Recognizing Donald Sturm

Dear DU community members,  

We at the University of Denver, along with other communities across the city, are honoring the inspiring legacy of Donald Sturm, who passed away this week at the age of 92. On behalf of the entire DU community, we extend our condolences and wish his family, friends, loved ones and colleagues peace during this time. It has been a personal honor to know Don and his family and to witness first-hand the depth of their impact.  

Don’s life and career were defined by extraordinary vision and a commitment to philanthropy that improved countless lives. Each day on campus we encounter Don’s legacy at DU’s Sturm College of Law and Sturm Hall, which houses our social sciences and humanities programs. Don graduated from DU with a degree in law in 1958, which was just the beginning of a lifetime of positive influence on our university. His legacy was honored in 2016 when he and his wife, Susan, became the first-ever recipients of DU’s Founders Medal, an award that recognizes those whose leadership and transformational philanthropy represent the pinnacle of our mission and values. 

Indeed, to this day, Don and Sue Sturm are the contributors of the single largest gift in the history of DU's law school and one of the largest in the history of the entire institution. As a U.S. Army veteran, Don had a deep and abiding passion for serving the veteran community. He helped establish the Sturm Center in DU’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology, which provides mental and behavioral health services to service members and their families. GSPP students can also pursue the Sturm Specialty in Military Psychology concentration, gaining the skills and experience to help those who have sacrificed their own health and safety in service of others. Significantly, Don served as a member of DU’s Board of Trustees for over three decades as an active trustee and then an Honorary Life Trustee, donating his time and expertise at critical moments during this institution’s history. 

Don Sturm was a celebrated businessman in Denver. His and his wife’s nonprofit, the Sturm Family Foundation, now ably led by their daughter, Emily, continues to serve as a force for public good in Denver. In recent years, support from the foundation has underwritten scholarships for outstanding and deserving students at DU, as well as a comprehensive program supporting graduates sitting for the bar examination. Don and Sue’s son, Stephen, also continues the family’s connection to DU. Himself an alum (BA ’13, MBA ’15), Stephen currently serves as a DU trustee.  

Don was driven and visionary in his commitment to higher education, and his life’s work will continue to serve as a model for the power of serving the public good. Please, join me today in celebrating Don and all the ways in which he and his family have shaped the institution we love and the city we call home.

Sincerely,  

Jeremy Haefner

Chancellor