Philanthropy in 2024 Sets Course for Dynamic Future

Gifts to DU during fiscal year 2024 strengthened priorities at the heart of our biggest fundraising campaign yet

The University of Denver celebrated a milestone event in 2024: the public launch of The Denver Difference: What DU Can Do, a billion-dollar campaign for the people, programs and places of our University. The campaign is fueling DU’s goal to redefine the promise of higher education – through scholarships, the 4D Experience, excellence in research and athletics, and interdisciplinary initiatives that solve complex social problems.

The campaign launch heralded a new era for the University, honing a fundraising focus on those priorities that are at the center of the DU experience. Alumni, friends, parents, faculty and staff gave this year in support of those priorities, giving more than $72 million. Donors’ enthusiasm about DU’s future strengthened schools and colleges across campus, as well as interdisciplinary programs that have meaningful impact on society. This strong support from the DU community – surpassing last year’s total – indicates great confidence in the bold direction for our University’s future.

The Denver Difference

The April 2024 public launch of The Denver Difference fundraising campaign celebrated a strong vision and significant action in support of the University’s future.

“The Denver Difference is about reimagining the promise of higher education and delivering a new kind of university experience—one that will transform and enrich not just the lives of our students, but communities and societies around the globe.”

Chancellor Jeremy Haefner

Our people are a powerful force

Philanthropy at DU this year energized the student experience by supporting the many facets of the 4D Experience. Through the 4D Experience, we provide a holistic education so our students can be the new kind of leader that the world needs. Students find mentoring and career preparation at DU, in addition to character development and opportunities to deepen their academic excellence and well-being. Philanthropy powers that success, supporting students throughout their journey here.

Alumna Joan Ritzenthaler endowed an E-STEM scholarship fund to honor her father’s DU legacy and support students in STEM. Being a child of a DU professor came with the extraordinary benefit of having most of her tuition discounted. Her gift makes a DU education possible for students from underrepresented backgrounds who major in STEM subjects. Read now.

Mentoring is a dynamic and meaningful experience for alumni Ivan Hernandez and Taylor Kirkpatrick. While the initial meeting between the two was a perfunctory luncheon introduction, Ivan’s persistence and drive parlayed that into a productive and mutually rewarding relationship that helped him gain admission to the Daniels MBA program, obtain his first professional job at Price Waterhouse, and ultimately realize the entrepreneurial ambitions he first evidenced as a child. Read now.

The Saunders Leadership Academy, founded by Former DU trustee Joseph Saunders (BSBA ’67, MBA ’68, Hon. PhD ’09) and his wife, Sharon, supports promising students burdened by significant financial need. Since 2018, it has supported 15 students in their journey to becoming the next generation of leaders. Read now.

Davis New Mexico Foundation invests in the DU experience for first-generation students, providing full-cost scholarships that include four years of tuition, room and board, books, travel funds, mentoring, emotional support, and networking opportunities. Read now.

DU’s student employees of the year demonstrate the excellence at the heart of the 4D Experience. Selected from more than 2,500 student employees, these two individuals are recognized for their outstanding contributions and achievements. Read now.

Recent DU graduates are pursuing lives and careers of purpose – and the 4D Experience prepares them for success after graduation. Students who participated in career preparation during their time here – including internships, resume review and more – were more likely to land jobs at higher salaries within six months after graduation. Read now.

Our programs advance the human condition

In giving to programs at DU, our donors made possible the innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration at the foundation of our work. Our programs are advancing the human condition, making meaningful progress towards a better future through research, scholarship and action. Gifts in support of DU’s programs – both interdisciplinary and across the entirety of the DU landscape – empower our outstanding faculty to take an inspired approach to their work: teaching, learning through research, and applying the results of their work to the urgent questions of society. We are solving complex social issues through visionary leadership, scholarship, research and partnerships.

