Lee earned his B.A. at Texas Tech in 1952 and went immediately to work for newspapers. In 1964, he decided to go back to school and study for his master’s degree. He was offered tuition and teaching positions at several universities (including the University of Texas under Dewitt Reddick). He chose West Virginia University under the tutelage of Quint Wilson. His master’s thesis, a 255-page examination of English-language newspapers around the world, was published and sold by the West Virginia University press.

Lee became what he likes to call “an academic vagabond,” frequently being lured to new universities by better offers. His first fulltime teaching appointment was at American University in Washington D.C. under Ray Hiebert. While there, he also served at Assistant Director of the Washington Journalism Center (a Kiplinger project for educating ten professional journalists per semester).

When Hiebert left for the U of Maryland two years later, Lee accepted a position at the University of Arizona. He taught in Arizona for four years, then went to Missouri in 1971 to work on his Ph.D. under John C. Merrill. Over the next three years, he finished all his courses with straight A work except the dissertation.

In the meantime, he accepted a post at New York University where he taught for three years until the Journalism chairman, M.L. Stein, went to Cal State Long Beach. Stein asked Lee to follow him, which he did, teaching for three years until his novels hit best-seller status.

By then, Lee had completed all his PhD courses (70 hours of straight-A work) and was ABD. His dissertation topic was chosen and his research done, but a two-book contract at Doubleday took precedence. Eventually his dissertation research was used by his late wife, Barbara Moore, to write The Fever Called Living, a novel published by Doubleday.

For the next six years, Lee wrote full time in Colorado and Texas, adding to his fiction output. Eventually, he returned to teaching, first at the University of Idaho for two years, then at Memphis State University (later renamed the University of Memphis). He stayed in Memphis for 13 years, until his retirement as a full professor in 1997.

During his career, Lee has written, delivered, and published many academic papers, as well as co-writing two major university textbooks, and contributing chapters for other academic books. He also proved to be a popular teacher, always at the top of lists in student evaluations, and winner of several distinguished teaching awards. Academic writing and honors are listed below:

Books (non-fiction)

• Feature Writing for Newspapers & Magazines. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. 333 pp. Fifth edition. (With Jay Friedlander.)
• Feature Writing for Newspapers & Magazines. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 333 pp. Fourth edition. (With Jay Friedlander.)
• Feature Writing for Newspapers & Magazines. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. 333 pp. Third edition. (With Jay Friedlander.)
• Modern Mass Media. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 446 pp. Second edition. (With John Merrill and Jay Friedlander.)
• Modern Mass Media (Instructor's Manual) (second edition). New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 103 pp.
• Medios de comunicación social. Madrid: Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez, 1993. 566 pp. (With John Merrill and Jay Friedlander.)
• Feature Writing for Newspapers & Magazines. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. 351 pp. Second edition. (With Jay Friedlander.)
• Modern Mass Media. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. 452 pp. (With John Merrill and Jay Friedlander.)
• Modern Mass Media (Instructor's Manual). New York: Harper & Row, 1990. 103 pp.
• Feature Writing for Newspapers & Magazines. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. 294 pp. (With Jay Friedlander.)
• Learning to Judge the Doberman Pinscher. Doberman Pinscher Club of America: Judges Education Committee, 1982. 47 pp. (Edited, with Barbara Moore Lee.)
• Monsters Among Us: Journey to the Unexplained. New York: Pyramid Publications, Inc., 1975. 143 pp. (With Barbara Moore Lee.)
• The Diplomatic Persuaders: New Role of the Mass Media in International Relations. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1968. 205 pp. (Edited.)
• The Expatriate Press: A Survey of English-Language Newspapers Around the World. Morgantown: West Virginia University, 1965. 255 pp. (Multilith.)

Chapters in Books

• "The Information War." Mass Communication in Mexico (edited by Albert Lester and Richard Cole). Brookings: South Dakota State University, 1975. 211 pp.
• "English-Language Press of Asia." The Reluctant Revolution (edited by John Lent). Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1971. 373 pp.
• "The Battle for the Mind." Effects of Mass Media on Man and his Society (edited by J. Rose). London: Gordon and Breach (approx. 1970--full information not in files.)

Honors and Awards:

• Winner of Distinguished Teaching Service Award, Memphis State, 1992
• Winner of Dean's Creative Achievement Award, Memphis State, 1990
• Finalist for Distinguished Teaching Service Award, Memphis State, 1991
• Finalist for Distinguished Teaching Service Award, Memphis State, 1990
• Winner of Panhellenic Top Ten Teachers Award, University of Idaho, 1984
• Named to Top Ten Teachers, University of Arizona, 1971
• Named to Top Ten Teachers, University of Arizona, 1970
• Named Top Teacher on Campus, University of Arizona, 1969

Faculty Advisement

• MSU Today, 1st place Magazine, SPJ Mark of Excellence, 1989
• MSU Today, 1st place Magazine, Columbia Scholastic Press Awards, 1988
• MSU Today, 2nd place Magazine, SPJ Mark of Excellence, 1987
• UniverCity, 1st class Magazine, Associated Collegiate Press Awards, 1976
• UniverCity, 1st place Magazine, Columbia Scholastic Press Awards, 1975
  
  (Also, out of an available nine Mark of Excellence writing awards in three competitions, Lee's MSU Today magazine students won seven.)