A brother and sister who continued their parents’ legacy of learning at Tennessee State University have donated $250,000 to create similar opportunities for future TSU students, bringing their total lifetime support of the school to $500,000.Damon Lee III and Kimberley Lee-Lamb endowed the Damon and Rachel Lee Scholarship Fund in 1999 with an initial $200,000 contribution, honoring the couple who met at Tennessee State in the 1930’s.
Damon and Rachel Lee were college sweethearts. Damon was a founding member of TSU’s Beta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and graduated with honors in 1935 with a degree in History. Years later, after relocating to Los Angeles, he earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and license.
Rachel was a Business Education major and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. After graduating in 1936, she began a career as a business education teacher at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia. She continued her teaching career in Los Angeles at Los Angeles Unified School District.
The scholarship fund assists out-of-state students majoring in business, entering their junior or senior year. Tennessee State officials say the gift is among the five biggest from a family in the university’s history.
“We are very grateful for the contributions the Lee family has made to Tennessee State University over the years,” said TSU President Glenda Glover. “This latest donation not only shows their continued commitment to TSU, but their desire to better the lives of students by helping them get a quality education to compete in the global marketplace.”
