Last Updated on August 7, 2024 11:26 am
The Historic Commons at Lees-McRae College was rededicated on the morning of Thursday, July 18 following more than two years of renovations and revitalization efforts. Faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, and community leaders gathered on the steps of North Carolina Building for the ribbon cutting ceremony and to get some of the first looks at the fully updated facilities.
The ceremony featured remarks from North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, Lees-McRae Board of Trustees Chair Barbara Kopczynski, USDA Rural Development Area Director Jody Lovelace, and Lees-McRae President Lee King. Following the ribbon cutting, guests were invited to tour the buildings, which have been central to the Lees-McRae experience for 100 years.
The Historic Commons is the historic heart of Lees-McRae and includes North Carolina Building, Tennessee and Virginia Halls, and the Pinnacle Room, Pinnacle Deck and Pinnacle Courtyard. These buildings date back to the 1920s, when their construction was overseen by Lees-McRae founder Rev. Edgar Tufts and his son Edgar H. Tufts.
Renovations to the Historic Commons were funded by a $30 million Community Facilities Direct Loan from the United States Department of Agriculture and represent a goal President Lee King set when he first took leadership at the college in 2018.
At the beginning of his tenure, King, along with the college’s cabinet, walked through each classroom and student residence room across campus, assessing the state of the college’s facilities. After touring the Historic Commons, King had a vision to revitalize the buildings and restore them to their original splendor.
“The state of these buildings represented a long-term failure of the college, and it was a failure to be tenacious about creating a thriving future. Somewhere along the way, the college lost its drive to be remarkable, and it was up to us to fix it,” King said in his speech at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “Now the college is thriving with a bold vision and a forward-thinking mindset that we will create a future for this college that none of us could ever have dreamt about when my cabinet took that tour in 2018.”
With the completion of this project, Lees-McRae has reinvested in the future of the institution and prepared itself for excellence. Tennessee and Virginia Halls feature modern, air-conditioned residence rooms for 106 students, allowing the college to grow its student body. The lower level of Virginia Hall has been outfitted with a new Student Affairs suite complete with updated offices, meeting spaces, and facilities for counseling and health services.
The Pinnacle Room, Deck, and Courtyard, a favorite spot on campus for many alumni whose dining hall was housed there in decades past, has been restored to its original splendor. Many original details like the historic stairs, fireplace, and fountain have been maintained, and the space has been updated with a top-of-the-line commercial kitchen to serve as a secondary dining location for a new generation of Lees-McRae students.
At the center of the Historic Commons, North Carolina Building is a gathering space for everyone in the Lees-McRae community. Dubbed “the campus living room,” the first floor of North Carolina is a community space for collaboration and relaxation. The top floor of North Carolina has been converted into an event space that highlights the building’s historic charm with the original roof trusses left exposed. Rev. Edgar Tufts’ signature can be seen on one of the trusses, a relic from a century ago when the building was first constructed.
These revitalization efforts also extend outside the building’s walls, with beautiful landscaping and grounds work as well as the new pedestrian walkway and patio space located behind the Historic Commons.
“The renovation of the Historic Commons buildings brings to completion the first phase of a vision cast in our 2020 facilities master plan that we completely renovate these historic classrooms and residence halls,” King said. “As we celebrate our 125th anniversary, this momentous project further exemplifies the renaissance and transformation occurring at Lees-McRae College.”
