Dan Ritchie Memorial Service (13 FEB 25) - Captioned

Daniel L. Ritchie, the University of Denver’s much-admired and much-loved 16th chancellor, has died at the age of 93. Celebrated for rescuing the University from insolvency and for spearheading a campus renaissance, Ritchie was known not just for his steady and visionary leadership but also for his deep commitment to the people and institutions he held dear.

“There aren’t adequate words to express Dan Ritchie’s impact on the University of Denver,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “His love of this institution was contagious. By getting others to see our potential, he built us up, literally and figuratively.”   

Known as DU’s “cowboy chancellor,” Ritchie led the University from 1989 to 2005, assuming the job after six years on the Board of Trustees and at a critical juncture in DU’s history. When he started wearing the position’s famous red vest, the University was wrangling with a financial crisis and shrinking enrollments.  

Ritchie brought his sense of integrity, commitment to excellence and pioneering spirit to the job. He also brought valuable expertise as a businessman, entrepreneur, rancher and civic leader. Before coming to DU, he had served as CEO of Westinghouse Broadcasting and had lived his longtime dream of raising cattle at his ranch outside of Kremmling. As he told the University of Denver Magazine in 2005, the ranching life offered him a chance to immerse himself in a culture characterized by what he called “cowboy ethics.” To Ritchie, cowboy ethics meant putting personal agendas aside for the greater good, a concept he later worked hard to instill at DU. 

Ritchie’s tireless advocacy for DU is now the stuff of legend. He presided over a fundraising campaign that allowed DU to make more than $400 million in investments in new facilities and infrastructure. One of the key donations was his own: In 1994, he gave the University a large portion of his beloved Grand River Ranch, the sale of which netted DU $15 million. That gift set a philanthropy record in Colorado, outdistancing all previous gifts to education nonprofits. Not long thereafter, Ritchie presented DU with the rest of the spread, for a total gift of $50 million. In recognition, DU named its athletics complex the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports & Wellness. 

Ritchie also introduced a host of initiatives that reflected his passion for education and sports. Convinced that DU should focus on preparing students for the responsibilities of global citizenship, he launched the Cherrington Global Scholars international education program, a move that made DU one of the nation’s leading institutions for undergraduate participation in study abroad. He also spearheaded the Denver Pioneers’ move to NCAA Division I Athletics and was a frequent presence at games and matches.  

After leaving the chancellor’s position in 2005, Ritchie served as chairman of DU’s Board of Trustees for two years. In 2007, primed for another challenge, he became chairman and CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  

Ritchie’s ties to DU remained strong for the rest of his life. He served as an honorary life trustee, and in 2013, he donated his Santa Barbara ranch, valued at $27 million, to fund construction of a new building for the Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, named after his father. Months later, he made a $1 million gift, matched by the University, in honor of his late mother, creating the Jessie Dee Ritchie Endowed Graduate Scholarship Fund for Music. His mother, herself a singer, had introduced him to opera and instilled in him a love of music.   

In recognition of his leadership and ongoing support of learning, DU presented Ritchie with its highest honor, the Founders Medal, at the annual Founders Gala in March 2018.  

Ritchie’s generosity was never confined to campus. He served as president of the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation, as a board member of the Daniels Fund and the Denver Art Museum Foundation, and as a member of the executive committee of Colorado Concern. He also was chairman emeritus and an honorary board member of the Central City Opera House Association. In 1998, the National Western Stock Show gave Ritchie its annual Citizen of the West Award, an honor recognizing individuals who exemplify the spirit and determination of the Western pioneer.  

“DU has lost its greatest friend and champion,” Haefner reminds us. “And all of us who knew Dan have lost a loyal friend, a wise counselor and an unparalleled role model.”