College welcomes interim president

Dr. Joseph Lee has a comprehensive background in higher education administration that spans 30 years, including a doctorate in the field from Boston College.

Saint Joseph’s College has appointed Dr. Joseph Lee as interim president. For the last year and a half, Lee has served Saint Joseph’s as Vice President for Enrollment Management and helped to manage key areas such as student life and athletics. “I am very excited and honored to accept this challenge and to continue the era of dynamic growth charted by President House,” he says.

Lee has a doctorate in higher education administration from Boston College, a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Saint Michael’s College and a bachelor’s degree in French literature from Saint Michael’s. Born and raised in Bath, Maine, he also is an alumnus of the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

Previously, Lee was Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Merrimack College, where he later became Vice President for Student Services. He was an administrator at Merrimack in North Andover, Mass., for 13 years, before becoming Vice President for Student Life at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y., for 11 years. Most recently, he served as President of Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky. Lee brings a depth and breadth of higher education leadership in student life, enrollment, marketing, strategic planning, financial management, intercollegiate athletics and development.

Robert MacBride, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, says the Board chose Lee for his well-rounded administrative experience and the fact that he had rapidly gained the respect and confidence of his Saint Joseph’s colleagues, as well as faculty and students. “We are confident that our college community will have solid interim leadership while maintaining the positive momentum established by President House,” MacBride said.

President Lee will serve as the College conducts a national search for a new president. The Board has established a search committee, headed by Michael Shea ’72, to name a permanent replacement for President House.