Muller Chapel History

Dedication

This work is dedicated to all those individuals who have endeavored to make Muller Chapel a home for spirituality and meaning-making at Ithaca College since 1976.

By Austin Reid: June 2024

The Pre-Muller Chapel Years

Ithaca College was founded on September 19, 1892, as the Ithaca Conservatory of Music when the college’s first President W. Grant Egbert organized classes for students inside four rooms rented within a house located at 403 East Seneca St. At the time there were just ten faculty members. These individuals included eight teachers and two lecturers.1 By 1894, the college’s enrollment increased resulting in the school relocating into the Wilgus Opera House at the intersection of State and Tioga streets where Center Ithaca is now found. The opera house could seat around 1,000 people and the room was located above Rothschild Brothers, a department store that served the Tompkins County community for nearly a century. The college graduated its first class in 1897, which consisted of just two students M. Ethel Nichols and Kate Green.2 In 1910 the Ithaca Conservatory began to move out of rented quarters by purchasing the Boardman House, the institution’s first owned building. This structure is still located at 120 East Buffalo St. One year prior in 1909 the Ithaca Conservatory had 12 students participate in its 17th annual commencement. It is likely that in these early years, conservatory students who chose to practice a faith found community in one of Ithaca’s downtown congregations. The campus enrollment was likely too small to support independent student organizations dedicated to religious practice. It is also known that local congregations and individual families made efforts to welcome students into faith communities. By 1930, it was a custom at the conservatory that a representative from Ithaca’s religious congregations would address students at convocation and welcome them to participate in a local religious community.3 In October 1930 Reverend Alfred Boutwell, who was associated with the First Baptist Church, welcomed new students and noted the proximity of many local congregations to the Ithaca Conservatory. He also advised that while students could avoid the various churches in town “there would be a vigorous pursuit” and he hoped each student, new and old, would find a home where they could be welcomed.4 In addition to attending religious services downtown, some students traveled to Cornell University to engage with a faith community. By 1936, it was reported by Reverend John Fetter of First Baptist Church that most congregations in Ithaca had dedicated student groups.5

During the 1930s religious groups also began to form among Ithaca College students. The first known religious organization was the Newman Club, a Catholic society. While Ithaca College students had participated in activities organized by Cornell’s Newman Club since at least 1930, and likely since that club’s formation in 1914, in 1937 an independent chapter of the Newman Club was established at Ithaca College.6 The group's first officers were Terry Ott, president, Julia Davis, vice president, William O’Neil, secretary, and Ralph Iorio, treasurer. Reverend Donald Cleary, Assistant Rector at Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Ithaca also played an instrumental role in forming the group. The Newman Club, an international organization for Catholic college students, is named in honor of John Henry Newman, a Catholic theologian and philosopher, who lived from 1801 to 1890. The Ithaca College Catholic Community, which continues to exist on Ithaca College’s campus, is a direct descendant of this Newman Club chapter. Hillel at Ithaca College can also trace its origins to the 1930s. Like their Catholic peers, Jewish students at Ithaca College who chose to engage with Jewish life benefited from a downtown congregation, Temple Beth-El. This community traces its origins to 1924 when two earlier communities, Agudath Achim and Chevra Kadisha, merged.7 In addition, some Jewish students likely elected to travel up the East Hill to Cornell to engage with coreligionists on Cornell’s campus. Cornell’s first Jewish organization, Zeta Beta Tau was established in 1907, and in 1912 the Menorah Society was formed.8 The Menorah Society was the predecessor of Hillel, an international Jewish student organization that had a presence at Cornell by 1929. Hillel is named after Rabbi Hillel the Elder, a sage who lived at the end of the first century BCE and the beginning of the first century CE. In November 1939, Rabbi David Polish helped to create a Hillel chapter at Ithaca College that was independent of the Cornell organization.9 Evelyn Teper ‘40 served as the first president of Hillel and Eleanor Kovitsky ‘42 served as Ithaca College’s representative to the national B’nai B’rith Hillel Council. Ithaca College’s Hillel organization disbanded during World War II, however, when the college’s enrollment decreased significantly as many young people were called into the service. The Newman Club, which had a much larger pool of students to draw membership from, continued its activities at Ithaca College throughout the war.

