Denison University

“Minutes of committees - seven of the standing committees of the board of trustees document their meetings with minutes: buildings & grounds, enrollment, finance & audit, investment, student affairs, trustee affairs, and university relations and development. There are no minutes for the committee on academic affairs. However, personnel actions taken by the committee are forwarded to the full board where they are recorded in the minutes of the full board business meeting upon approval. There are no minutes for the committee on alumni affairs. This committee meets once per year for the sole purpose of selecting nominees for alumni citations. The list of nominees is forwarded to the full board where the names are recorded in the minutes of the full board business meeting upon approval. There are no minutes for the committee on honorary degrees. Names of nominees are forwarded to the full board where they are recorded in the minutes of the full board business meeting upon approval. There are currently no meetings of the executive committee.”

“Form 990 review - form 990 was presented to the finance & audit committee of the board of trustees for their review at their april, 2020 meeting.”

“Monitoring and enforcement of conflict policy - responses to the conflict of interest questionnaire are reviewed annually by the committee on trustee affairs. Results of the review are reported to the full board. Procedurally, the human resource office and/or the president's office annually distributes the conflict of interest questionnaires for completion by trustees, officers, administrative staff and teaching faculty acting in administrative capacities. The completed forms are reviewed when returned. To the extent that those completed by board members or senior administrators reveal a possible conflict of interest, they are forwarded to the committee for further consideration. Additionally, if there is reasonable cause to believe that anyone has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest, the committee shall be informed and pursue these concerns. The president or her/his designee reviews the completed questionnaires by all other members of the administration and members of the teaching faculty acting in an administrative capacity and properly carry out the provisions of the policy on all matters of a conflict of interest. The president or her/his designee will provide a written report to the chair of the board on all matters of conflict of interest which he or she has addressed administratively. Denison's policy details specific procedures for handling potential conflicts of interest. Family and business relationships are disclosed in the form 990.”

“Compensation review and approval - at its april meeting each year, the board of trustees delegates to its chair and two vice chairs the authority to review and approve compensation levels for the senior administrative staff of the college. The chairs and vice chairs deliberate and approve these salaries, typically in june, after conferring on job performance and reviewing independently compiled comparable information. At its october meeting each year, the board ratifies the actions of the chair and vice chairs of the board with regard to the salaries and the following is recorded in the minutes of the board so as to provide adequate documentation of the basis for determination of salaries: - none of the individuals holding senior positions are members of this committee of the board of trustees (chair and two vice chairs) approving the salaries. - the chair and vice chairs of the board conferred on matters of job performance and relied upon an independent valuation of the compensation or consideration. The approved salary in each case was reviewed and compared to salary data for the comparable positions for peer institutions (defined in denison's strategic plan) and a group of private and independent colleges with a comparable operating budget, using data independently compiled by cupa-hr. - in addition, compensation for the president is compared to the top 50 liberal arts colleges data as compiled by cupa-hr, and the top liberal arts colleges data as compiled by mercer from form 990 data. The salaries awarded do not provide benefits in excess of the value of the services being rendered to denison university. The cupa-hr and mercer salary information used by the chair and vice chairs in establishing the salaries of senior administrators is also reviewed in executive session with the entire board of trustees each october. This comparative information is maintained over time so as to provide the board with historic trends as well as current information.”

“Availability of documents - denison's audited financial statements are made available to the public through our finance office website. Governing documents and conflict of interest policy are available upon request from the vice president for finance and management.”

“The college has adopted and follows a document retention and destruction policy. However, the policy has not yet been approved by the board of trustees. As such, we are required to answer "no" to the question on line 14 of part vi even though the college has implemented and follows such a policy.”

“Our purpose is to inspire and educate our students to become autonomous thinkers, discerning moral agents and active citizens of a democratic society. Through an emphasis on active learning, we engage students in the liberal arts, which fosters self-determination and demonstrates the transformative power of education. We envision our students' lives as based upon rational choice, a firm belief in human dignity and compassion unlimited by cultural, racial, sexual, religious or economic barriers, and directed toward an engagement with the central issues of our time. Our curriculum balances breadth with depth, building academic specialization upon a liberal arts foundation in the arts, the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. Responsive to new ways of learning, we continue to develop interdisciplinary integration of the many forms of knowledge. While our students pursue specialized learning in their chosen majors, they also develop the framework for an integrated intellectual life, spiritually and morally informed. Our faculty is committed to undergraduate education. As teacher-scholar-advisors, their principal responsibility is effective teaching informed by the best scholarship. Faculty members place a priority on close interaction with students, interactive learning, and partnerships with students in original research. Our low student/faculty ratio allows for close supervision or independent research and collaborative work in small groups and classes. We seek to ensure an ever-broader range of racial, ethnic, international and socioeconomic backgrounds in a student body of about 2,100 students. We offer different kinds of financial aid to meet the different needs of our students. The focus of student life at denison is a concern for the whole person. The university provides a living-learning environment sensitive to individual needs yet grounded in a concern for community, in which the principles of human dignity and ethical integrity are paramount. Students engage in a wide range of co-curricular activities that address the multidimensional character of their intellectual and personal journey. Denison is a community in which individuals respect one another and their environment. Each member of the community possesses a full range of rights and responsibilities. Foremost among these is a commitment to treat each other and the environment with mutual respect, tolerance, and civility.”

“Post-retirement related charges other than net periodic post-retirement cost 1,456,274. Actuarial adjustment of split interest agreements -506,631. Preferred distribution - non-controlling interest -35,866.”