Rebuilding the heart of campus

For more than 40 years, the Chapel of Reconciliation has stood at the heart of Augustana University both physically and spiritually. There, generations of students have gathered to worship, reflect, sing, grieve, laugh and be together.

Now the beloved campus centerpiece is getting a major makeover — one that honors its history while transforming it into a more welcoming and vibrant gathering space for future Vikings.

Ann Rosendale, senior university pastor and vice president for mission integration, said that talk of updates began in 2021. Now that ground has been broken in 2025, the transformation is happening in two phases.

The first phase, which encompasses sanctuary upgrades, is expected to be done by late fall. The sanctuary will get new light-colored tile flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows on the east wall to fill the space with natural light, elegant light fixtures and upgraded speakers to make music and voices heard more clearly.

The second phase, which includes the construction of a gathering space, patio and bell tower, is expected to be done by spring of 2026. The new gathering space will be built to hold about 100 people and include audiovisual technology for presentations, meetings and events.

Rosendale said that flexibility will be key when the new space opens to the campus.

“It won’t be solely used for faith and spiritual life programming,” Rosendale said. “Anyone on campus will be able to use the space, but we will also use it for faith and spiritual life, too.”

The outdoor patio will be designed to connect easily to the new gathering area. A bell tower, which is projected to be 45 feet tall and 20 feet wide, will stand next to the chapel.

“Years ago, when Rob Oliver was president, there was a design [for a bell tower] brought forward by Steve Thomas, who was then an art professor,” Rosendale said. “That design is what inspired the tower we’re building now.”

In addition, the campus pastors’ offices are getting what Rosendale called a “facelift,” which includes new carpet, paint and lighting. The footprint of that area will remain the same.

While the chapel undergoes construction, its roots still run deep on campus. Built in 1981, the Chapel of Reconciliation replaced the old chapel gymnasium, a multipurpose building that once hosted everything from basketball games to Sunday worship in what we now know as the Edith Mortenson Center. The new chapel was designed to be something different: a space that firmly defines the chapel’s identity as a place rooted in faith and worship. 

One of the chapel’s most striking features, the Rogness Memorial Reredos made by former Augustana art professor Robert Aldern, carries its own historical story. The panels first appeared at the 1961 Lutheran Youth Gathering in Miami, where Martin Luther King Jr. addressed thousands of young people with the piece of art behind him. The artwork was later brought to Augustana in memory of Paul Rogness, a student who passed away shortly after graduation. Since then, the reredos has stood as the chapel’s spiritual centerpiece.

The project will restore six of the original 14 panels from the Rogness Memorial Reredos that once hung in the old chapel gymnasium and reinstall them along the north side of the chapel. The panels will be restored by Noreen Aldern, the daughter of the late artist who created them. 

The reredos are not the only historical piece receiving attention. The chapel’s organ, installed in 1983 and refurbished in 2020 by Augustana alumnus John Nordlie, will also return to the space.

Renovating such a respected building comes with its own unique challenge, which includes finding ways to modernize while preserving the history of the space. From carefully handling the reredos panels to planning around the schedules of campus, crews from Beck & Hofer Construction — who were selected to lead the project after a competitive bidding process — are working hard to protect what makes the chapel special. Project Manager and Estimator Thomas Frey said he felt honored when his team was chosen to carry out the work. 

Thanks to the generosity of Augustana alumni and friends, Director of Advancement and Planned Giving Paul Rasmussen and other financial leaders raised $4.5 million, reaching out through personal visits, phone calls, letters and emails, sharing architectural plans and stories from alumni about what the chapel has meant to them and what the goal for reconstruction was.

“As an alumnus, I’ve always valued that the Chapel of Reconciliation stands at the heart of Augustana’s campus,” Rasmussen said. “It has always been a central and formative part of my Augustana experience.”

A formal dedication for the entire project is already being eyed for late April.

For Rosendale, the chapel’s potential for hospitality is a huge part of what makes the reconstruction so important.

“One of the very first things I said when we started talking about the chapel in 2021 is ‘Welcome and hospitality are my first priorities in the space,’” Rosendale said. “The space is just going to be more inviting and less crowded, and I hope, especially with that gathering area, that it will get more people into the space.”

Indeed, students are already looking forward to the changes. 

“I love spending time in the chapel now, but I can’t wait to see the new gathering space,” said Hadley Larson, a sophomore nursing major. “It sounds like it’s going to be welcoming and open for everyone.” 

Campus Facilities Manager Jon Martin believes that the outdoor transformations of the project, including the bell tower, will be the most enjoyable parts of the change for students. 

“I am proud of the way that we are shaping the centerpiece of campus and how it will provide many new areas for the campus community to gather,” Martin said.

As Rosendale looks ahead to the day the chapel is finished, she hopes the new space will provide a stronger sense of faith for Augustana students.

“It’s just going to be a space that I know everyone on campus is going to want to use,” Rosendale said. “It's not just an investment in what was — it’s an investment in what the future of God will do in this place, and that means more to me than I can probably express.”