Ricketts Great Books College is the idea and development of J. Joe Ricketts.
Mr. Ricketts is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who is interested in education.
He started his entrepreneurial career helping establish the company that became Ameritrade, spending 35 years building it and then retiring from the board in 2011.
Other entrepreneurial endeavors include businesses in the news and hospitality industries. His philanthropic efforts include The Opportunity Education Foundation, The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation, The Ricketts Conservation Foundation, The Ricketts Art Foundation and Citizens For Free Enterprise.
A native of Nebraska and now a citizen of Wyoming, Mr. Ricketts enjoys spending time in both locations. He and his wife of more than sixty years have four children and fourteen grandchildren.
For more information you can visit his website at https://joericketts.com/.
OUR FACULTY
Inspiring teachers changing lives
Ricketts Great Books College professors are selected for their intellectual vitality, curiosity, and skills as leaders. Their mission is to ensure that you fully engage with the books & the thinkers, explore their ideas, and develop your own mental faculties of reason and critical analysis.
Our faculty are joined by international experts, themselves faculty at leading universities, who have been instrumental in the development of the Ricketts Great Books Courses curriculum and films, and who will join our video conference seminars from time to time.
PRESIDENT
David Daniels
David Daniels is a passionate reformer in education, dedicated to fostering critical thinking and problem-solving in students of all ages. With over 25 years of executive and operational leadership, he has led transformative initiatives that expand access, affordability, and student success through enabling technology and world class learning design. From spearheading innovation at Pearson Education, the world’s largest learning company, to guiding venture-backed EdTech enterprises and managing large-scale academic partnerships, David has broken down barriers to quality education. His expertise spans learning design, business process outsourcing, and organizational transformation across K-12, higher education, and workforce development.
As President of Ricketts Great Books College, David is redefining higher education by challenging conventional models and fostering intellectual curiosity. Committed to rigorous inquiry and affordability, he champions an education that teaches students how to think, not merely what to think—cultivating independent minds and intellectual resilience. A firm believer in education’s power to create free and flourishing individuals, David balances tradition with modern innovation. He is also a devoted husband to the amazing Stormi Shafer and a proud father of six, bringing his passion for lifelong learning into both his professional and personal life.
PROVOST
Ray Ravaglia
Ray Ravaglia is the Provost of Ricketts Great Books College. A former Stanford University dean, Ray has worked in education innovation since 1987, developing the first online AP course, founding the two leading online high schools (Stanford Online High School and Dwight Global Online School)—building both on the model of live, synchronous instruction in which students and faculty engage in real-time seminars just as they would in physical space—with a goal of using 21st century technology to enable a 12th century education. Ray routinely speaks at conferences, sharing heterodox views on the benefits and challenges of non-traditional education. He has produced over 100 computer-assisted courses and has written countless articles in academic journals and the popular press. He has degrees in philosophy and mathematics from Stanford University.
DEAN OF FACULTY
Jeff Scarborough
Dr. Jeff Scarborough studied philosophy at Stanford (BA) and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.), focusing on the history of philosophy and the philosophy of mind and perception. In previous work, he led the development of a philosophy program and online teaching methodologies at the Stanford Online High School. A current research project develops generally applicable philosophical strategies for thinking and arguing through model texts in politics and political philosophy. Dr. Scarborough has broad teaching interests across the history of philosophy; recent courses include History of Ideas-Ancient Greece and Plato. He is the author of Bricks and Mortar: the making of a real education at the Stanford Online High School. CSLI Press: Stanford, CA (2014) and Perspectives from the Disciplines: Stanford Online High School. CSLI Press: Stanford, CA. (2016), both co-authored with Ray Ravaglia.
