A gift pays tribute to the life of a generous man...

The Medical College of Georgia unveiled the newly renovated Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditoria Center April 25, 2008.

Renovations to the Auditoria Center began in 2007 and were funded by a gift from Mrs. Lee in honor of her late husband, who died in 2005.

The Large Auditorium is a site for campus special events, including the president’s annual State of the University Address, Arts Council performances, the annual Tri-College Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Match Day. The center was originally constructed in 1953 and all but the Large Auditorium had been renovated in the 1980s, according to Jon Bangs, campus architect.

The Auditoria Center also houses the Small Auditorium and the Department of Visual and Instructional Design. The renovations include a redesigned lobby and entrance.

Mr. Lee, a prominent Augusta lawyer and World War II veteran, was a native of Augusta and graduate of Harvard Law School. He met his wife in Boston. The Lees have four children, Lansing III, a lawyer in Washington; Bothwell, an MCG graduate and a neurosurgeon in Louisville, Ky.; Richard, an Atlanta attorney and a daughter, Melinda, an organist in Atlanta.

Mr. Lee was a member of the MCG’s President’s Club. He was a close adviser to the Division of University Advancement’s Planned Giving Committee and a friend and adviser to former MCG President Francis J. Tedesco. Mrs. Lee continues her husband’s tradition of supporting MCG as a member of the President’s Club.