Construction began mid-December at the corner of 8th Street and Parker Street for the new and highly-anticipated School of Religion building. The building will be located directly across the street from Livingston and Keeble halls.

“Construction is just getting into the exciting phase,” said Gary Ray, Vice President of Admissions and current President Pro Tem. “We will begin to see a lot of progress.” The new 35,000 square foot building will feature a 200-seat lecture hall, 34 faculty offices and a new computer lab.

“The new building will be able to accommodate 600 students at a time,” Ray said. “Though the project is on time, it is not set to be done until sometime during the fall semester. We expect to begin operation in it sometime during the next fiscal year.”

Due to the required religion core classes at Lee, the building will be of benefit to all students on campus.

“When the height of the building begins to show, students will be able to see the magnitude of the project,” Ray said. “It’s very unique-looking, the 12-sided lobby, all of the resources and many of the technology features in the building will be a great addition to the campus.”

The construction of the School of Religion building was originally set to break ground in mid-2008 with an opening planed for fall 2009, however the project was sped up to meet demand.

The School or Religion staff fill most of the Walker Memorial and Vest buildings at this point. However, once the building is completed, the staff and most classes will be held in the new building.

“The addition of the technology space and the potential resources will be a great addition to our campus,” said Ray. “It will provide an enriched teaching environment.”