Lee University is undergoing a leadership overhaul this month as four young, newly hired vice presidents take the reins on initiatives intended to continue to raise the Christian college’s graduation rates and enrollment.
“We want to make sure that we maintain (growth) and that we don’t get stale,” said Lee University President Paul Conn.
The four positions – vice president for enrollment, vice president of university relations, vice president for student development and vice president for information services – were created this summer after longtime vice president for administration, Gary Ray, left Lee to work as an enrollment officer at Texas Woman’s University.
It is the first change in senior leadership at Lee in the last 22 years, and the decision expands the presidential cabinet from four to seven, said Dr. Conn.
“I think the change reflects our growth and the increasing complexity of what we’re doing,” he said. “I think it helps position us for the future. You get a group of guys around the table who are early 40s, and they have young families who haven’t yet gone to college. It lends a different tone to things.”
One of the big questions to be addressed by the slew of new vice presidents is how big Lee should be. The school has space to grow, Dr. Conn said, but the question of an enrollment cap is on the table for discussion.
The liberal arts college, backed by the Church of God, is now the third-largest private school in Tennessee, with enrollment totals behind only Belmont University and Vanderbilt University, both in Nashville.
The school has broken enrollment records every year for the past 24 years, and the campus has grown from 1,000 students in 1986 to 4,262 students this year, officials said.
The campus’ six-year graduation rate, 51 percent, and the average ACT score of entering freshman, 23.5, also have gradually climbed with enrollment growth, said Phil Cook, the new vice president for enrollment.
Three new on-campus apartment buildings are set to open soon with beds for nearly 100 students, and another residential building with 100 beds could be on the horizon, said Mike Hayes, the new vice president for student development.
Increasing options for student housing are key to the school’s future efforts to recruit students and keep students till graduation day, said Mr. Hayes.
“Research shows that students that live on campus and are engaged are much more likely to succeed,” he said. “We want more of our students living in on-campus housing.”
Another important effort for Lee’s new leadership will be reaching out to the campus’ young alumni base. With much of the school’s growth happening in the last 20 years, most alumni are under 40 years old and moving from job to job.
Jerome Hammond, vice president for university relations who will oversee alumni relations, said he plans to work hard to locate alumni, making it easier for fundraisers to contact them when they are older for financial support.
“We are really trying to redouble our efforts,” said Mr. Hammond. “As they get into their 40s, the connection is much more intense.”
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