An alumnus of Shaw University, Dr. Lee Monroe has built as solid career as an education administrator since obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Committed to academic excellence, Dr. Lee Monroe attended Shaw University on a four-year basketball scholarship. Next, Dr. Lee Monroe attended the University of Cincinnati, where he obtained his Master’s in Guidance Counseling and Industrial Psychology. Dr. Lee Monroe commenced his professional career as a teacher at schools in Ohio and North Carolina.

Committed to improving education at the institutional level, Dr. Lee Monroe was offered his first administrative role as Regional Educational Specialist for the U.S. Department of Justice in 1970. Within the next 15 years, Dr. Lee Monroe took on roles of increasing responsibility and importance, including Director of the American Society of Planning Officials and the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, Director of Institutional Advancement at Shaw University, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Management for the U.S. Department of Education. In 1982, Dr. Lee Monroe was offered the position of Executive Vice President of Shaw University, a position he held for three years. The school, which suffered from financial issues, benefitted from Dr. Lee Monroe’s considerable management skills, and he moved the school out of a $1 million debt and into a $250,000 surplus. In 1984, Dr. Lee Monroe graduated from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Doctorate in Educational Administration.

In 1985, Dr. Lee Monroe was offered the position of Senior Education Advisor to North Carolina Governor Jim Martin and became the first African American man to hold the position at both the state and national level. In this capacity, Dr. Lee Monroe operated as Chairman of the Governor’s Council of Minority Executives; coordinated the educational policy development of other advisors; and headed the business committee on education, non-public schools, and public schools, in addition to advising the governor on higher education.

After spending five years as Senior Education Advisor, school board officials from Florida Memorial College, which later became Florida Memorial University, sought Dr. Lee Monroe to lead the school and improve its financial standing. Dr. Lee Monroe negotiated the school’s $3.2 million debt down to $665,000, in addition to leading the school toward accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Two years after taking the role of President at Florida Memorial College, Dr. Lee Monroe moved into a consultancy position. Noting his success with Florida Memorial College, officials at Paul Quinn College offered Dr. Lee Monroe a role as Interim President to help with the school’s numerous financial and academic issues. A year later, Dr. Lee Monroe was formally inaugurated as President. Dr. Lee Monroe’s subsequent achievements included forging numerous partnerships, raising millions of dollars, regaining the school’s academic accreditation, and purchasing the school’s campus.

In 2001, Dr. Lee Monroe channeled his expertise into a role as President of Voorhees College, where he remained until 2008.