Charles M. Denny, Jr.—2007-08 Louis W. Hill, Jr. Fellow

Mr. Denny—“Chuck”—began making his mark as a strong corporate citizen at Honeywell Corporation, where he started in 1959 as a personnel assistant and eventually became vice president of marketing for the computer controls division. After leaving Honeywell, he joined ADC Telecommunications, Inc., in 1971, where he served as president, chief executive officer, and ultimately chairman (till 1994) for the manufacturer of communications equipment for telephone companies and large private networks. Under his leadership, the company was given new life and became a billion-dollar global enterprise.

After Mr. Denny retired from ADC in 1991, he turned more of his attention and energies toward volunteer work with various civic and nonprofit organizations. In addition to his current role as a board member of the Science Museum of Minnesota, he also serves as a member of the Humphrey Institute Dean’s Advisory Council, the Caux Round Table, the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union Foundation, and the Mayo Clinic Regional Council. He has served as vice chair of the Minneapolis Foundation, and as director of Pako Corporation, E.F. Johnson Company, McQuay Company, Minnesota Power and Light, First Bank Systems, and Tonka Corporation. Also, he has served on the Minneapolis Community Development Agency, Board of Trustees at the College of St. Catherine, Minnesota High Technology Council, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Boys and Girls Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota Center for Corporate Responsibility, and the Citizens League.

Among the awards Mr. Denny has received are a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from both Saint John’s University and the University of Minnesota, and a Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of St. Catherine. He has also been granted numerous honors and awards for his commitment to service, most notably the Tekne Award for Lifetime Achievement (2001).

Mr. Denny’s corporate and volunteer interests have been diverse, ranging from ethical and practical issues on the implied social “contract” between workers and CEOs with regard to the increasing disparity in pay (a contract which he says has been broken), to collaborating with other corporate leaders to resolve trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan, to anticipating who covers expenses in a state with an aging population.

During his year as Louis W. Hill, Jr. Fellow, Mr. Denny explored the responsibilities and potential benefits for society in the interaction of the four major contributing elements to American society—the individual, the business community, government, and the nonprofits. What is the corporation’s role in society? Within that role, what constitutes responsible corporate behavior? What is corporate philanthropy? How does our society develop leaders who will manage in the best interests of the public? In pursuing these questions, he certainly had extensive experience and relationships from which to draw. He presented his conclusions and thinking on April 29, 2008, at the time of the fifth Louis W. Hill, Jr. Symposium, the culminating event of his year as Fellow.