Lee University Unveils Centennial Documentary
November 2, 2018—Cleveland, Tenn.–One hundred years of Lee University history is being brought to life in a feature-length documentary which debuts tonight as part of the school’s Centennial Celebration.
The film will show how the Church of God Bible Training School that started with just 12 students in 1918 evolved into the thriving university it is today.
The process started almost a year ago. Director of Media Services and Assistant Professor of Communication Jeff Salyer, Assistant Professor of Cinema Beecher Reuning and other communications faculty were exchanging ideas over coffee when the plan for the documentary was conceived, according to Salyer.
“It started out as us talking about pitching a documentary that wasn’t just a bunch of talking heads discussing the history of Lee but was compelling, impactful, that entertained while it informed and potentially inspires,” Salyer said.
From there, it was just a matter of getting the right people behind it, Salyer noted. They pitched the idea to Vice President for Information Services Jayson VanHook, who took it to President Paul Conn. The team then received the go-ahead and the funding to make the project a reality.
To determine what content to produce, the team first had to dig into Lee’s past. Salyer said the team compiled information from a variety of local resources.
“We did a deep dive into the history of Lee, which included reading all the memoirs of people connected to Lee, talking to our local historians as well as long conversations with President Conn,” Salyer said.
Through historians such as Director of Library Services Louis Morgan and Professor of History John Coats, the team was able to produce a list of significant people to interview for the film. According to Salyer, they wanted people who had lived the Lee experience and could share their perspective.
“We researched what stories mattered the most and constructed a timeline around that,” Salyer stated. “Then we asked, ‘Who could speak to these things?’” Based on that premise, the interviews include such personalities as Carolyn Dirksen, who taught at Lee for 50 years, Evelyn Walker Holcombe, one of the oldest living alumnae, and Hazel Edwards, one of the first African-American students integrated into Lee.
A mix of narrative and footage intertwines visuals with the stories told in the interviews. This required a collaboration of students, faculty and professionals to create the final product.
“I hope people know we’re hitting the big moments, but realize there’s hundreds of moments that are just as important that we can’t cover because of the limitations of the medium,” Salyer said. “Lee is a complicated story. It’s a long story that is hard to get into a compact narrative.”
Despite the challenge of the time crunch, Salyer said, while many students (and alumni) know the popular stories like Nora Chambers (the first teacher), viewers will be surprised to see stories they’ve never heard of before.
“I want people to know who we are and why Lee has sustained for 100 years and what that means for our future,” Salyer concluded. Knowing who we are, what we’ve been, and what we’ve been through will inform us and push us forward into the unknown.”
(Further release of the documentary has not been announced. Forthcoming announcements will be placed on the Lee website, www.leeuniversity.edu.)
(By Olivia Jones, staff reporter, Lee University Clarion)
