Regis Life
Title III Grant to Expand Support for High-Need Students at Regis
Regis University is excited to announce that it has been awarded a $3 million federal Title III, Part A: Strengthening Institutions Program grant. After Title V grants for Hispanic Serving Institutions were deemed unconstitutional in 2025, Title III grants have filled the need for support to institutions with a significant percentage of students with high financial need.
In the 2025-2026 academic year, more than 50 percent of Regis’ traditional undergraduate student population identified as first-generation students, the first in their families to attend college. As one of only two Jesuit Catholic universities designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution, Regis is also dedicated to serving the more than 70 percent of those traditional undergraduate first-generation students who identify as Hispanic or Latine.
The $3 million grant will be dispersed over the next five years and will create new opportunities for Regis students, faculty and staff in areas across the University.
“The grant funnels resources into our work of accompanying our students on their transformational educational journey – contributing to their academic success and their vocational and character development,” said Vice Provost Nicki Gonzales, Ph.D. “This is work at the heart of our Jesuit mission. This is work that makes a Regis education distinct.”
Regis prides itself as an institution that is Rooted in Mission and Rising with Purpose. A Title III grant allows the University to strengthen its focus on providing students with a mission-focused education while increasing support for faculty, staff and students to improve their learning and teaching experiences.
With the grant, the University can expand learning support courses for students identified as at risk and/or part of recruitment cohorts, as well as create more on-campus student job and paid internship opportunities. For faculty and staff, the Title III grant will increase support for sponsored conference attendance, intensive curriculum development and opportunities to develop educational workshops.
“This grant enhances our ability to support the whole student by investing in the people who have the greatest impact on student success: our faculty,” said Erin Winterrowd, Ph.D., Academic Dean of Regis College. “We can build on our faculty’s strengths in teaching and mentoring so that more first-generation and low-income students thrive, persist and graduate.”
Importantly, through the Title III grant, Regis will also introduce the Cura Personalis Center (CPC). The CPC will house opportunities for faculty and staff development, mentoring, and student support initiatives. Additionally, the CPC will introduce two new staff positions: Title III Project Coordinator and Student Support Coordinator.
The Title III Project Coordinator will manage the grant and conduct certain support initiatives with our students. The Student Support Coordinator will manage the to-be-appointed student staff members. These student staff members will include peer mentors, tutors, learning assistants, ambassadors and interns, filling federal and state funding deficits and fulfilling the scope of the grant.
“This grant reflects our belief that students learn not only in the classroom, but also through meaningful leadership and service.” Dean Winterrowd continued, “By creating new opportunities for students to help design and deliver grant initiatives, we are inviting them to be active partners in building a community where all students can thrive.”
The grant also allows a percentage to go to the endowment for long-term support beyond the short-term grant activities, building a stronger financial scaffold for the university’s future. In Vice Provost Gonzales’ own words, “This grant allows us to expand our institutional capacity to do what we do best.”
These opportunities would not have been possible without the hard work of Vice Provost Nicki Gonzales, Associate Professor of Biology Gena Nichols, Provost Jake Bucher, Director for the Center for Career and Professional Development Sarah Smith, Director of the Academic Internship Program Quinn Waller, Academic Dean of Regis College Erin Winterrowd and former Vice President of University Advancement Kelly Purdy in securing the Title III grant for the University.
