Columbus State University will hold an official ribbon cutting ceremony for the lab sciences expansion and renovation of LeNoir Hall on Nov. 27 at 10 a.m.
 
Construction on the 22,000 –square-foot facility began in July 2017, backed by $13.3 million in state funding for construction and equipment. Private donors added about $2 million in private funds.
 
State representatives Calvin Smyre, Richard Smith and Rick Jasperse, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, are expected to be part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
 
The new addition to LeNoir Hall includes six new state-of-the-art science teaching laboratories, two student lobby/meeting areas, three student study areas, renovation of several existing labs, and some of the most sophisticated science equipment available.
 
For example, one new lab has 12 chemical vent hoods, which is triple the total number previously available.
 
“The renovated facilities and labs in LeNoir Hall will enable our faculty and students to reach new heights in their research and education,” said CSU Provost Deborah Bordelon. “We now have first-class labs and classrooms that will provide the environment for innovative research that will have a positive impact on our state, region, and beyond. The support we have received to build these facilities is truly an investment in the present as well as future generations of students and faculty.”
 
The new lab and additional facilities will serve both undergraduate and graduate studies, facilitate growth in the sciences, and assist faculty members. To promote collaboration on research between students and faculty, lab spaces will be modular and flexible with moveable equipment. Faculty and students contributed extensively in the planning process.
 
LeNoir Hall’s new addition will open for classes in January 2019. LeNoir Hall was named for Dr. William “Bill” LeNoir, who served as acting president of Columbus College, now Columbus State University, twice during his 34-year career as a botany professor. LeNoir retired as dean emeritus in 1995.