In a ceremony held on April 15 in the Welsh Hills Room of Denison's Burton D. Morgan Center, Vice President of Student Affairs Samuel J. Thios presented the University's 2008 Distinguished Leadership Award to 42 deserving seniors. The honor is awarded annually to graduating seniors recognizing their "extraordinary commitment to excellence, leadership and dedication to Denison and surrounding communities." This year's honorees represent a remarkably broad and diverse range of interests and contributions.

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Denison University announces that Michael Eisner, class of 1964, has given the college gifts through The Eisner Foundation to create an endowment valued at $1.75 million. The gifts establish the Dominick Consolo Endowed Professorship, named in honor of one of Mr. Eisner's favorite Denison professors. Dr. Consolo is an emeritus professor of English at the college, having been an active faculty member from 1958 until his retirement in 1992. The professorship will recognize the "exemplary achievements in teaching and scholarship" of a current faculty member while funding a portion of salary, benefits and research at the college.

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The Class of 2012 is shaping up as the strongest, most talented and diverse in Denison University's 177-year history. In another record-setting year, the Office of Admissions received more than 30,000 inquiries from prospective members of the Class of 2012. With the help of scores of individuals, including DARTers (Denison Alumni Recruiting Teams), faculty, staff and current Denison students, the university was able to convert these inquiries into more than 5,300 applications, representing the largest applicant pool Denison has ever had. In addition, only 38 percent of those applicants received an offer of admission, matching the lowest acceptance rate in Denison's history.

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Once again, Denison students and members of the community gathered in the Mitchell Recreation and Athletics Center to raise money for the American Cancer Society's 'Relay For Life.' Last year, the students raised an impressive $71,000. According to Averi Frost '08, student co-chair of Denison's Relay for Life, the goal for 2008 was $80,000. Friday night's highlights included the Student Activities Council sponsoring a highly anticipated appearance by national rock act "Blessid Union of Souls," which was broadcast live on the campus radio station, WDUB-FM.

Link to a story from the Newark Advocate.

Link to photos from the Advocate.

Ask students what's new these days on the Denison University campus, and what you hear may surprise you - it's innovation itself. Thanks to a grant from The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Denison is launching a new program on the Liberal Arts and Entrepreneurship Education, and as a result innovation is becoming a hot topic on campus. The new program is kicking off with a week-long workshop on "Entrepreneurial Endeavors." The workshop, an intensive introduction to theory and practice of entrepreneurship, is coordinated by Dr. David Przybyla of Denison's Organizational Studies Program and Psychology Department. The program draws on Denison's alumni body to feature graduates who have gone on to careers in innovation.

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On Friday, Denison University's students, faculty, staff and trustees convened at the college's 2008 Academic Awards Convocation in Swasey Chapel to recognize the academic achievements of its students, honor its outstanding faculty members, and present medals to seven outstanding graduating seniors. The President's Medals were established in 1985 as Denison's highest and most prestigious honor, recognizing students who have demonstrated not only intellectual achievement, but also have made some other significant contribution to the community in such areas as global awareness, athletic fitness, leadership and campus discourse.

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In its next production, the Denison Singer's Theatre Workshop will embark on a journey exploring the consequences of classic fairy tale characters' quests. The group will present two student performances of the award-winning musical "Into the Woods" at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, in Burke Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public. "Into the Woods," with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, was inspired by Bruno Bettelheim's 1976 book, "The Uses of Enchantment." The musical combines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. The main characters are taken from the stories of "Little Red Riding Hood," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Rapunzel" and "Cinderella," are tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to start a family.

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For the last 14 years, Denison University has been doing what Harvard and Yale are saying they will do for the first time this fall -- aggressively holding down costs for as many incoming students as possible. "We have long believed that part of our job is to do what we can to make Denison affordable for the students we admit," says Perry Robinson, vice president and director of admissions. "We're pleased that some of the larger universities have decided to come on board -- but we've been doing this for a long time, and we're stepping up our efforts."

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The Fulbright Program recently announced the complete list of colleges and universities that produced the most 2007-2008 U.S. Fulbright Fellows. The success of the top-producing institutions was highlighted in the Oct. 26 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Three students from Denison University won Fulbright awards for 2007-2008 and a total of eight students won highly competitive scholarships toward graduate study, teaching, or major internships. Denison has a history of being one of the highest producers of Fulbright scholars among private liberal arts colleges in the nation.

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Make no mistake about it, senior Lauren Kendall is passionate about Namibia. Five minutes into a conversation with her, and her enthusiasm already has you in its grip. You find yourself casting about for ways to help this dynamic young woman. Kendall's drive was the force behind a special evening at Brews Café that raised more than $1,800 for Hope Initiatives Southern Africa.

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The Denison theatre department is presenting a work-in-progress of Arthur Kopit, one of America's leading playwrights. Kopit, Denison's Reynolds Playwright-in-Residence, is weaving a play called "Discovery of America," a fascinating story that examines the life of Cabeza de Vaca, the first European to sojourn across the American continent. Denison theatre students will debut their stage reading of the play from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 18, in Ace Morgan Theatre. A boldly theatrical work — sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, always entertaining — "Discovery of America," is a sharp-witted and thought-provoking exploration of memory and history and their tenuous relationship with objective truth ... whatever that is.

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Denison University's 167th Commencement Exercises are set for May, 11, 2008. The entire weekend schedule and helpful information for families of graduates are located here.

This year’s Kussmaul Award was presented to Laura Walker, Granville High School class of ’05 and Denison class of ’08, at the Granville Rotary Club’s luncheon meeting on Monday, April 21, at the Granville Inn. Each year, the Kussmaul Award honors the Denison University student “who has contributed most to the friendly relations between Granville and the college.” The award is presented by the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce (GACC) in cooperation with Denison University. Both Evelyn Frolking, president of the GACC, and Dale Knobel, president of Denison, were on hand to present the award. The ceremony featured an address by Laurel Kennedy, Denison director of service-learning, whose inspirational talk was titled “Service in Liberal Arts Education.”

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Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft will visit Denison University at 7 p.m., on Monday, April 28, in Slayter Hall Auditorium. The lecture, sponsored by the Denison College Republicans, is free and open to the public. Ashcroft, attorney general from 2001-05, will speak on the topic "Today and the Future of Homeland Security." Ashcroft's career of public service began in 1973 with his position as Missouri state auditor. He was Missouri's attorney general and governor before serving in the Senate from 1995 to 2001, when he was appointed U.S. attorney general.

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Over the last several years, Denison University has been diligent in developing and updating its Crisis Management Plan, covering a wide range of emergencies, from natural disasters and disease outbreaks to large-scale accidents and random violence. One facet of that plan is the development of Denison's Emergency Response Guide (found online at www.denison.edu/offices/security/). The guide includes basic information for students and employees in the event of a campus emergency. In addition to police, fire or medical crises, the plan has specialized instructions for flooding, civil disturbances, gas leaks, suicide threats, suspicious packages, power outages, weather emergencies and bomb threats. It also includes a campus map, crime-prevention tips and first-aid instructions.

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Author Loren Pope is a man on a mission -- to educate American parents and their prospective college student children about the cutting edge education that is available at four-year liberal arts colleges across the United States. Denison is included in his Colleges That Change Lives, 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges, published by Penguin Books in 2006.

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