evident in the things described below, and I am excited to welcome any and all ideas that will transform Regis so that we can transform students.

Magis Mentoring

Genre: Ensemble drama with heart 
Logline: Every student gets a cast. Peers and alumni join forces to turn “I’ll figure it out” into “We’ve got this.” 
Pilot synopsis: The series opens with first-year and transfer students being matched through our new Mentorship Program. Students choose interest areas (academic, identity-based affinity, career fields, first-gen supports, etc.). Over 90 student mentors have signed up and received training.  
Why you’ll watch: Mentored students persist at higher rates and report stronger belonging. This is student success as relational art.

Spirit & Care

Genre: Mission-forward, prestige medical drama 
Logline: Compassion takes center stage in this new series from the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions. 
Pilot synopsis: With the Certificate in Spirituality in Health and Healing, students explore spiritual assessment, cultural humility and whole-person healing. Case studies bring together nursing, counseling and chaplaincy perspectives. 
Why you’ll watch: Because the real work of healthcare is as much soul as science.

My Pal Riley 

Genre: Smart thriller with a happy ending 
Logline: While questions remain about their background, a “retention agent” provides 24/7 support for students, faculty, and staff.  
Pilot synopsis: Our one-stop AI Agent relieves the work of staff and faculty, supports students, monitors secure, de-identified signals – course activity patterns, registration gaps, and early-alert indicators – to surface “moments that matter”, all while the community wrestles with how to navigate an AI world. 
Guardrails & ethics episode: Internally-contained information, opt-outs, bias testing and human-in-the-loop protocols. The plot twist is that AI never plays hero; people do. 
Why you’ll watch: Faster outreach, fewer students slipping through cracks, and data that helps us remove barriers at the course and policy level.

Applying Anderson 

Genre: Action-packed sci-tech, strong character development 
Logline: From “cool demo” to deployed value – students ship models, dashboards and agents that solve real problems. 
Pilot synopsis: Anderson College receives approval for a new graduate degree in Applied Artificial Intelligence and plans to launch in 2026. In a parallel plotline, Anderson has received initial approvals for Congressional Appropriations to fund a cybersecurity center, and is pursuing federal funds for scholarships (concluding episode will air later this fall to reveal if funding has been granted).  
Why you’ll watch: It’s employability with a conscience: technical skills, human-centered design and policy awareness.

Molecules in Motion

Genre: Lab procedural meets high-stakes industry drama 
Logline: From bench to bedside, this new series tracks the lifecycle of breakthrough therapies. 
Pilot synopsis: Graduate students in the Master’s in Drug Development partner with pharma and biotech collaborators, navigating regulatory hurdles, clinical trial design and ethical dilemmas. 
Why you’ll watch: A fast-moving plotline where science, safety and hope intertwine – preparing leaders who accelerate cures responsibly.

College 101 

Genre: Reality show with heart 
Logline: A “how to college” support model that lets us transfer in the credits for writing/speaking but still provides the opportunity for belonging.  
Pilot synopsis: The new “Magis Lab” (FYE 201/FYE 251) launches this year to provide students with the community building, executive functioning and other skills and networking that will work towards ensuring persistence and completion.  
Why you’ll watch: You’ll fall in love with our students and the unrelenting warmth and expertise of the faculty and staff who walk with them.

Nursing and Counseling: Next Chapter

Genre: Long-running drama gets a Ph.D.-level upgrade 
Logline: After the celebrated run of our DNP and Master’s in Counseling, the storyline advances: scholar-practitioners step onto the research stage. 
Pilot synopsis: With the Ph.D. in Nursing and Ph.D. in Counseling, students design original studies, mentor the next generation and shape health policy with evidence-based insights. Students tackle pedagogy, supervision methods, advanced theory and multicultural practice. The arc includes leading practicums and authoring the next standard texts. 
Why you’ll watch: This spin-off raises the stakes – and the scholarship – ensuring nurses and counselors don’t just practice care, but redefine it. Because nurse and counselor education isn’t just one-to-one, it’s one-to-many, multiplying impact for decades to come.

Odd Coupling 

Genre: Anthology series with shared cast and evolving stories 
Logline: The complexity and beauty of a liberal arts education at a time when the world needs it the most.   
Pilot synopsis: Multiple seemingly unconnected characters and stories play out while all being part of the larger story of transformative education across disciplines. Episodes include the new Engineering Physics pathway, the building of a BFA pathway, and various new crossover episodes bringing new iterations of beloved characters and topics.   
Why you’ll watch: The arts and sciences as a character itself, and its arc.

The Voice Within 

Genre: Partnership drama with a big heart 
Logline: Two institutions collaborate to give students the tools to restore communication – and dignity – to patients of all ages. 
Pilot synopsis: Along with Rockhurst, students in our new graduate Speech Pathology program pursue clinical practicums, interprofessional teams and faculty across campuses support students in mastering the science and art of speech-language pathology. 
Why you’ll watch: Few storylines are more powerful than helping someone find their voice again.

Parts Known and Unknown 

Genre: Travel documentary 
Logline: How does an institution with a global commitment but with limited resources create opportunities for transformative experiences for its community – and for global communities?
Pilot synopsis: Student and faculty exchanges, research collaborations, and shared courses and degrees are just a few of the exciting things happening with partners in Peru, Mexico, France, Spain, Colombia, Norway, India, the Philippines, Kenya, Morocco, Argentina, Indonesia, China and Puerto Rico.   
Why you’ll watch: A shrinking but increasingly turbulent global community requires a responsibility for engagement.