December 12, 2022 – Regis University in Denver has named its next president, Salvador D. Aceves, Ed.D. He previously served the university as senior vice president and chief financial officer, beginning in 2014. He will be the university’s first lay and Latino president.
Dr. Aceves will be sworn in as Regis University’s president on Jan. 1, 2023. He plans to embolden the university’s reputation by enhancing its tradition of Ignatian spirituality and education.
“Regis has a bright future if it harnesses the power of a nearly 500-year Ignatian educational tradition that is transformative and whole-person centered,” says Aceves. “Regis has a bright future if it creates a strategic plan that is bold and distinctive to prepare students to help build a more just, humane, and sustainable world.”
“Dr. Aceves brings not only experience but also finely honed insight into the role of Regis University’s next president,” said Fr. Greg O’Meara, SJ, a Regis trustee and member of the search committee. “He is an academic’s academic. In his 37 years in higher education, 29 were spent in faculty positions. His carefully considered and mapped-out vision for Regis insists that we link minds and hearts, faith and reason, so that Regis meets its full potential as a Catholic and Jesuit University of the Rockies.”
Dr. Aceves intends to focus on four areas as he begins his presidency:
- Invite families who already share a commitment to Jesuit Catholic education to support their sons and daughters to continue their education at Regis University and reach out to Colorado and national partners to support their employees through a Regis education.
- Announce a significant gift every quarter.
- Partner with the provost to reimagine traditional, post-traditional, graduate, and doctoral education that is both market responsive and financially sustainable.
- Reimagine the institution’s governance structure and align with the Board’s revised governance structure to develop an intentional campus culture that empowers the community to make timely decisions that address the needs of faculty, staff, and students.
Dr. Aceves brings previous experience serving as an administrator and faculty member at other Jesuit universities, including Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y. He also has an extensive administrative and academic history with the University of San Francisco, where he earned his bachelor’s in accounting and served as Associate Professor of Accounting. In addition, Dr. Aceves acted as San Francisco University’s chief planning and budgeting officer.
Established in 1877, Regis University is a premier, globally engaged institution of higher learning in the Jesuit tradition that prepares leaders to live productive lives of faith, meaning and service. Regis University, one of 27 Jesuit universities in the nation, has three campus locations in the Denver metro area and extensive online program offerings with more than 6,000 enrolled students. For more information, visit www.regis.edu.