Regis and the KKK - Denver, CO - Religious Freedom on Waymarking.com

The plaque reads:

A Moment in Regis University History

This portion of the old perimeter wall has been preserved in remembrance of a student stand against the Ku Klux Klan. In the mid-1920's, according to Jesuits here at the time, word filtered to the priests that the KKK was planning a march on Regis with the intent to burn a cross on the lawn. The Jesuits put out a call to students - both boarders and day students - to protect the campus and bring baseball bats. The call was heeded and Regis students were posted every five feet armed with bats. The KKK, which was organizing a few blocks from campus, received word of the students buildup and disbanded without marching on the campus. Later, the Jesuits found that some of the students were armed with more than baseball bats. Some had brought along pistols.

"The seeds for Regis University were planted in 1877 in Las Vegas, N.M., when a group of exiled Italian Jesuits founded a small school called Las Vegas College. In 1884, the school relocated to Morrison, Colo., and was renamed Sacred Heart College. Thanks to a generous donation of land from John Brisben Walker, the college was able to settle in its current Denver location in 1887. The school was renamed Regis College in 1921, in honor of the Jesuit saint, John Francis Regis,

Regis’ first accelerated undergraduate program for adults began in 1977 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Just one year later, Regis launched its first graduate program, the Master of Business Administration. When Loretto Heights College closed in 1988, some of the academic programs, notably nursing and University Without Walls (UWW), were absorbed by Regis College. Nursing became the foundation for Regis’ Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions and UWW was incorporated into Regis’ School for Professional Studies, which is known today as the College for Professional Studies. In 1991, these three distinct colleges became Regis University.

Today, Regis University tailors learning to meet the needs of its 15,000 students. Each of its three colleges – Regis College (2,000 students), Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions (3,000 students), and the College for Professional Studies (10,000 students) – offers a distinct expression of the University’s mission. From the traditional student living on campus, to a business executive studying online, to a health care student serving in a clinical placement in rural Colorado, Regis’ student body spans many experiences and geographies." (from (visit link) )

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Date Logged Log   08/07/2015 WalkingDuo visited it