By the early 1950s, the number of religious organizations at Ithaca College began to grow once more as the college continued to experience an increase in enrollment following World War II. The first known Protestant group at Ithaca College was created in February 1952.10 Members of the organization, which adopted the name Ithaca College Christian Fellowship, were inspired by the activities of Hillel and the Newman Club.11 Early members of the fellowship included Carol Conklin, Dody Hewitt, Harold Munroe, JoAnne Deisig, John Gilmour, Joyce Fullagar, June Billings, Midge Peck, Mort Clark, Pat Myers, and Shirley Swartout.12 John Gilmour ‘52 served as the group’s first head.13 By April 1955 the group had reorganized itself as the Ithaca College Protestant Fellowship.14 Like Hillel and the Newman Club, the organization sponsored educational, religious, and social activities. In addition, by December 1954 another faith-based organization, the Canterbury Club existed at Ithaca College.15 This Episcopal student organization had strong connections to St. John's Episcopal Church on N Cayuga St. The group remained active at Ithaca College until at least January 1959.16 Hillel’s activities at Ithaca College resumed by 1946. On February 21, 1955, Jewish students at Ithaca College again established a Hillel chapter independent of Cornell’s.17 Dr. Jack Gelfand, an assistant professor in the School of Business, served as the organization's first faculty advisor. The organization’s first officers were Bob Ross, president, Marsha Bear, secretary, and Alan Berkowitz, treasurer.18

Interfaith efforts at Ithaca College also developed further during the 1950s. In 1957, The Inter-Religious Activities Council was formed.19 This is the first known interfaith group at Ithaca College and its members included representatives from the Canterbury Club, Hillel, and the Newman Club. The council grew out of Religious Emphasis Days, a joint effort organized by faculty and students to raise awareness about differences and similarities in faith practices across various religious groups on campus.20 The first officers of the organization were Carl Pirko, president, David Miller, vice president, and Betty Rupp, secretary and treasurer. One of the first activities undertaken by the council was organizing to find office space for the chaplains who engaged with Ithaca College students. While it appears that the Inter-Religious Activities Council faded by 1961, by October 1962 Ithaca College had dedicated office spaces for Reverend George Clarkson and Reverend Richard Murphy, the two campus chaplains. This space was located inside Landon House at 118 E. Court St.21 Reverend George Clarkson, the first Protestant chaplain at Ithaca College, began working part-time on campus in September 1962.22 At the time, he served as pastor of the Federated Church in Danby. This congregation was an interdenominational church. Before coming to Tompkins County, Reverend Clarkson served as a pastor at a Methodist church in Island Park, New York, and he later worked for a congregation serving the areas of Dresden and Milo near Seneca Lake.23 He was brought to Ithaca College through the efforts of the United Christian Council. This organization, which was formed in the spring of 1962, consisted of local chaplains, students, faculty, and staff. Its purpose was to unify the religious activities of six Protestant denominations and coordinate engagement with Ithaca College students.24The council was a successor to the Ithaca College Christian Fellowship. By 1965, the United Christian Council was renamed the United Christian Fellowship. Protestant religious life at Ithaca College was primarily organized under this name until at least 1988.

Reverend Richard Murphy served as a Catholic chaplain at Ithaca College beginning in 1959. In addition to his work with Ithaca College students, Reverend Murphy was also the assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception Church.25 In 1963, Reverend Robert McFiggins also began ministering to Ithaca College students. By this time, Ithaca College was two years into its move to the South Hill. As more students left downtown for the new campus, the chaplain's office also moved by October 1966 to the basement of Dorm 3.26 Three years earlier, in 1963 Rabbi Morris Goldfarb offered office hours in Dorm 5.27 Rabbi Goldfarb had served both Cornell University and Ithaca College as Jewish Chaplain since 1948.28 A prominent feature of the shared chaplain’s space in Dorm 3 was an interfaith coffee house.29 This gathering spot, which was open six days a week, was operated by students who organized under the Inter-Faith Coffee House Committee.30 The coffee house, which was named the I & E Coffee House by September 1967, soon became a leading gathering spot on campus hosting art exhibits, poetry readings, and musical performances. The coffee house, one of the first purely social spaces on campus, also served as a location for debates, lectures, and games.31 The I & E Coffee House remained in Rowland Hall, the name for Dorm 3 by September 1968, until 1971 when the location moved to Egbert Union.32 Egbert Union is now known as Egbert Hall. The I & E Coffee House was later described by Reverend Clarkson as a place of “transcendental grunge”.33 By 1968, the area was known for its artistic graffiti.34

