Dedication Ceremony Set for June 23 for WT’s Hill Chapel

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — More than $1 million in renovations to an iconic West Texas A&M University landmark will be celebrated at a June 23 dedication.

WT’s Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel will be dedicated at a special Sunday tea party at 2 p.m. June 23, following completion of the first major renovations in the chapel’s 74-year history.

“The Hill Chapel is a center of spiritual values and education at WT, and as the location of hundreds of weddings, it holds a special place in the hearts of countless Buffs over the decades,” said WT President Walter V. Wendler.

The celebration will include live music coordinated by Dr. B.J. Brooks, director of WT’s School of Music; a brief ceremony; light refreshments; and self-guided tours.

Also, wedding photos of couples who were married in the chapel will be displayed at the event and online. Photo submissions may be made at wtamu.edu/HillChapelPhotos, via email at HillChapel@wtamu.edu or via mail at WT Box 60753, Canyon, TX 79016.

Named for the University’s second president, the chapel’s first cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1950. One of few chapels on the campus of a public university in Texas, the Hill Chapel serves students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community at large.

Renovations were made possible by a $1.5 million gift from the High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation announced in April 2022. Exterior and interior work began in summer 2023.

Renovations include new exterior doors, repaired stonework and sidewalks, LED lighting, remodeling of rooms on each side of the chancel, new flooring and extensive landscaping. The chapel also will be brought into compliance with the American with Disabilities Act.

The gift—which does not include any new naming rights for the chapel—will include $1.1 million for renovations and $400,000 to establish an endowment to provide for ongoing maintenance.

An additional gift from Jim and the late Peggy Pollard provided an endowment for seasonal maintenance and replacement of plants around the chapel.

In 1944, a campaign was organized to raise private contributions to build a chapel on the campus of then-West Texas State Teachers College. In 1950, construction was completed on the 2,590-square-foot chapel. Today, it stands as a testament to Hill's determination to provide a place for student prayer, mediation and reflection.

“Let it always be remembered that this is a place of worship,” Hill said at the chapel’s dedication on Oct. 21, 1950. “Let everyone who comes here come with … open heart as into the presence of God Himself.”

The red sandstone facility includes stained-glass windows and rings carillon bells daily. Students use the space for prayer, religious studies, meetings, inductions, memorials, worship services and weddings.

More than 100 weddings have been performed in the chapel since 2014, when Jack B. Kelley Student Center took over operations. Countless others had been performed there in the chapel’s history.

The foundation’s gift will supplement an existing endowment for the chapel, set up in 2018 by Patsy Cunningham Vaughn in memory of her husband, Dr. Ronald D. Vaughn, a longtime dentist in Guymon, Oklahoma, among other cities. The couple attended WT and were married Aug. 15, 1959, in the chapel.

The Hill Chapel highlights the important role faith plays in the region, a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

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