Old Main Hall on the Lowell Campus of Regis University is a Denver landmark.

Regis University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic university in the United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Located in Denver, Colorado against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, Regis University is comprised of three colleges: Regis College, the Rueckert-Hartman School for Health Professions and the School for Professional Studies.

Campuses

Regis University has several campuses throughout the state of Colorado. The main campus is located in northwest Denver at Lowell. Other sites include: Denver Tech Center, Boulder, Interlocken at Broomfield, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins. It has one out-of-state campus located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Establishment

Regis University's forerunner was established in Las Vegas, New Mexico by a group of exiled Italian Jesuits. In 1884, the Bishop of Denver invited the Jesuits to move the school to Morrison, Colorado where it was opened as Sacred Heart College. In 1887, the school moved once again to its present location and in 1921 adopted the name of Saint John Francis Regis , a holy man famous for dwelling in the mountains.

The name change was controversial but was deemed necessary. Sacred Heart College increasingly became a target of the growing anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan which became a powerful force in local affairs. The college's name was blatantly Catholic and administrators feared that the name increased chances for violence against its students.

Resources

• Regis University