$1.9M bequest from CU sweethearts bolsters university’s art museum
The University of Colorado Boulder Art Museum has received the largest philanthropic gift in its history: a $1.9 million investment from late alumni Donald and Karen Ringsby. The endowment, which will be allocated at the discretion of the museum’s director, reflects the couple’s love of art and acknowledges the museum’s significance to the campus community.
More than a museum
An installation view of the exhibition We CU: A Visual Celebration of Black Womanhood, Presence, and Connectedness at the University of Colorado Art Museum. Image by Wes Magyar, © The Museum for Black Girls and © CU Art Museum and University Libraries, University of Colorado Boulder.
Housed within the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, theCU Art Museum offers a forum for faculty, students and the surrounding community to explore exhibitions, fuel their visual imagination, and engage in creative thought and campus collaborations. Having studied art and art history at CU, Donald (Don) and Karen Ringsby saw the value that the museum and these creative engagements have on campus and in a college education.
“The discretionary nature of this endowed gift acknowledges that the critical needs of a museum will change over time, and it offers flexibility to support those evolving initiatives,” said Hope Saska, acting director, chief curator and director of academic engagement for the CU Art Museum. “The Ringsbys were extraordinarily generous and forward-thinking in establishing this legacy gift for the museum.”
In addition to exhibition galleries, the CU Art Museum features a Collection Study Center where classes and researchers can directly study works of art in learning sessions facilitated by museum staff. Throughout the year, the museum's program of free exhibitions and events promote cultural expression, engaged learning and interdisciplinary scholarship.
“91Ƶ is fortunate to have an outstanding museum, which offers opportunities for innovative collaboration and creative education,” said Chancellor Justin Schwartz. “The Ringsby family’s gift to the CU Art Museum is a strategic investment that enhances innovative, hands-on learning and strengthens our connection to the community.”
The museumreceived first-time accreditation in 2023, joining a prestigious group of 26 museums accredited in Colorado. It boasts a permanent collection, started in 1939, that has grown to include more than 13,500 artworks representing 10,000 years of human creativity. From Greek pottery to Roman glass and contemporary painting, photography and printmaking, the comprehensive collection enriches educational experiences for faculty, students and the broader community.
Legacies built through lives well-lived
Karen and Donald Ringsby
First as students and later as alumni, Don (A&S’62) and Karen (EnglLit’62) attended art shows on campus and spent time searching for art in Colorado and, eventually, all over the world. The son of Denver trucking magnate Bill Ringsby, Don went on to become the president of Ringsby Truck Lines, Aspen Airways and the Denver Rockets — which would later become the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. He passed away in 2020, and Karen, who later earned her master’s in English from the University of Denver, passed away in 2024. Her lustrous career included modeling, serving as president of the Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood board, and advocating with the Global Warming Mitigation Project and for Palestinian human rights.
“Their legacy is one of friendship, family, philanthropy, art and their mutual love of the outdoors,” said son Alex Ringsby, president and CEO of RINGSBY, INC., which owns Ringsby Realty Corporation in Denver. The couple’s two other sons, Gray and Eric Ringsby, live in Maui, Hawaii, and Rock River, Wyoming, respectively.
Don and Karen’s Buff pride extended from their student involvement with Greek life to being loyal football spectators — they had season tickets for 40 years. Among others, Don served on the board of the CU Foundation, and Karen was an active member of the art museum’s Collection Committee, responsible for shaping the museum’s art collection. The Ringsbys later donated to the museum’s “Sharkive” collection and contributed a painting by Colorado abstract artist Dale Chisman, which will be on view in the museum’supcoming spring exhibition,Hello, Friend.
In addition to their involvement with CU, Don and Karen were patrons of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, supporters of the nonprofit for urban youth Colorado UpLift, and gave to Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood. Loving historic places and nature, they resided in Denver, Aspen and Savannah, Georgia.
“They were so proud of Boulder and CU — they really lived it and wore their pride on their shoulders for all to see,” said Alex Ringsby. “They prioritized philanthropy and championed the idea of improving the communities they lived in.”
A storybook love
College sweethearts, Don and Karen first met in their French 301 course at 91Ƶ. They were Buffs who shared a love for Boulder, with Don being a lifelong Coloradan and Karen growing up in South Dakota.
“They both adored each other and gave Boulder the credit for finding each other,” said Alex Ringsby.
After graduating, the two eloped in a secret ceremony at the Rock of Gibraltar, British Territory, in the Mediterranean Sea. Loved ones later referred to the couple’s nearly 60-year marriage as having weathered the storms of life, just like the location of their elopement.
“They lived a storybook life and shared a romance for the ages,” said Alex Ringsby. “My father said the first time he saw my mother on campus, he thought, ‘I am going to marry her someday’ .... and he did.”
Their love for family, passion for art and care for their communities resulted in a partnership that inspired others and will create change for years to come. Saska remarked that the couple “united their love for 91Ƶ and for art” in their endowment gift to the CU Art Museum and will support the museum’s mission to be a “vital part of the cultural community — on campus and off.”