Danforth Chapel offers quiet peace and charm
Danforth Chapel, a modest, rustic building between Fraser Hall and KU Art Museum in Spooner Hall, was built with the help of German war prisoners using stone from a fence outside Lawrence.
The original plan was to use rock from a campus quarry, but stonemasons found it impossible to shape the rock properly. A stone fence was purchased and exchanged for a new wire fence for the landowner.
The chapel was dedicated on April 2, 1946, "to give wisdom, strength and courage to those who seek respite there." Here students find quiet to contemplate problems, and couples of all faiths are married in small ceremonies.
When Danforth Chapel was dedicated, it was turned over to the students with the understanding that it would never be locked or darkened. That policy continues.
The building was the idea of William H. Danforth, a Charleston, Mo., boy who founded the $30 million Ralston Purina Co. of St. Louis, Mo.
In the early 1940's the Danforth Foundation offered funds for chapels on other compuses. But Danforth refrained from giving the full sum. He felt people should earn things themselves.
The foundation contributed $5,000 to the building fund, the remaining $40,000 was raised by faculty, students and friends of the University.
The chapel was designed by Edward W. Tanner, KU's first architecture graduate. Tanner recalled that Danforth insisted the chapel be small and intimate so it would appeal to students, and they could understand it. It was to be a place where people with troubles could go for meditation.
In planning the building, Tanner talked with Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergymen and arranged it so all would be willing to have services there.
Some 80 or 90 couples a year are married at the chapel's walnut altar rail. Mrs. Sandra Brewer, space allocations officer for the registrar, said anyone may be married in Danforth
Danforth Chapel
Chapel. It is not limited to students.
Know your dean Education job demanding
Dean Anderson
An anonymous note on the desk of Kenneth E. Anderson, dean of the School of Education, reads: "He has carried such great responsibilities for so long in such a completely dedicated way."
A credit to KU's School of Education, Anderson has shown tremendous versatility and imagination in making his department one of the best in the country.
"The job is very demanding and the responsibilities are big," Anderson said, "Having this position doesn't leave me much time for anything else."
In reference to hobbies Anderson had to reminisce. "I used to play some golf and a little tennis," he said, "I also enjoy gardening quite a bit. I plan to indulge in these activities more this July."
Anderson indicated that in the last five years he has developed an interest in photography but, of course, also has difficulty finding time for it. "I'm supposed to get a month off during the summer but it usually doesn't turn out that way," he said.
July 1, 1969, is the date set for Anderson's resignation as dean. He feels that his resignation will be beneficial for him-mentally and physically.
"A man gets to a point when he just doesn't want to drive himself anymore," he said. "I think it is good to change your direction a few times during your life."
Feb.19 1969 KANSAN 5
Anderson said that recently his department has been doing some special research with the departments of music and fine arts. The work entailed the possible introduction of new courses into the curriculum in the near future.
"I am now in the process of exposing a new course 'Higher Education in the U.S.'" explained Anderson. "Eventually I hope to see this course in the schedule along with two others: 'The College Student' and 'The College Teacher.'"
His efforts in education research have taken him long distances from KU. "I love to travel," Anderson said. "I have been able to really enjoy myself while visiting the departments of education of high schools in areas as remote as Iceland.
"June and December are really full months for weddings," Mrs. Brewer said. "But semester break has the heaviest schedule. I had to turn people away this year."
"I have always tried to teach one course every semester along with my responsibilities as dean," Anderson said. He explained further that the college professor must learn to relate to the student's aspirations and feelings.
As one of America's best known and highly respected educators, Anderson is most honored to have received an "Outstanding Achievement Award" from his alma mater, the University of Minnesota.
Mrs. Brewer said the chapel seats 90 guests. A $5 charge for maintenance is the only fee required for the ceremony. The Rev. Ronald Sundbye, First United Methodist Church pastor, and his associate pastor, the Rev. R. Dennis Bowers, marry many students, she said.
The furnishings, organ songbooks, the altar set and the red carpeting inside the chapel were gifts.
"Christ at Gethsemane," a copy in oils of a painting by Hoffman, hangs in the foyer.
Watch experts bag fabulous trophies with CUN, ROD & BOW!
I
---
---