Hendricks Chapel

Hendricks Chapel is one of Syracuse University’s most recognizable landmarks and a beloved campus institution, standing both literally and figuratively at the heart of its campus. The chapel has been the site of some of the university’s most significant events, from antiwar protests in the sixties to the vigil of nearly 3,000 people held on September 11, 2001. Its efforts to foster intellectual, cultural, and spiritual growth within the campus community have drawn distinguished speakers from all fields: the painter Grant Wood; poets Carl Sandberg and Robert Frost; novelists Paul Gallico and Ayn Rand; the arctic explorer Viljhalmur Stefansson; politicians such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Hillary Clinton; and religious figures and social activists such as Paul Tillich, the Dalai Lama, Elie Wiesel, and James Baldwin; as well as scientists, economists, and other scholars.

This book, with contributions from other deans and staff, traces the history and evolution of the chapel, from its construction in 1930 when it was dedicated to promoting the “moral and spiritual welfare of the generations of young men and women at Syracuse University,” to its many current functions as an inclusive spiritual and social resource for the university and the community at large.