Dwight Morrell Smith, January 1984 - July 1989

Dwight Smith was the 15thchancellor of the University of Denver, serving from 1984 to 1989. The sitting vice chancellor for academic affairs and the dean of faculty, Smith was appointed by the board to serve a two-year term as chancellor—an appointment prompted by the quickly unraveling financial and academic situation of the institution. From the outset, Smith faced the university’s challenging financial situation and worked alongside the board to improve the institution’s financial well-being, including selling the law school’s downtown campus, increasing annual board giving, facilitating multiple large endowments to the university, and reorganizing the academic structure of the institution. Smith named the first provost at DU as well as established the Core Curriculum, a robust, interdisciplinary curriculum every undergraduate student completes before graduation. Deep appreciation and trust from the faculty, administration, and students contributed to Smith’s ability to begin the process of avoiding a disastrous financial and academic crisis at DU.