For 17 years, the Pardee Institute for International Futures has used data and built tools to analyze our complex world and enhance human well-being. Frederick Pardee’s visionary generosity—during his lifetime and, recently, through an estate gift that brought his total giving to just under $25 million—led to the creation of the Pardee Institute for International Futures in DU’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, providing a permanent home for the International Futures computer simulation model begun by Barry Hughes over 40 years ago. Read now.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, the University Art Collections received hundreds of incredible artworks from donors across the country. Their generous gifts included antique maps, naturalist prints, American street photography, a sizable collection of European Post-Impressionist paintings, and numerous works by Colorado historical artists, including many by alumni and former faculty members of the University of Denver. The art will be featured in exhibitions, displayed in buildings across campus, researched by faculty and students, and featured as part of the curriculum across disciplines. Learn more.

Now in its 10th year, 1DAY4DU had one of the most successful fundraising efforts since its inception. Surpassing last year’s annual day of giving, 2024 1DAY4DU totals show that upwards of 2,015 donors generously contributed more than $1.5 million to the University, helping support 19 key projects—all directly linked to The Denver Difference campaign. Read now.

DU rules Division 1 sports

Gifts to Athletics help make championship dreams come true, in addition to supporting all aspects of the student-athlete experience. DU Hockey’s record-breaking 10^th national title inspired DU alumni and fans throughout the country. Across all sports, Denver Athletics continues to dominate the field and inspire fans. We are Denver’s home for college sports, with fans breaking records in gymnastics attendance, 102% capacity in hockey this season, and nationally ranked attendances for both programs in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

Denver Athletics continued its winning tradition this year, highlighted by nine NCAA Tournament appearances and the hockey program’s record-breaking 10th national title!

DU’s total number of Division I national championships was lifted to 35, the 14th most in the country. Denver finished as the top I-AAA (D-I universities without football) athletic department in the country for the 11th-straight year and the 15th time in the last 16 completed seasons.

“Don’t give up on the first turn. Be persistent. Keep charging.” Insight from Otto Tschudi (BSBA ’75) – for skiing and for DU students in their career pursuits – reflects a determination that runs through his own life. Tschudi has achieved noteworthy success in ski competition and in business for decades, and his recent gift to University of Denver to endow the Otto Tschudi Head Alpine Ski Coach will empower DU student-athletes to attain their own success for decades to come. Read now.

This was a momentous year for DU Athletics: recognizing 50 years of women’s sports at DU, and raising $500,000 during 1DAY4DU. Additionally, fans came out in droves this year, and we are thankful that so many people joined us for all the excitement this season. From gymnastics’ record-breaking attendance numbers to hockey’s 102% capacity this season to nationally ranked attendances for both programs in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, so many have helped keep DU as Denver’s Home for College Sports.

Our scholarships change lives

Gifts to scholarships open the door to DU for bright students from all backgrounds, empowering those students to create a future of leadership and impact in the world. During 2024, donors gave nearly $32 million in support of scholarships, which is the most of any year of the campaign.

Jerry Kesselman came to DU’s Accountancy Department in 1946 and last taught a course more than two decades ago. During his tenure he achieved near legendary status for his teaching, his passion for accounting and professional ethics, and his commitment to DU and his students – a number of whom considered themselves members of the Kesselman family. Today, former students, colleagues, and members of the accounting profession continue honoring his legacy through gifts to the Kesselman scholarship funds. Read now.

According to music scholars, a sonata typically has three movements: a beginning or exposition, then a new development, and finally a recapitulation or return to the beginning. If lives and careers can in some sense parallel musical forms, it’s a sonata that captures Mel Cooksey’s path. Read now.

John Montaña had an unlikely path toward college, supported in part by two professors. His investment in future law school students is in the form of a scholarship that bears the name of those professors, paying forward the generosity that he received. Read more.

Michael (BA ’68) and Kathie Massey shared their lives with the University of Denver according to their individual passions. Kathie studied at the Colorado Women’s College, while Mike received his undergraduate degree from DU and his law degree from the Sturm College of Law. Their legacy at DU creates opportunities for future students that reflect their interests at DU. Read more.

By the Numbers

Philanthropy in fiscal year 2024 strengthened priorities across the University, with these units receiving the greatest amount of support: Daniels College of Business, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, University-Wide Scholarships, Athletics and Sturm College of Law.