Lee’s Dr. Debbie Murray has been appointed to the newly created position of provost. The appointment was made by Lee’s Board of Directors in its most recent meeting. Murray will continue to serve as vice president for academic affairs, a post she has held since 2013.

In making the announcement, Lee president Dr. Paul Conn said, “Dr. Murray is richly deserving of this honor. She is one of the finest academic professionals I have ever known.”

Murray holds the rank of distinguished profession of education at Lee. She joined the Lee faculty in 1980 as an assistant professor of education. She served as dean of the Helen DeVos College of Education for 25 years before becoming a member of Dr. Conn’s administrative cabinet in 2013. She had earlier served as a department chair, director of Teacher Education Programs, and director of graduate programs in education. As a faculty member, she was a winner of the school-wide Excellence in Advising Award and was selected as Alumnus of the Year from the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1997.

She is married to Danny Murray, the founding director of Voices of Lee. They have four children and nine grandchildren.

Murray has been a Cleveland resident for most of her life. After graduating Cleveland High School, she attended Lee where she earned a BS in mathematics. She later earned an MS in special education and an EdD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

As provost, Murray will continue to direct all academic programs at Lee. She has direct supervision of the university’s six schools and colleges, as well as numerous specialized academic programs.