Lee University Plans Continue on South Side Development
Cleveland, TN–Lee University is continuing with development of approximately six acres of land on the south side of their campus, the site of the former location of the First Baptist Church of Cleveland.
The 6.5 acres of First Baptist of Cleveland’s historic downtown location was acquired by Lee in 2010 when the church relocated to a new campus several miles away. The property was contiguous to the Lee campus and has opened new opportunities for expansion on the south end of the school’s more than 125-acre campus.
Last fall Lee University hosted donors, friends and alumni at Celebration 2014 where two structures were dedicated on the property. The first was a new $10 million Communications Arts Building, built partially on the former location of the church’s administrative office, which years earlier operated as downtown retail space, including a JCPenney’s. The former sanctuary of First Baptist was converted into a 650-seat performance venue and was dedicated in October as Pangle Hall.
The church’s former educational wing is currently undergoing a major reconstruction and will become a new home for the Department of Business. The complete renovation will yield a much enlarged academic space suitable to accommodate Lee’s growing business department, which includes the recent addition of a Master in Business Administration (MBA) program.
The renovation plan calls for an entirely new two-story entrance into the north side of the former educational wing. A retaining wall has been built around the structure’s current first level and tons of earth have been bulldozed against the wall creating an entirely new level of sight. With the raising of levels, the new entrances will be on the current second levels of the educational building, including into the Early Learning Center, located in the east wing.
Lee University ForumFurther plans for the property have been announced and include a structure to be known as “The Forum,” destined to become a future campus landmark. The project has been in the planning stages for several years, culminating when an architect’s rendering was first displayed at the school’s Homecoming last November. The structure is a combined fund-raising effort of several Greek letter clubs, most notably Alpha Gamma Chi and Delta Zeta Tau in recognition of their 50th anniversaries. Both clubs have committed to raising an amount from their membership and alumni. Other clubs may come on board as well.
The Forum is designed to be a collegial gathering place, much like similar structures on other college campuses. It will become a central hub of activity, staging outdoor meetings and attracting various campus events. Its location will act as a courtyard marker between the new Communication Arts Building, the new Business Department home, and a future School of Nursing building.
Lee University will be 100 years old on January 1, 2018, marking the day in 1918 when one teacher, Nora Chambers, gathered with 12 students on the second floor of the Church of God Publishing House on Gaut Street in Cleveland. Starting out as Bible Training School, the educational endeavor grew to become Lee College 29 years later when the school moved back to Cleveland after nine years of operating in Sevierville, Tennessee, on the campus of what is now the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home. The school became a liberal arts college in 1968 and took on university status in 1997, 50 years after relocating from Sevierville in 1947.
