Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called the Granville Literary and Theological Institution, later took the name Granville College, and, in the mid-1850s, was renamed Denison University, in honor of a key benefactor. The college enrolled 2,300 students in Fall 2024 and students choose from 65 academic programs.
The campus size is about 1,100 acres. This includes a 400-acre biological reserve just east of campus, where professors of sciences, such as geology and biology, can hold class. The Denison Golf Club at Granville, an 18-hole course designed by Donald Ross, is just 0.4 mi. from the academic campus and was donated to the university in 2014. In 2013, the university purchased and renovated the historic Granville Inn.
The first building in the "Greater Denison" plan, Swasey Chapel, was built at the center of the campus. The chapel seats 990 and plays host to notable campus events such as baccalaureate services, lectures, concerts, and academic award convocations.
There are 18 academic buildings on campus. Doane Administration Building, one of the oldest buildings on campus, and Burton Morgan are also on academic quad (spill-over academic building), but they serve administrative purposes. The Bryant Arts Center opened in August 2009. Also on the fine arts quad is Doane Dance Building, Burton Music, Cinema MIX Lab, Burke Performance and Recital Hall, and the Michael D. Eisner Center for the Performing Arts, completed in 2019.
Doane Library today houses more than 500,000 books and bound periodicals.