New Regis president emphasizes liberal arts

In the age of artificial intelligence, Regis College’s new president is doubling down on humanity.

Robin Cautin, the 11th president in the school’s nearly 100-year history, was inaugurated on Sept. 24 following a national search. Cautin takes the place of Antoinette Hays, who served for 26 years as a faculty member and 15 years as president before retiring on July 1.

The Observer sat down with Cautin ahead of her inauguration to talk about her decision to come to Weston, her plans for the school and the turbulent times facing higher education, particularly for smaller schools like Regis College.

Cautin has more than two decades of experience in higher education and spent 12 years at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where she was most recently the provost after serving as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She also held leadership roles at Manhattanville College.

She said Regis College aligned with her interests, and upon arriving on campus, she was inspired by the “the warmth, the genuineness, the mission.”

“What they’re actually doing for students is transformational,” Cautin said. “They’re opening doors for students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to higher education, and they’re doing it with such grace and commitment.”

Regis College’s board of trustees also saw that in Cautin.

“Dr. Cautin distinguished herself as a leader who combines academic excellence with a deep commitment to student success, an inclusive community, and the values that define the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Regis mission,” John Gray, chair of the board of trustees, said in Cautin’s hiring announcement. “Her record of collaborative leadership and strategic execution will serve Regis and its students well as we build on a strong foundation and continue to prepare graduates who lead with compassion, competence, and purpose.”

Cautin joins Regis College at an inflection point in higher education. Across the nation, there are threats coming from every direction: decreased enrollment, especially in small northeast schools; artificial intelligence and federal funding uncertainty. In these times, Cautin said the focus needs to be on human skills.

“I don’t think anyone can predict what the future will look like, so we’re leveraging our strengths in a strong liberal arts foundation, leaning into those essentially human capacities that can never be replaced, and to remember that there’s a difference between artificial intelligence and human sensibility,” Cautin said. 

Students at Regis College, Cautin said, will be molded into well-rounded professionals because narrow specialization is not the solution to ever-growing challenges. Part of this push will be “doubling down on career and professional development” by embedding it in the curriculum.

“The problems of today yield to those who can employ interdisciplinary perspectives – no single discipline can really solve many of the complex problems of today,” Cautin said. “Liberal arts and professional preparation are not mutually exclusive, nor should they be.”

All of these challenges being said, Regis College is in a solid position. Cautin said the school received a record number of undergraduate applications last year.

“We’re doing well in spite of the headwinds. We’re not denying the headwinds,” Cautin said. “We’re committed to being agile and bold.”

Outside the classroom, Cautin said the focus will be on strategic partnerships on and off campus, as well as fostering a “mission-driven community of learning and service.”

“We are a community. What we do is deeply relational, and that is at the heart of all we do,” Cautin said. “And that community hopefully will stretch into the broader Weston area.”