Gonzaga to create new endowed chair position with $2 million gift

The Gonzaga University School of Business Administration has received a $2 million gift to establish the Jud Regis Chair of Accounting.

The endowed chair will teach undergraduate and graduate accounting courses while also aligning professional development activities, such as research, and related programming “with the values of faith, family and freedom,” said Ken Anderson, dean of the School of Business Administration. The chairholder has not yet been selected, Anderson said.

The position was made possible thanks to the $2 million donation from Bellevue residents Dan and Cecelia Regis, who named the endowed position after Dan’s father, Jud.

According to the university, Dan Regis oversaw the Northwest offices of accounting firm Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, as managing partner before leaving in 1996 for the venture capital industry. He and Cecelia have created scholarships for more than 40 nieces, nephews and grandchildren.

“The love and care of our large family – natural and extended – was Jud Regis’ reason for being,” Dan Regis said in a statement Monday. “A man of faith and principle, he gave us the example of a purposeful, fruitful life entirely within the spirit of the Jesuit tradition. We honor and thank him for this and are so pleased that Gonzaga afforded us the opportunity to create this Chair in his beloved memory.”

Of the $2 million gift, $1.75 million will endow the Jud Regis chair, while another $200,000 will support the accounting program. Anderson said it will help offset expenses related to professional development and programming, with more details expected to be ironed out by the spring.

The remaining $50,000 will support student scholarships.

“This is a great thing for Gonzaga, the business school, and Gonzaga accounting,” Anderson said via email. “We are very thankful for this gift from the Regis family.”