Gunnison Memorial Chapel Marks 100 Years at the Heart of Campus Life
Gunnison Memorial Chapel was filled with celebration, community, and music on April 25th as St. Lawrence celebrated the building’s 100th anniversary and honored a space that has evolved alongside the University while remaining at the center of campus life.
Founded in 1856 with roots in the progressive Universalist church, St. Lawrence has been a nonsectarian institution for decades. The chapel serves as a welcoming space for people of all faiths—as well as those with no religious affiliation—hosting interfaith celebrations, cultural events, and moments of quiet reflection, while remaining a place where the campus community comes together in times of joy and sorrow.
“Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on life’s journey, you are welcome here,” said University Chaplain Rev. Dr. Shaun Whitehead. “Whatever your ethnic origin or language, you are welcome here. Whatever your gender identity or sexual orientation, you are welcome here. Whatever your religious tradition or theological position, whatever your socioeconomic status or political persuasion, you are welcome here.”
For Whitehead, who has served the University for more than two decades, Gunnison is more than a building. It is, as she has often described it, “a sacred place that holds the fullness of the Laurentian experience.”
The Chapel Centennial Concert, co-emceed by Joe Keniston ’05, assistant vice president for University Advancement, Laurentian Engagement and Annual Giving, and Rev. Julia Wright ’11, a member of the St. Lawrence University Alumni Executive Council, invited participation. The audience joined in singing “This Little Light of Mine,” a fitting tribute to the chapel’s enduring message: “We have lit a candle in the wilderness that will never be extinguished.”
Throughout the evening, performances by student groups including the Singing Saints and Singing Sinners, the Upbeats, SLUFunk, the Gospel Choir and Band, the Laurentian Singers, the St. Lawrence String Orchestra, and student duo Arlo & Sylvie, echoed the spirit of community.
A Space Defined by Song, Love, and Gratitude
Reflections included in the program from President Emeritus William L. Fox ’75 and his wife Lynn, and President Emeritus Dan F. Sullivan ’65 and his wife Ann, underscored the chapel’s enduring role at the heart of campus.
In her remarks, President Kate Morris reflected on her first visit to Gunnison Chapel and the story behind the Bacheller Memorial Chimes, gifted in 1926 by alumnus Irving Bacheller who used the bells to share his love and gratitude for his wife, Ann. The largest bell is inscribed: “To Ann Bacheller: Musician, Wife, Comrade. My love for her put a new song in my heart. Therefore let the singing of these bells be the voice of my gratitude.”
Morris noted that song, love, and gratitude formed a fitting set of themes for the chapel celebration. “With every ringing of the bell, with every song in the sanctuary, the music binds us together with love and with gratitude for our fellow Laurentians,” she said. “Our Chaplain, the Reverend Dr. Shaun Whitehead, always makes it so. This is a very important point. The place holds us, but the people within it create the community, create the music, encourage us to love one another, and foster the gratitude we have for one another.”
Light, Sound, and a Shared Experience
Whitehead and her predecessor, the late Reverend and former University Chaplain Kathleen Buckley, made it their mission for Gunnison to be as welcoming as possible, Co-emcee Rev. Julia Wright .
“Kathleen and I really pushed to make the ethos of the chapel one of inclusion and welcome—a gathering space for however you experience the divine, even if you don’t experience it at all,” she said in a conversation prior to the Centennial Concert. “This space is yours because you’re a Laurentian, and because you’re a human being.”
Even for those who may not gather regularly inside its walls, Gunnison is part of daily life at St. Lawrence. Each weekday at 5 p.m., the chapel bells ring out across campus, played by student bell-ringers in a wide range of tunes from “Amazing Grace” to “Blowin’ in the Wind” to “The Flintstones” theme song. It’s a tradition that has continued for nearly a century.
Inside, chapel’s stained-glass windows invite reflection and discovery. As co-emcee Rev. Julia Wright ’11 explained, each window tells a story.
“Each window is teaching you something about who we are as Laurentians—who we are as a campus community and who we are as residents of Canton,” she said.
The windows depict academic disciplines, local figures, and even athletics. “We are the only university I know of that has a sports window,” she laughed, and explained how they encourage viewers to see themselves reflected in the space.
Wright pointed to the Great North Window at the back of the chapel, where a flame rises above the scene.
“We have lit a candle in the wilderness,” she said. “This is the space where that light pours through the windows and allows us to be exactly who we are in that moment—and celebrate it.”
Resilience and Continuity
The chapel’s presence has not gone uninterrupted. In 2013, a fire destroyed its iconic spire and damaged the building, temporarily silencing the bells that have long marked the rhythm of campus life.
But even then, the tradition endured. The chapel was carefully restored, preserving its historic character and reaffirming its place at the center of campus life.
As the concert closed—with the Alma Mater ringing out and voices rising together—the sense of continuity was unmistakable.
And, as Whitehead reflected, its purpose looking ahead is just as clear: “I hope the chapel continues for another century and is always a place where people know they can come here and be part of our community.”
