Lee Hall
Lee Hall is a residence hall for 811 co-ed students. It has two theme housing programs, Galileo and the Biological and Life Sciences Learning Community. The building contains eight floors plus a penthouse and is the tallest point in Blacksburg, Va.
Eight floors; 159,278 square feet.
Claudius Lee
Lee Hall was named for Claudius Lee, an 1896 alumnus whose affiliation with the Blacksburg college began in 1893 and ended in 1936. Hired to set up a physics laboratory, Lee took his pay in education. He became a professor of electrical engineering, superintendent of the Light Plant, and acting head of electrical engineering. He developed the college clock system, named The Bugle, and was an American Institute of Electrical Engineers Fellow and a Professional Engineer.
Building History
Construction on Lee Hall was started in 1965 and completed in fall 1966.
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: 570 Washington St. SW | Map Grid: N-7
Originally Built: 1966 | Abbreviation: LEE
Latitude: 37.22454 | Longitude: -80.41846