Carolyn

The Chapel of Christ the Teacher was dedicated 5 October 1986, and so is thirty years old this year.  The name of the chapel expresses an essential theme of the University of Portland mission.  As such, ‘Christ the Teacher’ is a motif that appears and reappears across campus defining and anchoring the spaces of campus life, dating back, probably, since before universities and corporations had a need to write out their mission statements.

The Sedes Sapientiae bas relief on the façade of the Library (1958) is an image of the child Jesus supported on his mother’s lap.  The icon is a flat, literal reading with little poetry or ambiguity: Mary is the Seat of Wisdom because her child, Jesus, teaches from that throne.  The same arrangement of mother and child is repeated on the reverse face of the O Cruceiro (1986), the granite path-marker which stands sentinel opposite the south steps of the Clark Library entrance.

Campus architecture repeats this visual theme in spatial arrangement.  St. Mary’s was constructed (1937) as the first Commons, the student cafeteria.  When the current dining facilities were built (1958), the St. Mary’s building was repurposed as the university chapel (1958-1985).   Outgrowing St. Mary’s, The Chapel of Christ the Teacher was our first building designed and dedicated as a chapel.

With the intention of maintaining the near linkage between the two buildings, a Marian Garden was planned to enclose the area joining the Chapel and St. Mary’s.  This space for reflection was fulfilled in stages, with the Galati rosary garden (1996) and the Bell Tower Plaza (2009).

The Figure of Christ the Teacher is also the principle sculpture in the Oddo Memorial group on the plaza between Franz and Mago Hunt Halls, classroom buildings for the Fine Arts, Business School, and humanities classes.

Library, Chapel, classrooms: in prayer, academics, and study: Christ the Teacher is present at the University of Portland.

For a related post about the Chapel: https://sites.up.edu/museum/sanctuaries/

(Gallery of Photos from the University Archives)

Tower Proposal, 2006

St. Mary’s, 1972

St. Mary Cloister Garden, 1994 (Wayne Chin painting)

St. Mary’s, 1967

O Cruceiro, installed in 1986 and renovated in 2013

Chapel of Christ the Teacher, replacing roofing tile, 2016

Library facade. Sedes Sapientiae, installed in 1958; cleaned and waxed in 2013

Christ the Teacher (Oddo Memorial), 1995

Seat of Wisdom and Christ the Teacher icon diptych

Seat of Wisdom and Christ the Teacher tapestries, Chapel of Christ the Teacher

1991 Campus Map, notice anything missing?
Added since then, Franz Hall (1995), Corrado Hall (1998), Swindells (1999);
and THE WHOLE NORTH QUAD of Portsmouth Avenue, including Haggerty-Tyson, Fields &
Schoenfeldt, Lund Family Hall, The Beauchamp Wellness and Recreation Center !!!!!!!

Campus Growth, 1991-2016

As August closes, the Lund Family Residence Hall still has some roofing, brickwork and maybe some plumbing, polishing, and other fixing too, where the building is still being polished.  That is, our newest building has not yet reached its full-growth as the 2016-2017 academic year begins.

Of course the campus itself has not finished growing either.  The University began in one building long ago and has expanded greatly over the last century.  A notable and major growth spurt occurred twenty years ago, dating back to just before this year’s entering Class of 2020 first opened their bright eyes to regard the world.

As a component of Strategic Planning between 1991-1996 we were able to raze the ‘temporary’ World War II Army Surplus annexes on the academic quad (housing labs, offices, classrooms, health center, student media) moving the Schools of Education and of Business, and science labs into new buildings.  Until Corrado Hall was built in 1998, the newest student residence hall had been Shipstad (1967) from thirty years before.

Aerial View of Campus, 1991
https://digital.up.edu/Documents/Detail/1991-view-from-overhead/96317

Digital Collection of Campus Aerial Views and Maps