Regis University on Monday said former Gov. Bill Ritter, NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups and food sales and marketing agency leader Jamie S. Gronowski are joining the university's Board of Trustees.
According to a release from the university, the trio were elected and will help oversee the university, which serves 11,000 students online and throughout its campuses in Northwest Denver, Thornton, Colorado Springs and the Denver Tech Center.
Board of Trustees chairman Bob Engel, retired chief executive officer of CoBank, said in the release that the Jesuit university is committed to student success through "caring, mission-based and transformational education for both traditional and adult students."
"Regis University understands the need to appoint trustees who have been life-long learners and leaders in their businesses and communities,” Engel said in the release.
“This is a big shot in the arm for Regis," Regis University president John P. Fitzgibbons said. "All three men’s commitment to our university reflects that fact that Regis is rising and flourishing in its 141 st year, and the years ahead are bright with promise.”
Ritter served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. The release said he created one of the nation's first drug courts and worked to prosecute sexual abuse and domestic violence crimes as District Attorney for Denver. He served as a missionary for the Catholic Church with his wife Jeannie in Zambia, opening a food distribution and nutrition center. He currently serves as director at the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.
Billups, nicknamed Mr. Big Shot during his 17-year NBA career, played for the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets after starring at the University of Colorado and Denver's George Washington High School. He now works as an NBA analyst for ESPN and has been involved with Regis since 2006 when he established a free academy, the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy, with retired Regis basketball coach Lonnie Porter, according to the release. He's also involved in plans to redevelop Denver's historic Rossonian Hotel building.
Gronowski is the CEO of Gronowski Advisory Services and has previously worked as CEO for two companies in the food sales and marketing agency industry. He created Natural/Specialty Sales Inc. and is a trustee at the Food Institute. Along with his wife, Anne, the two have supported the Gronowski Innovation Incubator Lab, a state-of-the-art design studio, at the Regis University's Anderson College of Business. The lab serves as a work space for classes and local business leaders, according to the release.
