Trustee Gift Anchors Curiosity in a New Institute at DU
A trustee-endowed professorship established by Taylor Kirkpatrick gives the University of Denver a permanent platform to cross academic boundaries, pursue emerging ideas, and inspire collaboration and curiosity among faculty, students, and the community.
Housed within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) imp:ACT Institute, which supports interdisciplinary majors and programs, the new Kirkpatrick Professorship of Curiosity and Discovery reflects the wide-ranging interests of the person who made it possible: DU trustee and alumnus Taylor Kirkpatrick (MBA ’04).
“Curiosity is often the starting point for discovery, creativity, and transformational learning,” Kirkpatrick says. “I’m thrilled to give that spirit a lasting academic home at DU.”
A Life of Curiosity
Kirkpatrick has spent his life pursuing diverse interests including books, collecting, history, travel, business, beekeeping, wine, and more. His career has taken him far beyond any single field or discipline. He has lived and worked internationally, serves on numerous boards, and deliberately steps outside of his comfort zone each year, choosing new experiences simply because they are unfamiliar. “The point,” he says, “is not necessarily to be good at them. It is to discover something new.”
Kirkpatrick’s curiosity has deep roots, built into his DNA and tracing back more than a century to the Chicago World’s Fair. His International MBA from DU’s Daniels College of Business shaped a local and global perspective on business, deepened by years of living and working abroad. He also has a strong appreciation for the history, artistry, and craftsmanship of books and bookmaking, and he played a key role in building the Cabinet of Curiosities in DU’s Mary Reed Building.
“You have to understand what came before to understand what could be,” he says. “There’s history, craftsmanship, art, language, and knowledge all coming together. Preserving those things helps us understand where new ideas come from and where they might go next.”
A Home for Interdisciplinary Thinking
For CAHSS Dean Sahara Byrne, the professorship is a natural anchor for the Institute. “The Kirkpatrick Professorship of Curiosity and Discovery embodies what we want the imp:ACT Institute to be,” says Byrne. “Interdisciplinary inquiry begins with curiosity, asking questions that require us to look beyond the boundaries of a single field and consider different perspectives. Each professor chosen for this position will bring unique questions, expertise, and perspectives, ensuring DU continues to reveal new possibilities while maintaining a lasting commitment to curiosity and interdisciplinary inquiry.”
This is not the first time Kirkpatrick has put that philosophy into action. The gift builds on a commitment he had already made through his estate to support a lecture series focused on curiosity and discovery. He chose to establish the professorship now so the two pieces could work in tandem, with the professorship generating the ideas and the lecture series taking those ideas public.
The Kirkpatrick Professorship is the first trustee-endowed professorship at DU in nearly two decades and one of only a handful across the University, a rarity that reflects how personally Kirkpatrick takes his role on the Board. As a trustee and chair of the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee, Kirkpatrick sees philanthropy as an extension of that responsibility: a way of putting his own resources behind the values he’s charged with upholding.
“Taylor Kirkpatrick’s generosity reflects the kind of vision that drives universities forward,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “This gift will create new opportunities for faculty and students to explore important questions, pursue new discoveries, and contribute knowledge that benefits our communities and society.”
That freedom will take shape faculty member by faculty member. Housed permanently within the imp:ACT Institute, the professorship will rotate among distinguished CAHSS faculty members on three-year terms, with each appointment recognizing a scholar whose work exemplifies interdisciplinary inquiry and intellectual creativity. While the professor changes every three years, the position endures as a permanent centerpiece of the Institute and a platform for faculty to mentor students, cultivate collaborations, advance innovative research, and engage the public in conversations that reach well beyond traditional academic boundaries.
“Taylor’s gift is a wonderful example of what can happen when institutional vision, faculty leadership, and thoughtful philanthropy come together,” says Val Otten, vice chancellor for advancement. “He found a way to take his curiosity and lifelong love of discovery and turn it into an investment in DU’s future. That is The Denver Difference: philanthropy that reflects who the donor is and builds something that will benefit students, faculty, and the broader community for years to come.”
“I hope this professorship encourages students to remain curious, to ask questions, consider different perspectives, and be willing to explore what they don’t yet know,” Kirkpatrick says. “If it helps open new frontiers and gives generations of students that sense of curiosity, I’ll feel very good about what we’ve created.”
