During his 24 years at the helm of the University, he is credited with having brought the University to national stature, completed several major capital campaigns, tripled the number of scholarships, increased the endowment by an order of magnitude, and established 70 endowed faculty chairs. Despite a rough start during the student unrest of the late 1960s and 1970s he was much loved by students and was commonly referred to as "Uncle Bill" or "Chan Dan". Chancellor Danforth maintained a clear presence during his entire tenure at Washington University and was frequently seen walking the grounds and talking with students.