Dr. Paul Conn has been awarded the rank of Distinguished Professor of psychology by the Lee University Board of Directors. This title is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a member of Lee’s faculty.
Dr. Conn is the 11th teacher in Lee’s history to be awarded the title of Distinguished Professor.
Dr. Conn currently serves as the chancellor of Lee University, after serving 34 years as the university’s president. He started teaching at Lee in 1971 as an instructor in psychology and served as chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences within the next 15 years. Dr. Conn was awarded the school’s top award for Excellence in Teaching in 1981 and has been a full Professor of Psychology since 1982.
Dr. Conn is currently the longest-serving member of the Lee faculty, with 49 years of continuous service. He has taught at least one psychology class each year during that period, including throughout his presidential tenure. He spent five years at Harvard University in postdoctoral study and research, working with such well-known figures as developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg and Derek Bok, a Harvard president for 20 years.
Dr. Conn is also an author and co-author of more than 20 books about various public, business, and political leaders. Four of these books reached the Top Ten on the New York Times bestseller list and three were adapted for television. He won numerous awards during his faculty tenure and served on the governing boards of many national and regional higher education organizations, including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Council for Independent Colleges.
Dr. Conn earned a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts from Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts from Lee College (Class of 1967). He and his wife Darlia have three children and ten grandchildren.