Press Releases

President Father John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J., the Regis University Board of Trustees and hundreds from the University community were among those on hand Jan. 18 for the dedication of the David M. Clarke. S.J. Hall, a state-of-the-art facility named for a key figure in Regis’ history.

The four-story, 82,291-gross-square-foot building bears the name of Father David Clarke, S.J., a former University president, chancellor and education entrepreneur.

Clarke Hall was completed in December 2012. It is located on Regis Boulevard (50th Street) southwest of the Field House on Regis University’s North Denver (Lowell) campus. Construction began on Oct. 7, 2011.

Father Clarke’s leadership and innovation during his 20 years as president helped the University expand its academic excellence and, through the founding of the College for Professional Studies (CPS), established Regis University as a national leader in adult education. His accomplishments were chronicled in a front-page article of the Wall Street Journal and highlighted his customer service focus on serving students.

Clarke Hall houses CPS, conference/seminar rooms, classrooms, a new cafe and dining events area that will support a capacity of 108 and other administrative functions. In addition, the second floor houses expanded space for a consolidated, Universitywide testing center, writing center, tutoring center, and the Department of Disability Services. The University’s KRCX 93.9 FM radio station is housed in the basement of the facility.

After 20 years as president of Regis University, Father Clarke was named chancellor in January 1993. Before entering the Society of Jesus, he earned a doctorate in physical chemistry at Northwestern University. He was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church in 1964. The new dual-language program in CPS is his latest project to come to fruition, inspired after he encountered the educational model employed by Escuela de Guadalupe, a dual-language grade school in Northwest Denver that alternates class instruction every other week in English, then Spanish.

Father Clarke, who now lives out of state, and former President Father Michael J. Sheeran, S.J., were among those attending the dedication ceremony. Among other things, the event featured a blessing of the building and recognition of donors whose generosity helped bring the project to fruition.