Lee University students attended class for the first time Wednesday in the Lois Beach Wing, marking the completion of the Science and Math Complex.

While many students visited just to see the new features, Molly Hood and Amanda McMahon attended science classes in the new wing. Hood said she liked how big the new space was, giving her a feeling she could get lost in it.

“I really like it because it is big but it’s not too big,” McMahon said. She did have a little bit of trouble finding her first class.

McMahon also said she liked the Jazzman’s Cafe and Bakery in the new wing.

Students David Sterns and Aaaron Pickens, both senior biochemistry majors, were excited to see the building completed, even though they do not have classes in the Beach Wing this semester.

“It’s cool to see the potential,” Pickens said.

Sterns and Pickens went to the new wing to use the computer lab. The lab features Mac and PC computers and docks for students to plug in their laptops to a larger monitor. The lab also features an area with a plasma screen TV for students to practice presentations.

Construction of the Lois Beach Wing was completed in the first week of August, but landscaping crews are still hard at work.

Faculty members are excited about the new wing as well.

Blayne Carroll, an associate professor of mathematics, said the completion of the work “completes the vision” the university had for the Science and Math Complex.

Carroll said he will be teaching a senior seminar math class in the new wing.

To him, one of the best elements of the new wing is the lecture hall which seats about 100 people. Carroll said this lecture hall will be great for larger classes, but will still provide an intimate setting. However, his favorite part is the large common area that connects the two wings. Carroll said this area may be the most helpful for the students, giving them a place to meet, talk and study.

Assistant professor of mathematics Caroline Boulis also likes the new lecture hall, saying it’s unlike any other on the campus. The chairs are connected to the long half circle tables on a swivel, allowing students to get in and out with ease.

Boulis, who will be teaching in room 258 in the new wing, said the completion of the Science and Math Complex brings the math faculty together.

Before, math faculty had been spread out. Boulis said some of the faculty had been in Walker Memorial while others were on the other side of campus in the old Beach building. Now she is thrilled that there are two suites for math faculty.

Johnny Evans, professor of physics and chemistry, said decisions on what to include in the Science and Math Complex were based on three or four months of researching the needs of the department.

The Lois Beach Wing also houses the offices for the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the chair of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Global Perspectives program. The wing features four classrooms, a lecture hall and a Jazzman’s Cafe and Bakery.