Before they were husband and wife, Todd Lee’s parents—Richard and Marsha Lee—were University of Denver students whose lives intersected on campus in the 1950s. The couple met as business students and bonded over a shared love of the DU community that mattered to them throughout their lives.
DU was always a big part of the family’s story, Lee said. “We would be driving through Denver and we’d hear stories,” he said. “It was always in the fabric of our family that DU was this incredible place for them to change their lives in terms of education and opportunities.”
So years later, after losing his mother in 2014 and his father in 2023, Lee found himself thinking about how to honor them — and the values they carried with them long after graduation.
The result is the Richard and Marsha Lee Student Emergency Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to Daniels College of Business students facing unexpected monetary hardships.
When Lee began working with DU to create a memorial gift, he found himself not drawn to a scholarship, but to a fund that could help students cover expenses such as emergency medical costs, school supplies, rent assistance or other unforeseen financial challenges—needs that often fall outside the scope of traditional scholarships.
Those smaller expenses, he said, can carry outsized consequences. “It’d be a shame if somebody just needed a few extra dollars for something, and it was causing them enormous stress or they couldn’t participate in school the way other students can, or they had to drop out of school for a quarter because they can’t make their rent,” Lee said.
The fund, which was established at the end of 2025, has already begun making awards. Among the first recipients were a student whose laptop was stolen and another who received short-term emergency assistance for rent help.
“What made me feel great is knowing it’s directly impacting particular individuals,” Lee said. “There’s a real connection with that—to think that there’s a living, breathing individual out there with a history and circumstance that you have some small impact on.”
Geoff Miller, associate director of student wellness at Daniels, said students having a resource like this is vital. Emergencies, he said, “can be especially stressful for students who may be living paycheck to paycheck while juggling tuition, rent, studies and everything in between. Just a single unexpected expense can be the difference between staying in school and dropping out.”
The fund is just one way Daniels supports its students, Miller said.
“We are invested in our students not only in the classroom but also out,” he said. “It’s crucial to have a resource like this to show students they have our support to get through the semester and all the way to graduation.”
The application process is simple, allowing students to request assistance directly through an online form. Faculty and academic advisors can also refer students who may be struggling, ensuring support reaches those who might be hesitant to ask for help themselves.
For Lee, the fund is a reflection of his parents’ lasting partnership. He says that they would be thrilled that the fund is available to help DU students, but he joked that his parents might have “yelled at me for actually using their name, because they did a lot of their helping behind the scenes.”
More than just celebrating his parents and helping students, Lee hopes the fund encourages others to think about how they can make a difference.
“I hope this could also inspire other people to contribute to this fund or maybe start their own fund. It’s a privilege to be able to help other people,” Lee said.