DeLAND, Fla. (ABP) — Douglas Lee, who in his 22 years as president of Stetson University piloted the school through the stormy waters of denominational conflict and onto a more ecumenical course, died Aug. 25 at age 66.
Doug Lee (PHOTO/Stetson U.)
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Lee retired in May as president of the DeLand, Fla.-based Baptist school. He died of post-surgical complications, according to a statement posted on Stetson’s website.
“Doug was a man of integrity who dedicated the last 30 years of his life to Stetson,” said Nestor de Armas, chair of the school’s trustee board and a Stetson alumnus. “Under his leadership, we distinguished ourselves by rolling up our sleeves and doing the work of faith without letting theology get in the way. His legacy is our deep commitment to social justice and to inclusivity.”
Lee served in several administrative positions at Stetson before becoming president in 1987. In the 1990s, he led the school to separate from the Florida Baptist Convention. “It was very clear to me when I became president … that Stetson and the Florida Baptist Convention were drifting apart," he told a school magazine in 1997. “I knew there was no other way but to become, not a Baptist institution, but an independent university committed to religious values and to a Baptist heritage.”
Under his leadership the school grew its endowment, enrollment and campus facilities significantly while reducing its teacher-to-student ratio to 11 to 1. Those efforts kept Stetson consistently among the top three schools in its category in annual college rankings by U.S. News and World Report magazine.
Doug and Margaret Lee with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu during the anti-Apartheid activist's 1991 visit to Stetson. (PHOTO/Stetson U.)
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In particular, Lee led the school to focus on social-justice commitments, including student service opportunities and university connections to the poor and migrant farm workers in the DeLand area.
Lee, a native of Danville, Va., earned his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Richmond and bachelor's and master's degrees in divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His doctorate, in religion, was from the University of Iowa.
He was a longtime member of First Baptist Church of DeLand. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Margaret, as well as a son, Gregory Lee, and wife, Lara, of Orlando; a daughter, Elizabeth Lee Williamson, and husband, Heath, of Cary, N.C.; and five grandchildren.
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Robert Marus is managing editor and Washington bureau chief for Associated Baptist Press.