While the space in the Rowland Hall basement provided areas for pastoral counseling and programming for nine years, by 1960 some members of Ithaca College’s Board of Trustees were already discussing the creation of a designated chapel on the South Hill campus.35 It was initially announced in April 1960 that a chapel would be opened at Ithaca College by 1966.36 Key among those individuals who advocated for the creation of a chapel was Herman E. Muller. Muller, who served as chairman of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees from 1950 until his death in 1965, became interested in funding the creation of a chapel at Ithaca College in part after learning that federal and state building grants could not be utilized for this purpose.37 Plans did not begin to be created for the chapel, however, until 1973.38 More will be written about this in the next section.

Muller Chapel also soon served as a venue on campus for artistic expression. For example, on February 25, 1977, the Newman Community, the successor to the earlier Newman Club, sponsored a concert by Dragon Fly, an Ithaca College student band.69 Later in April 1977 the Ithaca College Council On The Arts sponsored a spring arts festival at Muller Chapel. This festival included art exhibits, concerts, film screenings, poetry readings, and theater shows.70 In September 1977 Hillel organized the first Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Muller Chapel.71 Before this time, Jewish students at Ithaca College generally traveled to Cornell for High Holiday services. Some High Holiday services were also held in Ford Hall. Around one year earlier Hillel at Ithaca College welcomed Jane Camhi.72 Camhi was the organization’s first paid professional staff member who did not share their time with Cornell Hillel. Other recorded religious groups with an organized presence at Ithaca College during the 1970s included The Bahá'í Campus Club, The Christian Science Organization at Ithaca College, Ithaca College Christian Forum, Navigators Christian Fellowship, and The Way Ministry, a nondenominational Christian organization. These groups existed for various periods during the decade. With a new chapel dedicated, religious and spiritual life continued to develop at Ithaca College. Key events for the late twentieth century will be described in the next section.

After the dedication of Muller Chapel the chaplains who were active on campus organized so that one person each year spoke for the group when engaging with other campus offices, including the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Life. This role rotated among the three religious communities with dedicated chaplains at Ithaca College, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants. Chaplains continued to be individuals who engaged with the campus community while being employed independently of the college. In addition, many chaplains worked on campus part-time. This did not mean, however, that these chaplains worked part-time hours. For example, Jane Camhi was reported to have often worked 60 hours a week on campus.73 Despite this, she was paid only a part-time salary.74 This circumstance was not unique to Hillel but rather was a reality for many chaplains even in the 1960s. Reverend Clarkson, who was hired in 1962 as a part-time chaplain, worked on campus until midnight three to five nights a week by 1968.75 While he began to work at Ithaca College full-time on September 1, 1966, given that the Chaplain’s Office was open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday as of September 1968, Reverend Clarkson almost certainly worked well over 40 hours a week.76

In addition to offering individual pastoral care, chaplains also worked to benefit the entire Ithaca College community through various avenues. Returning to Reverend Clarkson, in September 1968 he began serving as an advisor to the group Ithaca College Volunteers in Service, a new student organization.77 This group remained active on campus until 1971.78 Reverend Clarkson also served as an inaugural member of Ithaca College’s Study Abroad Committee during his time as Protestant Chaplain.79 Additionally, he had a leading role in bringing the British Universities Summer Schools Program to Ithaca College in 1966.80 In 1973, Reverend Clarkson became an assistant professor of philosophy at Ithaca College and was succeeded as Protestant Chaplain by Reverend Dale Winter. Reverend Graf, Ithaca College’s Catholic Chaplain from 1965 to 1970, served on the Committee for Illegal Drug Control, which sought to provide relevant health education to students.81 Sister Barbara Ann Foos, who was the first Catholic nun to be included on Ithaca College’s chaplaincy staff, taught classes in the Department of Mathematics as part of separate academic work with the college.82 Sister Foos was on campus from 1967 until 1969.83

