Daniel L. Ritchie

Chairman, Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Chancellor Emeritus, University of Denver

Daniel L. Ritchie became chairman and CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, one of the nation’s largest cultural complexes, in January 2007. He is the immediate past chairman of the Daniels Fund board, and is president of the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation, which focuses on early childhood education and development.

Dan was chairman of the board of the University of Denver from 2005 to 2007, where he served as the university's sixteenth chancellor from 1989 until 2005. During his tenure, the DU pioneered the teaching of ethics at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Chancellor Ritchie collaborated with Bill Daniels to incorporate ethics, values, and social responsibility throughout the business school curriculum. The business school was renamed Daniels College of Business in 1994 in honor of Bill Daniels.

In June 1994, Dan announced a personal gift to the university of $15 million, achieved through sale of some 19,600 acres of his Colorado ranch. Since then, he has given the university the remainder of the ranch, and its sale has netted more than $50 million for various projects.

Dan holds both undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard. He was chairman and CEO of Westinghouse Broadcasting for eight years before moving to Colorado in 1987. He served as chairman of the National Park System Advisory Board and as a member of its education committee. In 1998, the National Western Stock Show Association named Dan its Citizen of the West. This award exemplifies the spirit and determination of the Western pioneer. He received the Community Cultural Enrichment Award in 1996 from the Mizel Museum of Judaica.

Dan is active in the areas of education policy, education financing, and the future of higher education. He has been active in several national and international organizations including the American Association of University Presidents, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the International Association of University Presidents.
 

Daniel Ritchie on Young Americans Bank