Roots Here. Reach Anywhere: Two FRCC alumni return to inspire the next generation.
What does it look like when a community college changes the entire direction of someone’s life? On May 9 and May 14, 2026, Front Range Community College graduates will find out—from two people who lived it.
FRCC is proud to announce the commencement speakers for its Spring 2026 graduation ceremonies: Dr. Abel Chávez, the 10th President of Our Lady of the Lake University, and Dr. David Davis, a nationally recognized Mohs surgeon and clinical professor. Both began their journeys right here, at FRCC. Both went on to reach the highest levels of their fields. And this spring, both are coming home.
Dr. Abel Chávez | Denver Coliseum | 10:00 AM, May 9, 2026
The son of immigrants. A first-generation college graduate. And today, the president of a university. Dr. Abel Chávez’s story begins with an Associate of Science from Front Range Community College—and it hasn’t stopped since.
Dr. Chávez is the 10th President and CEO of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) in San Antonio, Texas and the first Latino president in the institution’s history. OLLU is one of the earliest designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the United States, and under Dr. Chávez’s leadership, it is being boldly reimagined: expanding student opportunity, deepening its mission, and positioning itself as a national model for equity-driven higher education.
A civil and environmental engineer by training, Dr. Chávez holds advanced degrees from the University of Houston and a PhD from the University of Colorado Denver. But it was his belief that education equalizes and alters trajectories that drew him from engineering into academic leadership—and into a lifelong commitment to advocating for students who, like him, came from places where college wasn’t a given.
At OLLU, he created the Futuro Leaders Scholars Program, a full-tuition leadership initiative for first-generation students, and has built international partnerships and scholarship pipelines that expand access at scale. He serves on the Governing Board of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and is a member of the Texas Student Success Council.
His contributions have been recognized with the Ohtli Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Mexican government, for his work advancing education, equity, and mobility.
Dr. David Davis | Blue Arena | 5:00 PM, May 14, 2026
Dr. David Davis attended Front Range Community College in the early 1980s. More than four decades later, his career has spanned continents of medicine—but he has never forgotten where it started, or the professor at FRCC who believed in him before he fully believed in himself.
Today, Dr. Davis is a board-certified dermatologist, a nationally recognized Mohs and cutaneous surgeon, and the founder and president of Dermatology and Skin Cancer of New Mexico. He serves as Clinical Professor and Director of Clinical Dermatologic Surgery at the University of New Mexico Department of Dermatology, and as Clinical Professor at the University of Iowa Department of Dermatology, positions that reflect a career built equally on clinical excellence and the education of the next generation of physicians.
His credentials span decades of rigorous training: a medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, a dermatology residency at the University of North Carolina, a surgical and procedural fellowship at the University of Iowa, and most recently, a Master of Public Health from the University of Colorado, a degree he completed in 2025, proof that learning never stops.
In honor of the FRCC professor who changed the direction of his life, Dr. Davis established a scholarship at the college, ensuring that the gift he received would be passed forward to students who need it most. It is a gesture that says everything about the kind of physician, teacher, and human being he has become.
They both started at FRCC. Both will be back in May.
Welcoming Dr. Chávez and Dr. Davis as our commencement speakers says everything about what FRCC sprouts in people. They didn’t just build remarkable careers—they came back to where it all started. Their journeys are proof of what becomes possible when you work hard and lean on people who believe in you. Your roots here can take you anywhere.
Colleen Simpson, EdD
President, Front Range Community College
For ceremony details, ticketing, and accessibility information, visit frontrange.edu/commencement.
Blue Arena | 5290 Arena Circle, Loveland, CO 80538 | Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Denver Coliseum | 4600 N. Humboldt Street, Denver, CO 80216 | Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 10:00 AM
