Dolores C. Renze Papers

Dolores C. Renze was born in 1907 in Denver, Colorado to Thomas E. Calahan and Anna Phennah. She married Walter Renze and had two children, a son James and a daughter Beverly. She was educated at the University of Denver and American University with Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees. She held Certificates of Completion in Archives, Records Administration and Management, Oral History, Micrographics, and Public Administration. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, Phi Beta Kappa, Mensa Society, American Association of University Women, and was a lifetime member and Elected Fellow of the Society of American Archivists and Westerners. In 1949, Ms. Renze became Colorado State Archivist and Public Records Administrator, Emeritus, and continued in that capacity until 1973. She began teaching and directing an annual “Summer Institute of Archival Studies” at the University of Denver in 1952. Ms. Renze retired as State Archivist in 1973, but continued an active role in archival education at the University of Denver, which had the only program in the nation offering archival certification to students pursuing a graduate degree in either history or librarianship. In 1976, she partnered with Enid Thompson, the former head librarian at the Colorado State Historical Society, as adjunct professors in archival management and history until 1985, when the University of Denver terminated the program. In addition to her contributions to the University of Denver and archival studies, she was an archaeologist in the Southwest, an administrative assistant to a U.S. Senator from Wyoming, a law enforcer for the Departments of Labor and Agriculture, and a Colorado ranch owner. She served in many volunteer organizations and was a director on several boards. She has lectured and written widely about archival subject matter, and has produced an extensive bibliography of her writings. Ms. Renze passed away on December 4, 2002.