Celebration 2014: Lee University says communication building 'exceeded our dreams'

photo Dr. Paul Conn, president of Lee University, asks alumni to stand during his Celebration 2014 address on Friday. The event recognized past and continuing capital efforts to improve the Christ-centered liberal arts campus, which has undergone significant expansion in recent years.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Lee University's new $10 million communication arts facility was the centerpiece of Celebration 2014, a campuswide event that recognized the liberal arts school's programs, faculty, students and benefactors.

"The new building has exceeded our dreams," Dr. Joel Kaeling, chairman of Lee University's communication arts department, said of the 41,000-square-foot building that anchors the campus' southwest perimeter.

The two-story structure's state-of-the-art facilities include a film screening and editing room, a television and sound stage, a black box theater, eight video editing suites, and journalism and computer labs, said school officials.

Kaeling said the project began four years ago when he and other communication arts faculty were asked to recommend a plan detailing what they would like to see in such a building.

The administration's belief in the project is a credit to the achievements of past communication students during their time in school and in their professional lives, he said.

"They saw that our students went on to thrive as competing professionals and that there was a need for such a facility," Kaeling said.

However, the success of the communication arts department goes beyond its building and technology, said Dr. Jeff Salyers, assistant director of production at Lee University.

It also benefits from faculty with real-world professional experiences, he said.

Putting students "hand-in-hand" with current technology and with experienced mentors "enables us to empower them," said Salyers.

Celebration 2014 also paid homage to the results of the $25 million "Find Us Faithful Campaign," which began in 2010.

In recent years, the campus added several buildings, including a chapel, a 126-bed men's dormitory, a school of nursing building, and the buildings formerly associated with First Baptist Church.

The sanctuary of the former downtown church is being remodeled as a music performance hall, school officials said.

It has been named Pangle Hall in honor of Janie Pangle Jones, the wife of businessman Allan Jones, who donated the property to Lee University.

Visitors got a sneak peek in the afternoon, seeing where a stage is being built and the replacement of pews with theater seats.

A grand opening is scheduled for Pangle Hall later this fall, said Kendra Gray, assistant to the director of public relations for Lee University.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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