Daniel Gaskill Aldrich, Jr. (July 12, 1918 – April 9, 1990) was the founding chancellor at the University of California, Irvine from 1962 to 1984.

In 1944, he began his association with the University of California system as a junior chemist at the Citrus Experimental Station at Riverside.

"[3] Kerr remembered that Aldrich had only one defect: he was a strict teetotaler who did not allow alcoholic beverages to be served in his home.

"[3] As Irvine's founding chancellor, Aldrich carried out a mandate from President Kerr and the Regents of the University of California to take the new campus from blueprints to a functional academic institution within three years.

Aldrich served as acting chancellor at Riverside from 1984 to 1985 after the sudden death of Tomás Rivera, and again at Santa Barbara from 1986 to 1987 after Robert Huttenback was accused of embezzling university funds to remodel his off-campus home.

"[8] Aldrich remained involved in athletics throughout his retirement including coaching Little League Baseball and winning medals in the Senior Olympics.