Denice Denton made a rapid rise to become a university chancellor. Ms. Denton was well known for her larger-than-life personality. She was creative, aggressive, and unerringly self-assured. Although her talents at times intimidated colleagues, she was also skilled at boosting the confidence of those who worked with her. Many say she was a master at tackling problems pragmatically and with good humor. An engineer by training, she had built her reputation on firsts: the first female dean of an engineering school at a major research university, the first openly lesbian chancellor in the University of California system. The 16 months Ms. Denton had spent as chancellor at Santa Cruz, however, had shaken her deeply, with confidence-rattling criticism coming from all directions on everything from her commitment to diversity to her personal appearance. Her ebullient personality went into remission. Ms. Denton had even begun to fear for her safety. Some of her friends wonder if she had a thick enough skin to withstand such an onslaught, given her rapid rise in higher education as an administrator, in which she skipped several traditional steps. Unappreciated in the Santa Cruz community, her successes were overshadowed by the controversies. This article chronicles the career and challenges of Denice Deaton and attempts to shed light upon her bout with severe depression and suicide.