Interfaith efforts were also furthered on the Ithaca College campus through the efforts of the campus chaplains and the spaces in Muller Chapel. In 1984, an Interfaith Council group was formed at Ithaca College.84 The council was later reported to have been created following the recommendations of a campus task force dedicated to examining the role of Muller Chapel and the chaplains.85 However, Ithaca College’s faith communities were already partnering to organize interfaith efforts before the council's creation. Early initiatives organized on the South Hill included an interfaith Thanksgiving service and programming to remember the Holocaust.86 Members of the later Interfaith Council, which existed until 2018, organized meditation sessions, educational retreats, and social events, including karaoke singing and toboggan trips, along with other activities. Members of the council included faculty, staff, and students.87 In 1994, the college chaplains and the Interfaith Council created the Chaplain’s Emergency Relief Fund.88 This fund supported faculty, staff, and students at Ithaca College who experienced crisis that resulted in difficulties paying bills or meeting basic needs, such as obtaining food or medicine.89 The fund was supported through donations and it continues to exist at Ithaca College under the name Emergency Relief Fund as of 2024. The fund is now administered by the college’s Office of Human Resources. Michael Faber was a leader in establishing the fund. Faber, who arrived at Ithaca College in August 1982 to serve as Director of Hillel, remained on campus until his retirement in May 2013.90 This length of work makes Faber the longest-serving Director of Hillel at Ithaca College. While Faber was initially hired part-time, he was able to become full-time during the academic year by 1983.

Faber’s addition as a full-time staff member with Hillel helped the organization’s activities to expand significantly on campus. He offered classes to students on a variety of topics including Hebrew, Kabbalah, and the Jewish calendar. Faber also led discussions focusing on current events and the weekly Torah portion. During the 1980s, Hillel met at least weekly in Muller Chapel for religious services and its members organized a variety of social activities including, a backgammon tournament, pizza parties, skating outings, and theater socials. Ithaca College’s Catholic and Protestant communities also were highly active throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1987, four Catholic Masses and two Protestant services were organized at Muller Chapel on a typical week. A non-denominational meditation session was also offered each week at the chapel.91 Additionally, faith communities engaged in service activities. For example, in 1988 the Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant communities all supported a toy drive for Christmas. Over 500 toys were collected for families in Tompkins County.92 Other service efforts organized by faith communities at Ithaca College during the 1980s included raising money for Kitchen Cupboard, a food pantry in Tompkins County, group visits to assisted living facilities, and letter-writing campaigns through Amnesty International to advocate for the release of political prisoners.93 Funds were also raised to support famine relief efforts in Mozambique and members of the Protestant Community at Ithaca College traveled to Florida to build homes through Habitat for Humanity.94 The name Protestant Community at Ithaca College began to be used in 1987 and the group was a successor to the United Christian Fellowship. The Newman Community was also renamed the Ithaca College Catholic Community by 1979. By 1988, the Catholic Community included a dedicated choir group. The Protestant Community also formed a choir by 1990. Additionally, a Christian band group was organized by the Catholic Community in 1992.95 The Parish Council, which served as the governing body of the Catholic Community, was organized by 1982.96 It is also noteworthy that another choir, Amani Gospel Singers, formed in 1979. Amani has continued to exist at Ithaca College almost uninterrupted for over 40 years.

