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Former name | Church of God Bible Training School (1918–1948) Lee College (1948–1997) |
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| Motto | "Where Christ is King"[1] |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | 1918[2] |
Religious affiliation | Church of God |
| Endowment | $32.9 million (2024)[3] |
| President | Phil Cook[4] |
| Students | 3,680 (fall 2023)[2] |
| Location | 35°09′57″N84°52′16″W / 35.16583°N 84.87111°W /35.16583; -84.87111 |
| Campus | Suburban, 130 acres (53 ha)[citation needed] |
| Newspaper | Lee Clarion |
| Colors | Burgundy and navy blue |
| Nickname | Flames |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II –Gulf South |
| Mascot | Flames[5] |
| Website | leeuniversity.edu |
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Lee University is aprivate Christian university inCleveland, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1918 as theChurch of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers.[6] The school grew to become Lee College, with aBible college andjunior college on its current site, in 1948. Twenty years later, Lee received accreditation by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools as a four-yearliberal arts college. In 1997, Lee became a university; it now offersmaster's degrees as well as undergraduate degrees.[7]
Lee University's current campus originally housed aMethodist institution, Centenary College and Music School, as early as 1885. Part of the original Centenary facility remains on campus today as part of Lee's administrative building.[8]
In 1911, at its sixth annual General Assembly, theChurch of God appointed a committee to establish plans for a Bible training school.[9] Six years later, on January 1, 1918, the school's first term began with a tuition of $1 per week.[10] Classes met in the council chamber of the Church of God Publishing House in Cleveland. Rev.A. J. Tomlinson served as the first superintendent of education. The only teacher, Nora Chambers, had twelve students.[9]
In 1920, the school expanded to the old sanctuary of the North Cleveland Church of God on People street and included a dormitory. In 1925, it moved to a larger facility on Montgomery Avenue: the Church of God Auditorium. In 1930, the institution added a high school, school of business, and school of music. The school constructed its first building, a women's dormitory, in 1937, but the following year the school moved to a 63-acre campus inSevierville, Tennessee, when it purchased the Murphy Collegiate Institute for $29,990.[10][11] Intramural athletic teams began in the 1940s.[12] In 1941, the school added a two-year junior-college to focus on teacher training and business education.[10] TheVindagua yearbook began in 1942 and theClarion student newspaper was first published in 1946.[13][14]
In 1947,Bob Jones College moved from Cleveland toGreenville, South Carolina.[15] The Bible training school purchased the 20-acre campus for $1.5 million and the institution returned to Cleveland under a new name, Lee College, to honor its second president, Rev. F.J. Lee.[8][10] After the move, the junior college received accreditation from theUniversity of Tennessee.[10] In 1958, Lee gained its first varsity sports team: men's basketball.[12]
In 1960, the junior-college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[10] The school adopted the Vikings mascot in 1961.[12] Greek letter clubs began the following year.[10] The annual Parade of Favorites pageant began in 1963.[16] The first Lee Day was held in 1964. In 1965, Lee’s high school program closed and the school opened a science building. The following year Lee desegregated, reached an enrollment of 1,000, and started the shift to a four-year institution.[10] The 1,800-seat Conn Center auditorium was constructed in 1977.[8] In 1982, the college mascot became the Flames.[12] The sports arena and library were built in 1983 and 1984 respectively.
Charles Paul Conn became president in 1986. He became the longest-serving president of any college or university inTennessee history. During his tenure Lee’s enrollment quadrupled from around 1,000 to more than 5,100.[8] In 1988, Lee closed Church Street on campus to create the Sharp Pedestrian Mall.[17]
In the 1990s, Lee built a theatre, recreation center, music building, and college of education. In November 1993, the Ellis Hall dormitory was destroyed by arson in the middle of the night. All 73 students were evacuated.[18][19] The Voices of Lee choir debuted in fall 1994.[20] The next year Lee launched its first graduate program, church music. During the1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Lee housed more than 300 athletes and coaches participating in the games.[21] In fall 1997, Lee became a university.[9] The following year Lee established its Global Perspectives program, requiring all undergraduates to study abroad.[21]
The 2000s brought a new student center, three-story humanities center, and school of religion building. In 2007, Lee launched its Encore program for students over 60 and purchased the former campus of Mayfield Elementary School.[22][23] In 2010, Lee purchased the downtown campus of Cleveland's First Baptist Church for $5 million to house a performance venue, Pangle Hall, and the School of Business.[24] A chapel and communications building were completed in the early 2010s. In 2013, a Lee University choir sang at thesecond inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama.[22] Lee began a School of Nursing in 2014 and finished a building for the department two years later.[25] The university filed anamicus brief in favor of employment discrimination against LGBT people in the court caseBostock v. Clayton County in 2019.[26] Enrollment waned in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic and in 2023 the university closed all of its older, communal-style dorms for two years of renovations. Nora Chambers Hall remains closed as of 2025.[27] The university suffered a cybersecurity data breach in March 2024.[28] Groundbreaking on the university's new $15 million, 30,000-square-foot School of Engineering building is expected in summer 2025.[29]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| Master's | |
| Washington Monthly[31] | 410 of 604 |
| Regional | |
| U.S. News & World Report[32] | 31 of 123 |
| National | |
| WSJ/College Pulse[33] | 494 of 500 |
The university is divided into six colleges and schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Helen DeVos College of Education, the School of Business, the School of Music, the School of Nursing, and the School of Theology and Ministry.[34]
Many co-curricular activities, such aschapel attendance (offered twice per week; students are required to attend 70% of services a month),service requirements (10 hours per semester; 80 total hours to graduate), and thestudy abroad program, called Global Perspectives, are required as part of degree programs. Exceptions and special cases are approved by the relevant academicdean or the president of the university. All non-local enteringfreshmen are also required to live on campus, with exceptions made for those who are married, divorced, widowed, parents, over age 21, part-time, or living locally with immediate relatives.[35]
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The Lee athletic teams are called the Flames. The university is a member of theDivision II level of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in theGulf South Conference (GSC) since the 2013–14 academic year.
Lee competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis & track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Club sports are offered such as boxing, men's and women's rugby, spikeball and ultimate frisbee.
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Lee University is located on a 120-acre (49 ha) campus in the town ofCleveland, Tennessee, which lies betweenChattanooga andKnoxville.[10]
All students are asked to sign a "Community Covenant" which lists several restrictions on behaviors and social interaction according to the school's institutional and religious policy. Most notable are a substance policy barring alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs; and its stance on homosexuality, which is banned in all forms. Men's and women's dormitories are kept separate, and premarital sexual intercourse is prohibited. Immodesty and "occult practices" are also forbidden.[36]
Lee University prohibitshomosexual relationships for students.[37]
As of 2008, the university recognized tenGreek-letter organizations.[38]
TheLee Clarion is the campus newspaper.[39]
Lee's enrollment is 5,370 students as of fall 2013, up from 960 in 1986.[40]
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Media related toLee University at Wikimedia Commons
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