Resounding success

By Chandra Blackwell

Gifts drive major restoration of the Campanile inside and out, reviving its sound, beautifying its surroundings, and ensuring its safety and longevity.

The Memorial Campanile has long stood atop Mount Oread as both sentinel and soundtrack of the KU experience. Generations of students, faculty and staff know it as an integral part of life on campus, and generations of KU alumni have helped keep it standing. Now in its 75th year, the campanile has undergone extensive renovations as of last fall to help guarantee its stalwart presence for generations to come.

The doors of memory

The year was 1951. The U.S. was entering a period of prosperity and renewal following the Second World War.

And in Kansas, construction had just been completed on a memorial that would become iconic to the KU campus and the region. 

The campanile—conceived by then-Chancellor Deane Malott—was dedicated on May 27, 1951, to honor the 277 KU students and faculty members who lost their lives in World War II.

Today, the campanile stands as an integral part of a rich and storied KU tradition: Graduates descending the Hill each year at Commencement enter the campanile through doors showing depictions of courage and achievement, and exit through doors representing exploration and idealism.

Rooted in tradition

The full experience of the campanile begins on the ground. 

The original landscaping at the base of the tower was designed in keeping with the natural surroundings of Mount Oread and Marvin Grove, with the most recent upgrades aimed at enriching the human experience.

“Our students need a spot to just go sit,” says University Architect Mark Rieske, a’86, adding that moments that allow for heart-to-heart conversation or quiet contemplation often create the strongest memories for alumni of their time at KU. Thanks to two significant gifts, the campanile’s grounds will continue to spur such moments.

When Dale Seuferling, j’77, retired from KU Endowment in 2022 after four decades of service, David Dillon, b’73, chair of the KU Endowment board of trustees, asked him where he’d like to direct gifts made in honor of his service. The campanile came to mind immediately.

“The campanile is a powerful symbol of the KU experience,” Seuferling says. “For current students, it’s a symbol of the future that awaits them, and for alumni, it’s a great way to bring back nostalgic feelings.”

The gifts honoring Seuferling’s service helped fund the first major restoration of the landscaping and grounds around the campanile since it was built. Smaller renovation projects took place in 1994 and 2017, but, Seuferling notes, “It was time to refresh, update and provide a more welcoming landscape for people to enjoy for the next 20-plus years.” 

Visitors to the campanile will also notice newer sidewalks and seating areas enhancing the overall aesthetic of the plaza. Those came courtesy of Chancellor Dean Malott’s granddaughter, Barbara Malott Kizziah, who in 2025 provided a $100,000 gift on behalf of the Malott Family Foundation. These upgrades have increased accessibility to the plaza and continued the Malott legacy of elevating the campanile as a place to honor Jayhawk spirit and pride.

Far above the golden valley

Reiske says the funds to reimagine the plaza at the base of the tower were amazing gifts to the University. “And yet,” he recalls, “I still had a campanile that was in disrepair.”

Significant repairs were necessary just to preserve the campanile and keep it a living part of Jayhawk tradition. The wiring and electrical panels needed to be replaced to bring the electrical system up to date and improve safety. Pieces were falling from the stonework on the outside of the structure, and the roof needed to be replaced.

Electrical and landscaping upgrades began in fall 2024, and the limestone repairs began in summer 2025; by late fall of 2025, all repairs were complete.

Then, with the tower’s most crucial repair needs resolved, a gift from the Cadman family helped light it up. 

A beacon on the Hill

Robert Cadman, c’85, comes from a family with a long-standing interest in higher education. His father, Wilson Cadman, is the eponym of both the wildlife education area surrounding Coffey County Lake and the art gallery at Wichita State University, because of his generous support for both endeavors.

He was also a leader in the energy industry. During his 13-year tenure as CEO of Kansas Gas & Electric (KG&E), Wilson Cadman led the development of Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station near Burlington and helped engineer the merger of KG&E with Kansas Power and Light, which led to the creation of Westar Energy (now Evergy).

It’s only fitting, then, that when the Cadman family decided to close their charitable trust following Wilson Cadman’s passing, they chose KU to receive the last gift: almost $250,000 in 2024 to upgrade the campanile lights.

When shown drone footage of the campanile after the restoration, Robert Cadman—a general contractor familiar with restoration—said, “My father, being a veteran, would have loved seeing this memorial project.”

Let freedom ring

For Elizabeth Berghout, associate music professor and KU’s official carillonneur, the campanile’s most important feature is its carillon.

“Our bells are exceptionally tuned, and they have a clear, strong resonance—and so they’re admired the world over,” she says.

Berghout works with students from across the University, teaching them to play the carillon. Her students come from multiple disciplines, including psychology, political science, sociology, journalism and aerospace engineering, and are united in their appreciation for the unique experience of playing music at 120 feet. 

To keep that music playing, the final, crucial part of the recent upgrades to the campanile were repairs made to the carillon itself, thanks in part to the Campanile Carillon Endowment, established in 1993 to fund routine upkeep on the carillon.

The repairs—completed Sept. 30, 2025—didn’t affect the bells, but rather the keyboard mechanism.

“Every key has a wire that connects it to the striker inside its corresponding bell,” Berghout explains. “Ours were making a lot of rattling sounds, so the wire guides that help the wires stay in place were replaced.”

In addition, the swivels on the large wooden carillon keys, which allow them to move up and down smoothly, were replaced to optimize the instrument’s performance.

That this was even possible is the “magic” that happens when things come together, Reiske says.

“The campus couldn’t have afforded to do all those things,” he says. “KU Endowment didn’t have the money to do all those things. The School of Music didn’t have the money to do all those things. But everyone came together and got a much bigger project done that is now magnificent.”