Lee Hall is a residence hall in the Prairie Community and is home to 824 residents. Construction was started in 1965 and completed in the Fall of 1966. The building was dedicated on May 30, 1968. The cost was included in a $4,500,000 bond issue for Lee, O'Shaughnessy, and Johnson. It contains 159,278 sq. ft.
Claudius Lee (1872 -1962) was an employee and student from 1893 to 1896 and from 1906 to 1907. He was a professor of Electrical Engineering from 1896 to 1959 and served as Acting Head of Electrical Engineering from 1919 to 1936. He was a professor emeritus in electrical engineering from 1956 to 1962. As a student, he named the college yearbook The Bugle in a contest, which was twice dedicated to him during his career at his alma mater. As a faculty member, he helped to develop the Electric Light Department and Power Plant with Sam Pritchard and was Superintendent of the Light Plant from 1898 to 1906. He also developed the college clock system and helped to install the first telephone switchboard in Blacksburg. He was an American Institute of Electrical Engineers Fellow and a Professional Engineer. He was a longtime member of the Blacksburg Methodist Church. In addition, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army in World War I. He died in 1962 at the age of 90.
During the 125th anniversary of Virginia Tech, students in a history class came across a page in the 1896 Bugle listing Lee as a leader in the campus chapter of the KKK. After a thorough investigation in 1997, it was determined that there was the potential that the organization was a hoax and that the hall name would not be changed. It was recognized that Lee’s potential participation was reprehensible.The issue resurfaced in October 2004. The Commission on Equal Opportunity and Diversity was asked to look into the situation and develop a set of recommendations. This set of recommendations was approved in February 2005 and subsequently adopted by the University. The recommendations called for broader education on the subject of Claudius Lee and also for strengthening diversity efforts across the University.
Address: Washington Street (Lower Quad) | Map Grid: N-7
Originally Built: 1966 | Abbreviation: LEE