Introduction

Denison University is an educational community that prizes intellectual excellence and integrity. At Denison, students participate in an academic experience under the guidance of a faculty deeply devoted to teaching and actively engaged in advanced research and scholarship. The residential nature of this community permits learning to continue beyond the classroom.

Denison regards its students as moral agents who are capable of assuming primary responsibility for conducting their lives and making their decisions. Central to the mission of the University is the continual development of a community of respect, in which the principles of human dignity and ethical integrity are paramount. Rational dialogue and discourse determine the character of our interaction with each other.

Denison expects all members of the academic community to engage each other with mutual respect, compassion, and a deep appreciation for all of the cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, and economic differences that comprise the richness of our community.

The Student Handbook is not a contract.  It is provided with the intention of including in one location current information and resources for student life at Denison. In it you will find a description of the various offices, services, and resources, as well as the policies and regulations that govern life at the University. All students are responsible for reading and knowing the policies and regulations of the University.

As you embark upon your collegiate journey at Denison, we trust that this Handbook will serve you well as a guide.

Nondiscrimination Policy

Title IX Notice

Sex discrimination is prohibited by federal law through Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Denison does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education programs or activities that it operates, including admissions and employment. Title IX also prohibits retaliation against reporters of sex discrimination, including reports of sex discrimination against administrators and other employees, and Denison will investigate alleged retaliation for participation in the Title IX process. Inquiries concerning the application of Title IX and reports of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, may be made to the Title IX Coordinator at any time at the contact information below and also as detailed in Denison’s Title IX grievance and response procedures and processes, found on Denison’s Title IX website (https://denison.edu/campus/title-ix).

TITLE IX COORDINATOR

Justin Brown
Director of Civil Rights & Title IX
Whisler Hall, Room 006
100 W. College Street
Granville, OH 43023
brownjm@denison.edu
740-587-6728

Statement on Academic Freedom

Denison University actively promotes the free expression and exchange of ideas. Academic freedom is essential to the aims of higher education and to the University’s goals of fostering critical thinking, moral discernment, and active citizenship among its members. It is the responsibility of the faculty and the administration to protect academic freedom. Furthermore, because Denison is a residential, liberal arts college, academic freedom must be extended to all members of the university community in the broadest of contexts. Indeed, academic freedom is a core value of liberal education and is essential to the transformative power of that education promised in our mission statement.

Academic freedom is the right of all members of the University to exercise the broadest possible latitude in speaking, writing, listening, challenging, and learning. It applies to opinions and inquiry regarding political, cultural, religious, scientific, and social matters, as well as to those regarding the University itself and its policies.  Academic freedom is especially critical in the classroom, in research and publication, and in all educational activities.

Academic freedom applies to views and ideas that most members of the University may consider mistaken, dangerous, and even despicable. The ideas of different members of the University community will often conflict, but it is not the proper role of the University to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive. Although the University values civility, and although all members of the University community share the responsibility for maintaining a climate of mutual respect, concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as a justification for limiting discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those ideas may be to some members of the community.

Academic freedom does not, of course, mean that individuals may say whatever they wish, whenever they wish. The University may prohibit expression that violates the law, defames specific individuals, constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, or unjustifiably invades substantial privacy or confidentiality interests. These limitations, however, are narrow exceptions; it is vitally important that these exceptions never be used in a manner that is inconsistent with the University’s commitment to a free expression of ideas.

Members of the University community must act in conformity with the principle of academic freedom. Although members of the University community are free to criticize and contest the views of others, they may not obstruct or otherwise interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject. To this end, the University has a solemn responsibility not only to promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation, but also to protect that freedom when others attempt to restrict it. Such an open exchange of ideas is essential to liberal education.

* Portions of this statement are from the University of Chicago Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression. University Offices, Services and Resources