Wright State chapel wins state design award

The new Campus Ministry building was dedicated in a special ceremony Oct. 28, 2012.

The St. John Bosco Chapel, home of Catholic Campus Ministry at Wright State University, has won a design award from the AIA Ohio, the state unit of the American Institute of Architects.

The award will be presented at the AIA Ohio Valley Region Convention on Sept. 19 in Louisville, Ky.

The new Campus Ministry building provides a place for worship and discussion of religion as well as a space for campus groups and individuals of all faiths and backgrounds to come for fellowship, conversation and quiet contemplation.

“We are very happy to receive this award,” said Rev. Edward Burns, director of Campus Catholic Ministry at Wright State. “The new chapel and center has been a tremendous improvement—not only architecturally, but also in better serving our students.”

Designed by The Collaborative Inc. of Toledo, the chapel complex was dedicated by Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati, on October 28, 2012.

The chapel, which seats 150 people, provides not only a place for worship and discussion of religion, but also space for campus groups and individuals of all faiths and backgrounds to come for fellowship, conversation and quiet contemplation. The center also features a fully equipped kitchen, a multipurpose room, a gathering space and offices for staff.

A view from behind the organ in the Campus Ministry building.

The building was named for St. John Bosco in recognition of Catholic Campus Ministry’s many trips since 1998 to the St. John Bosco Home for Boys in Mandeville, Jamaica, a formative experience for participating students.