Founded in 1918Lee University’s recent success belies its humble beginnings almost a century ago. In 1918, the Church of God of Cleveland, TN began a small Bible institute of twelve students and one teacher. The school grew and became Lee College, with a Bible college and junior college on its current site, in 1948. Twenty years later, Lee received accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a four-year liberal arts college. In 1997, Lee made the transition from college to comprehensive liberal arts university granting graduate degrees.
Lee University is nestled in a peaceful community in southeastern Tennessee. Cleveland is less than thirty minutes away from Chattanooga, home of the Tennessee Aquarium, the Incline Railway, the Southern Belle Riverboat, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and, of course, the famous Rock City atop Lookout Mountain. Cleveland is just 20 minutes from the Ocoee River, sight of the 1996 Olympic White Water events. Students can enjoy endless outdoor recreational opportunities. For quick getaways, our campus is also near to Knoxville, the Smoky Mountains and popular Gatlinburg area, and a short commute to Atlanta, GA.
Lee's enrollment has more than quadrupled from 1,214 (Fall 1986) to 5,183 (Fall 2019) under the leadership of Dr. Paul Conn. This places Lee as the 6th largest in undergraduate enrollment among the member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. During that same period, average ACT scores of entering freshmen have increased to 24, and faculty has grown and diversified in order to offer a rapidly expanding slate of academic programs. Since 1986, Lee has added more than thirty major buildings necessary to serve the students.
The Fall 2019 freshman class size is 792 with an average ACT score of 24.65.
Lee University competes in NCAA Division II as a member of the Gulf South Athletic Conference, which includes teams from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Lee’s application was approved in July of 2012 to begin the three year membership process for NCAA DII. Lee University offers varsity competition for women in lacrosse, basketball, tennis, golf, softball, soccer, volleyball, cross-country and track and field and for men in baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, cross country and track and field. Lee’s athletic programs adhere strictly to all university, conference and national regulations involving sports and academics for student athletes. All events are free to students upon presentation of a current identification card.
In 1983 the Lee Board of Directors and President Ray Hughes approved changing the college’s mascot name from the Vikings to Flames, much to the dismay of many Lee students and alumni. The president and board were seeking to brighten the entire look and image of the athletic program. Lee’s Paul Dana Walker Arena was being completely upgraded and the basketball teams were playing their games off-campus at Cleveland State Community College. Dr. Hughes and the board viewed this as a perfect time to change the mascot. In those games at CSCC, lighters were often used by many of the fans to show the spirit of the Flames.
When the teams moved back into Walker Arena, a mascot named Sparky (a person dressed in a doggish-like costume) was used for some two or three years. The costume was very hot and volunteers to wear the costume became very hard to find. Sparky slowly but surely faded away.
Over the past 20 years the logo of the Flames has been re-designed on a few occasions and has become a solid brand of Lee University athletics, but another mascot like Sparky has never reappeared.
Lee University is sponsored by the Church of God International Offices, Cleveland, TN. As a Christian university operated under the auspices of the Church of God, Lee University is firmly committed to the conservative, evangelical, Pentecostal religious position of its sponsoring denomination.
The Academic Sector of Lee University is made up of six colleges and schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Helen DeVos College of Education, the School of Music, the School of Religion and the School of Nursing, School of Business. There are 14 academic departments and 7 graduate areas of study within the colleges and schools. Lee University offers 51 on-campus undergraduate majors in 131 on-campus programs of study.
Alongside traditional on-campus programs, Lee University’s Division of Adult Learning (DAL) offers fully-online and hybrid programs (at the Cleveland campus) with today’s adult learner in mind. Never sacrificing convenience for quality, the DAL offers undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in an accredited, Christ-centered setting. There are currently 6 distance undergraduate majors in 28 distance programs of study. This commitment to both academic excellence and unwavering faith is the reason Lee was just named as one of the top 150 online universities by U.S. News and World Report.
The Global Perspectives Program is one of the most unique and exciting opportunities that Lee University offers because it requires students to travel and to study a culture different from their own. Every year, Lee offers 30+ global perspectives trips, led by our very own credentialed faculty, as an economical and rewarding cross-cultural experience.
Lee University offers its students 103 student clubs and organizations designed to enhance their spiritual, intellectual and social development.
Service-learning at Lee University is directed by the Leonard Center and is designed to prepare students for Christian citizenship through reflective community interactions that encourage a commitment to the ideals of service, benevolence, civic virtue, and social justice.
Lee University’s community service program was recently ranked among the top 100 in the country by the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency tasked with fostering an ethic of volunteerism and service in America. The corporation not only placed Lee University on the inaugural President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, it also recognized the school’s efforts “with distinction.” Less than 100 schools were named to the honor roll “with distinction” for general community service, and the ranking places Lee alongside such notable schools as Duke, Purdue, LSU, and Stanford.