The thrum of construction that surrounded Knobel Hall and the King Center for Data & Innovation this summer was superseded Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, by a chorus of voices — as faculty and students settled into a building filled with cutting-edge technology and designed to foster the interdisciplinary collaboration that is a Denison hallmark.
The grand opening of Knobel and the King Center was the result of years of visionary discussions, detailed planning, and significant support from donors who ensured the project was funded before the college broke ground.
The building’s completion is an academic milestone for Denison, making it the first liberal arts college with a dedicated center for integrating data and AI literacy across the student experience.
At the grand opening, President Adam Weinberg said the project provides Denison’s top-flight faculty with the resources they deserve, and students with the resources and skills they need to launch quickly and successfully into their lives and careers.
“This building touches many of the aspects that I love most about Denison,” he said.
“Knobel Hall looks and feels like a building for the future,” said Denison Provost Alisa Rosenthal. “And that is exactly what it should be. But as exciting as that is, I think the most important thing about this building is what it preserves.
“At a time when so much of the world is becoming more distant, more artificial, more separate, this building is designed around being together,” she said.