Elon University plans a major renovation of historic Holt Chapel, located on South Campus, which will be completed for the start of the 2005-06 academic year in August. A lead gift by Iris Holt McEwen Coupland of Burlington, N.C., and an additional gift by Elon parents Joe and Anne Hsu of Winston-Salem, N.C. will provide funding for the work.
Holt Chapel will host a variety of religious and student life events. The chapel will seat 120 people and a meeting room on the lower floor will accommodate 125 people in theatre-style seating, or 40-50 people at tables for dinners.
“I am delighted that this beautiful building will be restored for use for our students,” said Elon President Leo M. Lambert. “The chapel interior is lovely, with wonderful natural light, and will be an ideal place for religious services, small concerts and lectures.”
Coupland is a trustee emeritus and longtime friend of the university. Her parents, James H. McEwen and Iris Holt McEwen, and brother, James H. McEwen, Jr., also served on the university’s board of trustees. The McEwen dining hall and the Iris Holt McEwen building, which houses the School of Communications, are named for Coupland’s parents. A gift from Coupland also named McCrary Theatre in the Center for the Arts on campus, and an annual community service award is named for Iris Holt McEwen through a gift by her grandchildren, Alex and Mac McCrary and Kate McCrary Johnson.
Holt Chapel, named in honor of Coupland’s grandparents, Wiliam Kirkpatrick Holt and his wife Maud May Holt, was built in 1957 as part of Elon Homes for Children. For four decades it was used for religious services on Wednesday and Sunday evenings, community meetings and weddings.
Joe and Anne Hsu have three sons currently enrolled at Elon, Hartley, Wesley and Ryan. The Hsus are active members of Elon’s Parents Council and frequently serve as hosts for campus events such as freshman orientation, open house weekends and move-in day.
Elon University acquired Holt Chapel and several other buildings on 75 acres of land from Elon Homes for Children in 2003. Renovation work will restore the main chapel as well as a meeting room on the lower level to the original condition. The pews in the chapel will be refurbished and a small vestibule and handicapped-accessible restroom will be added. New carpeting and paint will be added throughout the building and a handicapped accessible entrance and walkway to the lower level meeting room will be installed. Eighty-seven parking spaces will be added on South Campus this summer in conjunction with the chapel renovation and the opening of the new South Campus recreation fields.
Holt Chapel will become a center for student and religious life activity on South Campus. The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life will use the chapel for a variety of programs and religious services, and student groups, honor societies, fraternities and sororities will be able to use the chapel for formal initiations and other appropriate meetings. The lower level meeting room will be used by student organizations to host potluck suppers, informal meetings and programs. Holt Chapel will also be available for weddings during the summer months.
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