Denison University is an independent, coeducational, residential college of liberal arts and sciences. It is one of the earliest colleges to be established in the old "Northwest Territory," west of the Allegheny Mountains and north of the Ohio River. The university is a leading liberal arts college where faculty and students collaborate in research, civic engagement, and cultivation of independent thinking. As a leader among the nation's top residential liberal arts colleges, Denison has earned a reputation for academic rigor that is rivaled only by its commitment to preparing students for a lifetime of personal, professional and civic success.