Dr. Ollie J. Lee

Ollie Lee joined the faculty of Lee College in 1967, and in his 49 years of service, he was one of the most significant architects of Lee's institutional structure. When he arrived, Lee was just beginning the transition from Bible college to liberal arts institution, developing the curriculum and procedures to offer baccalaureate degrees in disciplines other than religion, and Dr. Lee was very influential during that crucial period. He helped prepare for the accreditation review of the new majors, write the faculty constitution, and formulate the rights and responsibilities of Lee faculty. He chaired the committee that wrote Lee's mission statement and formulated the institutional goals.

Every faculty member and every student is touched every day by Dr. Lee's foundational work. He designed the template for our course syllabi and stipulated the way we state behavioral objectives. He formulated the academic catalog and established the method of course approvals. He directed our accreditation reviews and set up our procedures for academic assessment. He developed our faculty evaluation system and introduced the first student course evaluations.

He was the first chair of the Graduate Council and led the writing of the graduate catalog. He chaired the General Education Core Task Force that redesigned core requirements, and he chaired the committee that directed academic aspects of the transition from college to university. The Lee University of 2019 is significantly different from the Lee College of 1967, and much of the hard, behind-the-scenes work of that transformation has been done by Ollie Lee.

Written by: Dr. Carolyn Dirksen