The 100,000-square-foot facility will be the largest building on campus, uniting engineering, business, and computer science in a new home for hands-on, faith integrated learning.
LeTourneau University celebrated the official groundbreaking of the Christian Polytechnic University (CPU) Center on Friday (April 17, 2026) before an audience of donors, faculty, staff, students, and community members gathered on campus under spring skies.
The four-story, 100,000-square-foot facility will be the largest building on the LeTourneau campus. Situated at the center of campus, it will house the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, the School of Business, the Department of Computer Science, and the Center for Academic Ministry, along with more than 25 premier lab and collaboration spaces — including an Entrepreneurship Hub, Cyber Lab, Finance Trading Lab, and Mixed Reality Simulation Lab.
A Vision Years in the Making
"There's been a lot of work, actually many years, to get us to this point," said
LeTourneau University President Dr. Steven D. Mason. "The vision for this building at LeTourneau University, as the Christian Polytechnic University, has been in the making for several years to make it a space and a place that would embody everything that we hope for at an institution like ours."
Funded Entirely by Donors
The CPU Center is the centerpiece of the university's Build With Purpose comprehensive campaign and is being funded entirely through donor support.
"To see our donors and friends step up and make this possible — this is not being funded by tuition dollars. This is entirely by our donors and friends who believe in what we're doing here," Mason said.
Preparing Students for a Technological Future
The facility is designed to advance LeTourneau's position as a national destination for Christian polytechnic higher education, creating industry-ready learning environments that prepare students across disciplines for careers in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
"We want to grow in every single way — not only with enrollment, of course, and we're excited about that — but we also want to grow deeper in what we offer students," Mason said. "Our students deserve the best of polytechnic 
education, the best in engineering, in aviation, and also in nursing, business, liberal arts and sciences, counseling, and theology. This space is going to be one of those prime locations on campus."
Mason also noted the broad community support behind the project: "We feel, now more than ever, the support of Longview, Texas and of East Texas, and it really means a lot."
Looking Ahead
Construction is expected to take approximately 28 months, with the facility anticipated to open in the summer of 2028.
