Driven by Data
Denison’s new data science center to make data literacy central both on its campus and in its curriculum.
In 2016, Denison University became one of the first liberal arts colleges in the nation to launch a data analytics major. Today, data analytics and computer science are among Denison’s fastest-growing majors, attracting students who seek interdisciplinary, cutting-edge programs grounded in a rigorous liberal arts curriculum.
Denison students receive an education that goes beyond coding, teaching them both practical and inventive applications of AI and data analysis. These students delve into undergraduate research, land competitive internships, and access top-flight career preparation.
But Denison is just getting started.
Denison intends for every student, regardless of major, to graduate fully competent in the analysis and presentation of data, inspired by what it can do both for their careers and the world.
“Every profession that our students will go into
will depend upon data.”
Denison President Adam Weinberg
Now Denison is poised to take another giant step forward, with the renovation of the existing 21,750-square-foot historic Doane Hall and a 15,700-square-foot addition made possible by donors who have given $30 million toward the project.
A center for data science
Currently under construction on Denison’s campus in Granville, Ohio, this landmark center for innovation has been designed to further the integration of data analytics and computer science across the college’s curriculum.
The new center, at the heart of its campus, is expected to be completed in August 2026 and will provide opportunities that few liberal arts colleges nationwide are positioned to offer their students.
Now Denison is poised to take another giant step forward, with the renovation of the existing 21,750-square-foot historic Doane Hall and a 15,700-square-foot addition made possible by donors who have given $30 million toward the project.
A center for data science
Currently under construction on Denison’s campus in Granville, Ohio, this landmark center for innovation has been designed to further the integration of data analytics and computer science across the college’s curriculum.
The new center, at the heart of its campus, is expected to be completed in August 2026 and will provide opportunities that few liberal arts colleges nationwide are positioned to offer their students.
The center is designed to ensure that Denison’s graduates are better equipped to launch quickly and successfully into their chosen professions, armed with technology and cognitive skills spanning data analytics, AI, virtual reality, and robotics.
The center will include:
- Labs designed for the study of robotics, virtual reality, AI, and data visualization.
- Collaborative learning spaces where students and faculty from across the college can come together, brainstorm ways data can inform their studies, solve their problems, and inspire their research.
- Multi-purpose classrooms with modern technology throughout, including immersive classrooms specifically designed for teaching coding and analytics.
- Conference rooms and presentation spaces for faculty, students, alumni working in the tech fields, and visiting industry leaders.
The center will also foster connections within the booming technology corridor emerging in central Ohio, where companies such as Amazon and Intel are investing billions in new facilities.
The center is designed to ensure that Denison’s graduates are better equipped to launch quickly and successfully into their chosen professions, armed with technology and cognitive skills spanning data analytics, AI, virtual reality, and robotics.
The center will include:
- Labs designed for the study of robotics, virtual reality, AI, and data visualization.
- Collaborative learning spaces where students and faculty from across the college can come together, brainstorm ways data can inform their studies, solve their problems, and inspire their research.
- Multi-purpose classrooms with modern technology throughout, including immersive classrooms specifically designed for teaching coding and analytics.
- Conference rooms and presentation spaces for faculty, students, alumni working in the tech fields, and visiting industry leaders.
The center will also foster connections within the booming technology corridor emerging in central Ohio, where companies such as Amazon and Intel are investing billions in new facilities.
“We incorporate tools from different disciplines to focus on the big picture.”
Data Analytics Associate Professor Anthony Bonifonte
As of spring 2025, data analytics is one of Denison’s most popular academic programs. The major appeals to students who want to go beyond the offerings of traditional data science programs.
“We’re trying to grow the culture that understanding data is about more than just building technical expertise,” said Denison Professor Dan Homan, director of the data analytics program.
At Denison, data analytics was designed from the beginning as an interdisciplinary program — with professors from across the college. In the classroom, students handle actual data from partner companies and nonprofits. They analyze this data and produce findings and recommendations that these organizations can use.
Data analytics faculty say the Denison program stands out by encouraging students driven by broad interests and intellectual curiosity.
Associate Professor Sarah Supp said Denison challenges all students, regardless of major, to think about data analytics not just as a method or a means to an end but as a holistic pursuit of knowledge.
“The data analytics we teach is not only to produce software engineers or large language model coders or statisticians — though we have students who do all those things — but really to allow our students to make those connections much more broadly,” she said.
The interdisciplinary center will be a dedicated space on campus to do just that, serving as a hub where students and faculty across all departments and majors collaborate, seed ideas, ask questions, and find answers together in new and inventive ways.
Denison has long seen the value in teaching the kinds of critical thinking skills — algorithmic thinking, statistical reasoning, data analysis — associated with emerging technologies, Computer Science Professor Matt Kretchmar said.
“This project is a statement about Denison,” he said. “About the importance of developing these skills across all students. I think we’re creating the future here.”
The field of data science is exploding and is expected to be the fourth fastest-growing occupation by 2032, rising 36%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median pay for current data scientists is $108,020, compared to $79,050 for business and financial jobs.
Denison President Adam Weinberg said the new center will provide a stunning arrival point on campus and will be the first building many students and their families see upon arriving at Denison. That was by design.
“This building is a catalyst for the academic innovation going on across the college,” Weinberg said. “Each student will pass through this building in different ways.”
“Data is best interpreted by liberal arts graduates who know how to ask the right questions, tell stories that others can understand and engage with, and ensure that the work at hand has an ethical core,” he said. “The liberal arts gives data science its heart, soul, and power.”
With its commitment to a rigorous education, world-class faculty, and continued investments, such as the new data science center, Denison is leading innovation in the liberal arts. The college is focused on career preparedness and is situated amid the booming technology corridor centered in Columbus, Ohio, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing cities.
This content was paid for and created by Denison University. The editorial staff of The Chronicle had no role in its preparation. Find out more about paid content.
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