Lee University is a private, coeducational university located in Cleveland, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Church of God, which has its headquarters in the same town. The university has its roots in a Bible training academy founded by the denomination in 1918 and still maintains a strong Christian identity. It is located slightly to the northeast of Chattanooga, in the southeastern part of the state.

The institution has seen its strongest growth since the 1980s, during which time enrollment tripled and full university status was attained. With a student body approaching 4,000, Lee is now the second largest private university in the state, behind only Vanderbilt University. Besides religious education, pre-medicine and music are considered among its strongest specialties, and it is consistently ranked by US News and World Report among the top Southern Liberal Arts Colleges.

Notable Alumni

• Don Bowdle - distinguished professor of theology, has published over two hundred articles and essays on religious subjects, a previous fellow at Yale University and University of Edinburgh
• Charles Paul Conn - past-president of Lee University, well-known church leader
• Paul Conn - current president of Lee University, enrollment has increased consistently each year of his 17 year tenure
• Tony Deaton - accomplished opera singer, performances include Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, International Festival of the Arts in New York, and Knoxville Opera Company in Knoxville, TN
• Walt Mauldin - director of the world-reknowned Lee Singers , an international touring choral ensemble
• Scott Stapp - expelled for marijuana use.

External links

• Lee University home page

References

• "Tony Deaton - The Mikado." Knoxville Opera Company - Artist Bios. Accessed on March 5, 2005.