Wayland Baptist University Adding New Laboratory Sciences Building

Wayland Baptist University in Plainview recently broke ground on the Mabee Laboratory Sciences building, part of the renamed Kenneth L. Mattox School of Mathematics and Sciences.

The new 9600-square-foot building will be named in honor of the Mabee Foundation. The building designed by Parkhill is planned to contain two laboratory lecture rooms, a chemical stockroom with a chemical preparation area, and a large open room that will serve as the instrument lab and a collaborative space for upper-level chemistry labs.

Dr. Adam Reinhart, Wayland Baptist Dean of Math and Sciences, is looking forward to having some faculty offices and a large conference room suitable for lecture space.

“Our students are also very excited about a Commons collaborative area that they get to hang out in and try to solve chemistry problems.”

Having a higher-level laboratory space with proper storage for all chemicals and a higher-level research environment is a game-changer for students, said Parkhill architect Amber Buscarello, project manager.

“They’re really excited to have a student-designated space,” she said. “This facility doesn’t have that currently, and it’s greatly needed. So they’ll have a space where students will have the opportunity to socialize together and then also interact in mentoring roles so they will be able to mentor each other.”