Bill J. Meurer

Bill Meurer '65 is quick to credit Regis University with turning his life around, both in his career path and his inner values.

"My dad told me to shape up when I went to college," he recalls with a laugh, remembering high school days focused more on sports than academics.

After arriving at Regis, he fell in love with business classes and developed a strong mentorship with Robert Lacey, a well-loved professor in the accounting department who taught at the University for 30 years.

"He encouraged me throughout my time at Regis," Bill says, remembering the role Lacey played in his decision to major in accounting. Lacey later served as a reference for Bill during his initial interview with Arthur Andersen, the prestigious accounting firm where Bill worked for 25 years following graduation.

"It was a real transformation for me at that school," Bill recalls.

But beyond his newfound passion for accounting, Bill's connection to Regis became cemented through the Jesuit values embedded in every subject he took.

"They engrain in you how important it is to care for others," he says. "That's really what makes the difference in the Regis experience."

Those values instilled in him a desire to give back. Years before, Bill had helped set up the Robert J. Lacey Endowed Scholarship in memory of his mentor, as well as the Patrick D. Vinton Scholarship and the Jack Coyne '65 Endowed Scholarship, honoring two other close friends from his college days.

Upon reading letters of gratitude from scholarship recipients, Bill knew it was the right path for him, too. He included a gift in his will to create an endowed scholarship for accounting majors, a gift that will benefit students for years to come.

Nowadays, Bill's ties to the University are stronger than ever: His granddaughter, Jade Meurer, graduated from Regis just this year with a bachelor's in computational physics. Seeing her fall in love with the campus and develop similar strong relationships with faculty members, including her advisor Frederick Gray, has been a particular joy for Bill. And with his gift of an endowed scholarship, more students who need financial assistance are able to reap the benefits of a Regis education, too.

"I feel like I'm doing the right thing," he says.

Ready to change a student's life? Contact Jacques Swanepoel at jswanepoel@regis.edu or 303.964.5367 to discuss ways you can make a transformative gift of a Jesuit education.