July 1989
Chancellor Dan Ritchie inaugurated
When Daniel Ritchie accepted the job as the University of Denver’s 16th chancellor, he intended to hold the position just long enough to guide the institution—$2 million in debt at the time—from the brink of ruin before returning to the open acres of Grand River Ranch, a Kremmling, Colo., property he had purchased a decade earlier. Instead, Ritchie served without pay as chancellor for 16 years. During his tenure more than $274 million was raised to transform the campus and improve academics. Ritchie himself contributed substantially to the fundraising campaign by donating his beloved ranch.