In 1988, it was reported by Beth Langham, a resident assistant in Tallcott Hall, that 40 percent of Ithaca College students were Catholic, 25 percent Jewish, and 20 percent Protestant.97 While most of the remaining 15 percent of students likely did not identify with any faith tradition and did not declare a religious affiliation when surveyed, it is also known that other faiths were represented among Ithaca College students. An idea of this population’s size can be estimated from a later 1994 survey of first-year students conducted by the Office of the Registrar during summer orientation which found that 33 percent of incoming students self-identified as Catholic, 25 percent were Jewish, and 30 percent identified as Protestant.98 An additional 2 percent of surveyed students identified with another faith tradition.99 The remaining 10 percent of first-year students elected not to answer the question. During the 1990s the number of religious organizations at Ithaca College expanded to reflect the college’s growing faith diversity. Newer religious organizations existing at Ithaca College by November 1999 included a Bahá'í Association, an after comer of the earlier Bahá'í Campus Club, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chi Alpha, a Christian fellowship group, The Circle, Ithaca College’s first recorded Pagan organization, and Dayspring Christian Fellowship.100 Additionally, efforts were made in 1999 to organize Islamic services at Muller Chapel.101 By February of 2000 Jamaat, Ithaca College’s first recorded Muslim student organization, existed.102 Jamaat members organized Jumu'ah prayers in Muller Chapel and Ibrahim Shakoor ‘01 served as the organization’s first president.103 Before Jamaat was formed, Muslim students traveled to Cornell for organized religious services. Jamaat is an Arabic word that translates as assembly, community, congregation, or group. It is also of note that a Mormon student organization, the Latter Day Saints Student Association, existed in 1997.104 This organization seems to have disbanded, however, by 1999.

Larger service activities organized by Ithaca College’s religious communities during the 1990s included a concert sponsored by the Protestant Community to aid individuals impacted by Hurricane George in 1998 and a 1997 service trip to the South Bronx organized by the Catholic Community where students volunteered at a Franciscan shelter that served homeless individuals, including HIV-positive persons.105 Muller Chapel also continued to be a site for the campus community to come together, reflect, and act on global concerns. For example, during the Gulf War interfaith activities, including a memorial service, were organized.106 Later in 1996, Ithaca College’s chaplains organized a shoe drive to aid individuals impacted by the Bosnian War.107 Muller Chapel also continued to host regular worship services. In 1997, three Catholic Masses were held every Sunday, and a Protestant service was organized on Sunday mornings. Two Shabbat services were also organized every Friday evening, one following the traditions of Conservative Judaism and the other practices more common in Reform Jewish services. In addition, Hillel organized a weekly Torah study before Friday’s services.108 Another religious service, Evensong, which continues to be held at Muller Chapel on Wednesday evenings as of 2024, began in 1994. This service featured contemporary Christian music and reflections by faculty, staff, and students.109 The largest services were those offered by the Catholic Community, which engaged an estimated 320 students most weeks.110 Artistic efforts also continued to be expressed at Muller Chapel. In 1989, the Muller Chapel Theater Group was formed by staff associated with the Catholic Community and a number of students from various majors.111 This group, which continued to exist until at least 1998, occasionally took shows on the road to engage audiences who did not have regular access to live theater. These efforts included performing at the Elmira Correctional Facility in 1996.112 Catholic chaplains who have not already been mentioned who worked in Muller Chapel during the 1990s included Reverend Paul Bonacci, Reverend John DeSocio, Sister Virginia Taylor, and Reverend Thomas Valenti. Throughout the 1990s the Catholic Community supported two chaplains on campus who worked in unison. Reverend Eileen Winter, a Protestant chaplain, also ministered to the Ithaca College community from 1989 until 2001. Moving into the twenty-first century, Muller Chapel continues to be a place where many members of the Ithaca College community find meaning.

In 2001, Muller Chapel celebrated its 25th anniversary. The occasion was marked by a rededication on October 11, 2001, that included prayers from the Bahá'í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish faiths.113 Dancers also performed and a dinner reception followed the ceremony.114 The rededication was preceded by the events of 9/11 only one month before during which 2,996 individuals died. Included in this total are six alumni from Ithaca College. The events of 9/11 significantly impacted the Ithaca College community and the county as a whole. An estimated 1,500 people attended a memorial vigil organized on September 12, 2001, during which all of the college's chaplains spoke.115 Catholic chaplains at the time were Mary Humenay and Reverend Scott Kubinski. Michael Faber continued to serve as the college’s Jewish chaplain and Reverend Allison Stokes, who arrived at Ithaca College only a short time before 9/11 served as Protestant chaplain. Humenay and Reverend Kubinski both arrived at Ithaca College in the late 1990s. Humenay retired from campus ministry in 2007 while Reverend Kubinski remained on campus until at least 2007.116

