Dorothy E. Lee Scholarship

Dorothy E. Lee

Dr. Dorothy E. Lee attended Eureka College following her high school graduation. After one quarter, she dropped out and returned to her hometown, Litchfield, IL. Ten years later, she returned to college at Illinois State Normal University (ISNU). That was the beginning of a life in education. After receiving her B.S. in Ed. Degree in 1959, she took a job teaching sociology and psychology at Proviso East High School in Maywood, IL. She taught there for three years while she took classes nights and summers at Northwestern University.

Upon receiving her M.A. in sociology in 1962, she was hired at ISNU on a tenure line. Her doctoral work in Sociology was done at the University of Iowa on a Danforth Teaching Grant.

During her tenure at ISNU, she taught courses in minority relations and social psychology, served on numerous committees and task forces, and published in professional journals. For six years, she chaired the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. During that time, the anthropology major was first offered, the social work major was approved, and the Community Research Services was developed.

Dr. Lee was a founding member and president of the Women Faculty Association. She was a president of the Illinois Sociological Association and served on the board of the Midwest Sociological Society. She was on the original committee to form a women's studies minor and chaired a 1987 task force to determine the future direction of what was then called the Women's Studies Program.

As her 1991 retirement neared, she served as Acting Chair of the Departments of History, Foreign Languages, and Political Science. After retirement, she spent her time writing. As of 2004, she had published three novels: Revision (2001), Under My Hat (2002), and Another Hat; A Sequel (2003).

Dorothy Lee's decision to attend Illinois State Normal University as a nontraditional student changed her life, and she wanted that to happen for other nontraditional students, too. In 2004, she created an endowed fund for nontraditional students. The purpose of this grant is to help current Illinois State University students fund incidental expenses related to their education.