PLAINVIEW, TX — Representatives of the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation and the James and Eva Mayer Foundation are scheduled to be at Wayland Baptist University Friday afternoon as the Mabee Laboratory Sciences Building is officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The ceremony is slated for 1:30 p.m. at the north end of the recently completed building. Dr. Bobby Hall, president of the university, will be joined by Mike Goeke, representing the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, and David Wilder, representing the James and Eva Mayer Foundation. Others scheduled to speak include Dr. Cindy McClenagan, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Dr. Adam Reinhart, Dean of the Kenneth L. Mattox School of Mathematics and Sciences; and Liz Wirth, a WBU senior.
The event also celebrates the successful completion of Wayland’s Impact 2020 campaign with recognition of primary donors. Light refreshments will be served inside the building, and tours will be available. The public is encouraged to attend as Wayland celebrates another milestone.
While Dr. Kenneth L. Mattox, renowned heart surgeon and longtime administrator at the Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, provided the lead gift for the building, the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation provided a large portion of the funding for the 9,600 square feet structure, an addition to the Moody Science Building. The addition contains two laboratory and lecture spaces, and a chemical stock room with a chemical preparation area. There is a large open room that serves as an instrument lab and collaborative space for upper-level courses, as well as a dedicated laboratory for undergraduate research. The structure includes faculty offices, a large conference room that doubles as a classroom, and a commons area where students gather to study or hang out.
According to Dr. Reinhart, the building is “furnished with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments that give students an amazing opportunity to train in the best environment before pursuing their professional careers.”
A longtime partner with Wayland, the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation is dedicated to helping Christian organizations in their mission of faith. Established in 1987, the Plainview-based James and Eva Mayer Foundation also is a longtime partner with Wayland in the university’s mission of providing Christ-centered higher education.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony is part of Wayland’s four-day 2024 Homecoming festivities, which continues through Saturday on the Plainview campus.
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