While Ithaca College’s three largest faith communities continued to support a similar range of educational, religious, service, and social programs as they had in the 1990s, national trends in religious observance were also felt on campus during the first decade of the new century. An example of this can be seen in average attendance at Masses organized by the Catholic Community. In 2001, around 250 people attended the Sunday Masses organized by the Catholic Community.117 Six years later, however, in 2007, it was estimated by the Catholic Community that 100 people were attending Sunday Masses.118 Smaller religious communities on campus also fluctuated in size. Ithaca College’s Bahá'í Campus Club appears to have disbanded by 2003. The Circle appears to have ceased by 2002. No known Pagan organization existed at Ithaca College again until 2015, when the IC Pagan Community was formed.119 Jamaat appears to have faded by 2002. Jumu'ah prayers continued to be organized at Muller Chapel, however, until at least 2007.120 Faculty, staff, and students all participated in these prayers, which were typically attended by seven people in 2007.121 Dr. M. Raquib Zaman and Dr. Fahri Unsal were key figures in organizing Islamic prayers on campus for many years.

Three later organizations for Muslim Students have also existed. These organizations were the Islamic Society of Ithaca College, which was formed by 2012, and later a group known as Muslims and Allies.122 Formed in 2017, Muslims and Allies was succeeded by the IC Muslim Student Association.123 This association, which continues to exist at Ithaca College, was formed in 2021.124 After a hiatus, Jumu’ah prayers also resumed at Muller Chapel by 2017.125 Efforts were also made at the time to engage a part-time Muslim chaplain at Muller Chapel.126 During this same year, Cornell University hired its first Muslim chaplain, Yasin Ahmed. This was made possible through the financial support of a Muslim alumni organization known as The Diwan Foundation.127 Yasin also ministered to students on Ithaca College’s campus as part of his work. Meditation was another area that saw increased interest on the Ithaca College campus. Michael Faber began teaching regular meditation classes at Muller Chapel in 1997.128 These sessions continued to be taught by Faber until his retirement in 2013. In 2011, meditation sessions were offered on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.129 Growing interest in meditative practices also helped to contribute to the formation of the IC Buddhist Community in 2010.130 This group is the first Buddhist student organization recorded at Ithaca College and it remained active until at least 2013. During the 2023-2024 academic year, meditation sessions continued to be organized at Muller Chapel four times each week when classes were in session through Mindful IC, a volunteer group composed of faculty and staff. New Jewish student organizations also formed at Ithaca College alongside Hillel. In 2016, Chabad at Ithaca College was established by Andi Krisch and Rabbi Josh Krisch. The Chabad organization, however, had engaged with Ithaca College students since at least the late 1980s through its work at Cornell University.131 A Jewish Student Union was also formed in 2020 and existed until 2022. Newer Christian organizations on Ithaca College’s campus as of 2024 include the Community Church Leadership Program, which was formed in 2017 as the college ministry arm of the Christian Community Church, and Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, which was organized in 2020. The Community Church Leadership Program draws from the traditions of the Black Christian experience in the United States while welcoming students of all backgrounds and Lighthouse is an all-denominational Christian organization composed of members from many backgrounds. Lighthouse is the successor organization to the Protestant Community.

In 2018, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life was organized. Hierald Osorto served as Ithaca College’s first Director of Religious and Spiritual Life. The formation of ORSL, which brought Ithaca College in line with peer institutions, furthered the creation of opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to find belonging and make meaning during their times on campus through engaging in dialogue and collaboration across commitments. Under Osorto’s tenure, Muller Chapel expanded its engagement with student wellness efforts and provided additional support to faith communities that did not have dedicated staff on campus. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, communities based in Muller Chapel continued to support the Ithaca College community through virtual programming. During the 2023-2024 academic year an estimated 165 to 205 individuals, including faculty, staff, and students, visited Muller Chapel each month while classes were in session. The chapel hosted programming for eight faith communities, two mindfulness organizations, and a variety of other groups. As Muller Chapel approaches its fiftieth anniversary in 2026, it remains a center for artistic expression, community dialogue, service to others, and worship. Over the decades Muller Chapel has been a place for thousands of individuals to find community and solace. Moving forward into the next half century, Muller Chapel will undoubtedly continue to play a vital role in supporting the Ithaca College community.