Dr. Robert E. "Buzz" Lee Biography

The Board of Regents elected Dr. Robert E. “Buzz” Lee as the college's sixth president in July of 1956. He came to Georgia State College for Women from Berry College in Rome, Georgia where he had been Dean of Instruction. Lee had resigned from Berry College in May of that year along with several other Berry professors when a disagreement erupted over the accreditation of Berry College. Dr. Lee received his BA from Washington & Lee, his MA from Vanderbilt University, and his PhD in Education from the University of Florida.

During Lee's tenure, the college struggled with many issues including low enrollment, deteriorating campus facilities, integration, and coeducation. The college also underwent three name changes under Lee's presidency: from Georgia State College for Women to The Woman's College of Georgia and finally, Georgia College at Milledgeville.

Lee was known throughout his tenure for having a good relationship with all of the college's constituencies including the students, faculty, alumni, and Milledgeville community. Lee encouraged good teaching, faculty research, and worked to retain the highest quality of professors the college could afford. In an effort to retain professors, Lee established the Georgia State College for Women Foundation, which was created to raise money to supplement the salaries of college professors.

Among Lee's noteworthy accomplishments were the building of Chappell Hall, construction of two dorms (Wells Hall and Adams Hall), building a new model nursery school building, and a major renovation to the Old Governor's Mansion. It was also during Lee's tenure that the first graduate program opened in 1958 when the college began offering a Masters of Education.

Lee fought for most of his presidency to keep Georgia State College for Women a woman's college. Despite Lee's work and strong beliefs, the Board of Regents announced in 1967 that the college would begin accepting male students. The Regents hoped the admission of men would revitalize the college by increasing enrollment and supplying the institution with much needed funding.

Lee resigned as President six months after the Board of Regents coeducation announcement and accepted the position as Vice President of Academic Affairs at his alma mater, the University of Florida. The University System Chancellor, George Simpson, praised Lee in a public announcement soon after Lee's resignation stating, “One of the more notable results of Dr. Lee's leadership has been the quiet, orderly and intelligent fashion in which the college has achieved integration and the manner in which it currently is making the transition to coeducation.”

Lee and his wife said good-by to the college and the Milledgeville community at their open house during which they presented the newly remodeled and redecorated “Old Governor's Mansion.” Both Dr. and Mrs. Lee had worked to gain funding and support for the Mansion's much needed renovations.