Facilities
Visitors often comment that the grounds of our 162 acre campus are a beautiful, pleasant, and safe environment for a quality educational experience. Although the present facilities on campus are modern and spacious, we still retain one building from our past. Dorothy J. Speer Chapel, restored from the World War II army hospital era, has received a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark designation.
LeTourneau University’s newest residence hall, the first phase of a complex, opened Fall 2011. The first building includes a 200-bed residence hall that will be consistent, but not identical to the other residence buildings. The new residence hall will have security enhancements with separate wings and/or floors of the building for either male students or female students, for adjustments depending on enrollment needs.
Dedicated in November, 2009, the Paul and Betty Abbott Aviation Center is a 55,500 square foot building facility conveniently located at the East Texas Regional Airport. The building's state-of-the-art classrooms and labs serve the various educational programs offered by the school of aeronautical science. At the heart of this building is the flight training area where flight students have access to the school's fleet of sophisticated flight training aircraft. In addition to the classrooms, laboratories, and flight operations area, the center includes the 3,400 square foot Grand Hall complete with a full size Cessna 140 aircraft suspended from the ceiling. Other features of the center include state-of-the-art classrooms and engine test facility, as well as a conference suite, student lounge, technical library, and the school's faculty and administration offices. The nine laboratories house flight and air traffic control simulators and other specialized equipment for the technical courses offered by the school.
The Corner Café, located in the southeast corner of campus, opened Monday, March 23, 2009, replacing B.A. Skipper Dining Hall. The 19,000-square-foot facility seats 600 and features multi-level seating, two conference rooms for small group lunch meetings, colorful interior décor, outdoor dining and flexible space allowing students to use the facility as a gathering place during hours when food service is not in operation. Bon Appétit, one of the premier restaurant-quality food service providers to private colleges across the nation, is the university's food service provider and was integrally involved in design and construction of the new facility.
The S. E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center was dedicated in April 2007. Designed by professionals in architecture and theater, including one of the finest acoustical firms in the nation, the 73,341-square-foot facility seats 2,000, with 1,400 seats on the expansive ground level and another 600 in the two opera-house style balconies. Built for maximum flexibility, the center features a 5,400 square-foot, fully working stage with an orchestra lift; a grand lobby with refreshment and exhibit areas; dressing rooms, a maintenance scene shop, as well as three soundproofed practice rooms, two classrooms, a multipurpose room, offices and more. In addition to a wide variety of programming we present through our chapel and community series, the Longview Ballet, Longview Symphony, and the East Texas Symphonic Band have made the Belcher Center their performance home. Most importantly, the Belcher Center serves as the university's central location for worship where chapel services are held at least three times a week during the academic year.
The Paul E. Glaske Center for Engineering, Science and Technology is a 57,250 square foot facility with state-of-the-art labs and classrooms for the engineering and science programs. The engineering and science laboratories in the Glaske Center serve the wide variety of subjects taught in engineering, engineering technology, design technology, biology, chemistry, and physics. The laboratories house equipment for experimental learning and design experiences. Other features of the Glaske Center include a display area for students’ designs, an auditorium for presentations, ample classroom space, faculty offices, and a conference room.
Specific engineering laboratory areas in the Glaske Center include biomedical, computer, electrical, and mechanical in addition to graphics and design. The biomedical engineering laboratory has specialized equipment for quantifying and measuring human motion and forces, computational modeling, and biomedical signal processing. Electrical laboratories incorporate instrumentation, electronics, electrical machinery, microprocessors, microcontrollers, programmable logic controllers, lasers, and equipment for studying mechatronics. Mechanical laboratories contain experimental apparatus for studying solid and fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, stress analysis and vibration analysis. A robotics laboratory incorporates numerous robots in addition to automated manufacturing cells and robotic teaching aids. An engineering computer laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art computers and advanced engineering analysis and design software. A computer aided design (CAD) laboratory in the Glaske Center provides opportunities for computerized graphics instruction and experience that incorporates solids modeling and advanced graphics capabilities.
Our natural science students become proficient with contemporary instrumentation in the laboratory facilities in the Glaske Center. These labs are used for both formal course instruction and for undergraduate student research problems. Through hands-on experience students become acquainted with the use and operation of such computer interfaced instrumentation as UV-VIS, FTIR spectrophotometers, NMR spectrometer, and gas chromatograph equipment.
Adjacent engineering laboratory buildings house materials joining laboratories and a machine-tool and design laboratory. Welding and materials joining laboratories include equipment for materials testing, non-destructive evaluation of materials, a scanning electron microscope, a Gleeble dynamic simulation and test device, and more than twenty methods of welding and materials joining. The machine tool and design laboratory provides a full array of machining equipment, including lathes, mills, drill presses and saws.
Students majoring in business administration, computer science and mathematics use classrooms in Longview Hall. Also included in Longview Hall are five computer laboratories with more than 130 personal computers linked to the campus network and the Internet. There are also special purpose computer laboratories to serve students in Engineering, Natural Sciences, Engineering Technology, Aeronautical Science, and Education in their respective facilities. Some computer labs provide both Apple- and Windows-based access. Heath-Hardwick Hall houses faculty offices and classrooms for the areas of Biblical studies, Christian Ministry, English, and History and Political Science. The building includes a large central lecture hall and a lounge area for students' casual conversation. Longview and Heath-Hardwick Halls, as well as all other academic areas, have wireless access and other audio-visual equipment to enhance learning.
The Margaret Estes Library is designed to serve the University students, faculty, staff, and local public residents. The Longview campus Library houses a collection of over 76,495 volumes, 181 journal subscriptions, and the archives of R. G. LeTourneau. Additionally, the library provides a gateway to one of the world’s largest bibliographic databases. This database, FirstSearch, allows internet access to collections listed in over 72,000 library catalogs. The Margaret Estes Library’s own automated catalog can be searched on site or off campus through the internet. Access to 13,017 electronic journals, 52,058 electronic books, and thousands of unspecified titles in various formats are available to researchers both on and off campus.
The Education Center, housing the areas of teacher education, kinesiology, and psychology, offers students a facility specifically designed to support experiential study in those areas. The center includes a full multi-media production room, a comprehensive curriculum library for research and professional development, a commuter lounge area with lunch preparation facilities, and a video conferencing classroom with two-way interactive capabilities for instructional delivery at remote sites. Students will have the opportunity to observe and instruct young children in the kindergarten through sixth grade laboratory classroom which includes an attached observation and screening room.
The R.G. LeTourneau Memorial and Student Center houses areas for students, administrative offices, the R.G. LeTourneau museum, and a multi media theater. The first floor includes space to hang out with friends, grab a bite to eat for lunch or a late-night snack. The Hive features fresh, authentic custom-made burritos, tacos and quesadillas for a quick and tasty lunch. Common Grounds is a full-service coffeehouse that also provides pre-packaged salads and sandwiches as well as fresh baked pastries. The bookstore offers textbooks, stationery, and the latest in LeTourneau University casual wear.
