Lee University is a private Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. The school grew to become Lee College, with a Bible college and junior college on its current site, in 1948. Twenty years later, Lee received accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a four-year liberal arts college. In 1997, Lee became a university; it now offers master's degrees as well as undergraduate degrees.

Lee University's current campus originally housed a Methodist institution, Centenary College and Music School, as early as 1885. Part of the original Centenary facility remains on campus today as part of Lee's administrative building.

In 1911, at its sixth annual General Assembly, the Church of God appointed a committee to establish plans for a Bible training school. Six years later, on January 1, 1918, the school's first term began with a tuition of $1 per week. Classes met in the council chamber of the Church of God Publishing House in Cleveland. Rev. A. J. Tomlinson served as the first superintendent of education. The only teacher, Nora Chambers, had twelve students.

In 1920, the school expanded to the old sanctuary of the North Cleveland Church of God on People street and included a dormitory. In 1925, it moved to a larger facility on Montgomery Avenue: the Church of God Auditorium. In 1930, the institution added a high school, school of business, and school of music. The school constructed its first building, a women's dormitory, in 1937, but the following year the school moved to a 63-acre campus in Sevierville, Tennessee, when it purchased the Murphy Collegiate Institute for $29,990. Intramural athletic teams began in the 1940s. In 1941, the school added a two-year junior-college to focus on teacher training and business education. The Vindagua yearbook began in 1942 and the Clarion student newspaper was first published in 1946.

In 1947, Bob Jones College moved from Cleveland to Greenville, South Carolina. The Bible training school purchased the 20-acre campus for $1.5 million and the institution returned to Cleveland under a new name, Lee College, to honor its second president, Rev. F.J. Lee. After the move, the junior college received accreditation from the University of Tennessee. In 1958, Lee gained its first varsity sports team: men's basketball.

In 1960, the junior-college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school adopted the Vikings mascot in 1961. Greek letter clubs began the following year. The annual Parade of Favorites pageant began in 1963. The first Lee Day was held in 1964. In 1965, Lee’s high school program closed and the school opened a science building. The following year Lee desegregated, reached an enrollment of 1,000, and started the shift to a four-year institution. The 1,800-seat Conn Center auditorium was constructed in 1977. In 1982, the college mascot became the Flames. The sports arena and library were built in 1983 and 1984 respectively.

Charles Paul Conn became president in 1986. He became the longest-serving president of any college or university in Tennessee history. During his tenure Lee’s enrollment quadrupled from around 1,000 to more than 5,100. In 1988, Lee closed Church Street on campus to create the Sharp Pedestrian Mall.

In the 1990s, Lee built a theatre, recreation center, music building, and college of education. In November 1993, the Ellis Hall dormitory was destroyed by arson in the middle of the night. All 73 students were evacuated. The Voices of Lee choir debuted in fall 1994. The next year Lee launched its first graduate program, church music. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Lee housed more than 300 athletes and coaches participating in the games. In fall 1997, Lee became a university. The following year Lee established its Global Perspectives program, requiring all undergraduates to study abroad.