After rising through the ranks at the McDonald's Corporation, Arvada local Cody Teets has taken on another leadership role — on Jan. 1, she will become the Interim President of Regis University.

She will succeed Reverend John Fitzgibbons, who has served as the university's president since 2012. She will become the first female president and first lay leader of the 144- year old Jesuit school.

The search for a permanent president will begin in 2022 and is expected to be completed that summer, according to a press release from the university.

Teets is known for her journey from being a cashier at an Arvada McDonald's to eventually becoming a vice president at the corporation, which inspired her book "Golden Opportunity: Remarkable Careers That Began at McDonald's." Her McDonald's career began while she was a student at Pomona High School in Arvada.

She graduated from Regis with a Master of Business Administration in 1998 and became a trustee at the university in 2013 and an affiliate professor in Regis' MBA program in 2018.

Teets said that she felt compelled to return to Regis after rising through the corporate ranks.

“I feel it's important that when you get to a certain place in life, when you can give back, that you do give back, and so it enabled me to stay engaged in what was going on in the business world and enabled me to teach the next generation of leaders, while at the same time, I could tell you of how much I've learned from my adult students,” Teets said.

Bob Engel, the Chair of Regis' Board of Trustees, said that Fitzgibbons had informed the board that he was intending to step down after a “taxing” couple of years.

Teets said that during her tenue, her priorities are to “develop diverse partnerships” and have a leadership presence on campus.

She added that while she appreciates the honor of being named Regis' first female president, she feels that her service to the university exceeds that singular distinction.

“I'm honored, and I also believe that it comes with great responsibility and being a role model for the university, for women, for women in leadership. But I really see it as it's not so much about being a female or male, it's about having a diverse mindset, so that we can allow everyone to be their best selves,” Teets said.

Engel said that Teets' appointment signals a shift in the culture he's seen throughout his career but added that she was chosen simply because she was the best candidate for the job.

“I'm absolutely thrilled. In my entire career, things like diversity and inclusion weren't even talked about in those terms. I think she has as much to bring to the table as anyone who is male, number one, and number two, our campus is over 50% female. A female will understand the needs of those students better than I will,” said Engel.

“We didn't go into it with that in mind… we just got the best candidate and it just so happens and it's fantastic that she's a female,” Engel continued.

Arvada ties

Teets married her high school sweetheart, Dan, who is also from Arvada, and moved back to the community recently. Her and Dan have two adult children.

“I went to Pomona and (Dan) went to Arvada. We met through friends, though. My friend went to Pomona with me and her boyfriend went to Arvada with Dan, so that's kind of hot it was a blind date setup,” Teets said.

She said that Arvada has always held a special place in her heart, and she was excited to see the growth and development that the city has experienced over the years.

“I think it's a lot of nostalgia, right? We grew up here, we wanted to come back here, and also our families all live up here. In a way, it's reinvented itself when you look at what's going on with Olde Town and all the building to the west, but I don't know, you just have a soft spot in your heart for where you grew up,” Teets said.