Denison University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Established | 1831 |
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| Type | Private school |
| President | Dr. Dale T. Knobel |
| Staff | 190 full-time faculty |
| Undergraduates | 2,100 |
| Postgraduates | 0 |
| Location | Granville, Ohio, United States |
| Campus | Rural, 1,200 acres including a 500-acre biological reserve. |
| Athletics | 23 varsity teams, NCAA Division III, Member North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), |
| Colors | Red and White |
| Mascot | Big Red |
| Website | www.denison.edu |
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Denison University is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Granville, Ohio, approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of Columbus. Denison was founded in 1831. It has a current enrollment of about 2,000 students. Denison is a member of the Five Colleges of Ohio, the Great Lakes Colleges Association, and the North Coast Athletic Conference.
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[edit] History
Denison was an exclusively male college at the time of its inception, but has since become coeducational. This began with the Granville Female Seminary, which was founded in 1831 by Charles Sawyer. It was sold to Daniel Shepardson in 1861. It was renamed to Shepardson College for Women and became a part of Denison University in 1900.
Denison previously offered some graduate programs leading to a master's degree; however, Denison was made into an exclusively undergraduate institution in the late 1920s. The university offers 35 majors, each leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In addition to such traditional majors as history, mathematics, and psychology, students can focus on less common subjects like cinema and black studies.
[edit] About the University
One aspect that makes Denison different from many other colleges is that it is entirely residential. This means that almost all of its 2,000 students must live in university-owned housing. This decision is popular with some students, but others, especially upperclassmen, get upset about this requirement. The university maintains that the residence requirement brings the campus together and gives the university a strong sense of community. Housing options include single, double, triple, and quadruple rooms, as well as suites and apartments.
The campus size is about 1,200 acres (4 km²). This includes a 500 acre (1.4 km²) biological reserve just east of campus, where professors of sciences like geology and biology can hold class. Denison's annual operating budget is about $69 million. It also has other funds including endowments that total $478.5 million. Denison has 190 full-time faculty, making the student-to-faculty ratio 11:1.
[edit] Degrees and majors
Denison offers three types of degrees: B.A., B.S., and B.F.A. Students can create their own major (called an interdepartmental major) or choose among the following. A few of these subjects are concentrations only and are not offered as majors.
- Art History
- Art Studio
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Black Studies
- Chemistry
- Cinema
- Communication
- Computer Science
- Dance
- East Asian Studies
- Economics
- Education
- English Literature
- English Writing
- Environmental Studies
- French
- Geosciences
- German
- History
- International Studies
- Latin
- Mathematics
- Media Technology and Arts
- Music
- Philosophy
- Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Religion
- Sociology/Anthropology
- Spanish
- Theatre
- Women's Studies
[edit] Athletics
Denison is a member of the NCAA and the North Coast Athletic Conference(NCAC). Denison participates as a Division III institution which prohibits athletic scholarships. Denison has won nine (9) consecutive NCAC All-Sports Championships for a total of ten (10) since the founding of the conference in 1984-85. Denison's other All Sports Championship came in 1985-86, and both the consecutive championships streak and the total of ten represent conference records. The most successful teams are led by the Men's and Women's Swimming programs. In 2001, the women won the NCAA Division III national championship, unseating perennial champion and local rival Kenyon College. In 2006, the men placed 2nd in the nation; the women finished in 6th. The squash program is also a perennial national contender. Other top ranked programs include lacrosse, soccer, baseball, and softball. The lacrosse and soccer games against Ohio Wesleyan University are the most widely attended "rivalry" games. Also, the Kenyon/Denison swimming rivalry is recognized in small-college sports.
[edit] Greek life
Denison has seven fraternities and six sororities. Fewer students participate in Greek life than did during the early 1990s, but the culture is still relevant, with just about one third of all students joining a house.
The fraternities are:
- Beta Theta Pi
- Phi Gamma Delta
- Delta Chi
- Sigma Chi
- Phi Delta Theta
- Lambda Chi Alpha
- Sigma Phi Epsilon
The sororities are:
During the mid-1990's, in an effort to re-brand the college as more of an academic, and less of a party, institution, the college's trustees elected to make Denison a "non-residential" Greek system. The decision led to student and alumni uproar, with a low-grade riot erupting on the campus' "Fraternity Row" as a result. While sorority members had never been allowed to live in their respective houses, the trustees' decision turned most of the formerly-residential fraternity houses into general college residential halls, and each chapter was given lounge space in the basement of each respective house for official fraternity functions (including chapter).
Since the decision, many of the formerly purely Greek houses were renamed:
- The Delta Upsilon house became Taylor House, an "honors" residence hall
- The Delta Chi house became Sunset House
- The Lambda Chi Alpha house became the Erma and Clark Morrow House, an all-first-year student "living and learning" residence hall
- The Phi Gamma Delta house became the Chamberlin House
- The Phi Delta Theta house became the Preston House
[edit] Student Organizations
[edit] Alumni
Denison has some 28,000 alumni all around the world. Some notable alumni include:
- Richard Lugar (US Senator from Indiana)
- Tully Alford (cult figure, inspired character from Addams Family movie)
- Sue W. Kelly [1] Member of Congress from New York
- George Stibitz (American Scientist)
- Christopher Atkins (Actor, The Blue Lagoon)
- Tony Hall (Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture and former (US Congressman from Ohio)
- Bill Thomas (founder and CEO of Bills Khakis)
- Scott E. Sandbo (Chairman and CEO of Pacific Crest Securities)
- George Bodenheimer (President of ESPN and ABC Sports)
- Michael Eisner (former Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company)
- Susan Whiting (CEO of Nielsen Media Research)
- Bobby Rahal (Indianapolis 500 Champion)
- Terrell Jones (Founder of Travelocity)
- Chris Curtin (Vice President and General Manager of The Muppets)
- Sara Fritz (Executive Director of the Faith and Politics Institute, former Washington Bureau Chief of the St. Petersburg Times)
- William Bowen (former President of Princeton University, current President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation)
- Pam Houston (Award-Winning Author)
- Jennifer Garner (Screen and Television Actress)
- Steve Carell (Screen and Television Actor)
- Hal Holbrook (Stage, Screen and Television Actor)
- José Rivera (first Puerto Rican Screenwriter to be nominated for an Academy Award)
- Woody Hayes (Legendary Football Coach of Ohio State from 1951 to 1978)
- James Frey (Screenwriter and Author)
- John Davidson (Stage and Television Actor)
- John Schuck (Screen, Stage, and Television Actor)
- Johnny O'Connell (Professional Sports Car Racer) http://www.johnnyoconnell.com/index.htm
There are 37 Denison Clubs throughout the United States, from Boston to San Diego, from Seattle to Tampa Bay.
[edit] External links
- Denison University - official website
- Yesterday and Today: Denison History
- Granville, OH
- Denison Film Society
- Todd DeFeo Photography Portfolio: Denison University
| Five Colleges of Ohio |
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| Oberlin • Kenyon • Ohio Wesleyan • Denison • Wooster |
| Great Lakes Colleges Association |
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| Albion • Antioch • Denison • DePauw • Earlham • Hope • Kalamazoo • Kenyon • Oberlin • Ohio Wesleyan • Wooster |
| North Coast Athletic Conference |
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| Allegheny • Denison • Earlham • Hiram • Kenyon • Oberlin • Ohio Wesleyan • Wabash • Wittenberg • Wooster |
