Following a recommendation from Jackson Davis, Lee became President of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1924. Lee obtained greater funding for the university from the Florida Board of Control, the General Education Board, and the Rosenwald Fund and accreditation for the university from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. He was able to obtain greater salaries for teachers and administrators despite the statement of Florida Governor Fred P. Cone that "no Negro was worth $4000 a year". By the end of Lee's tenure, "FAMU had constructed 48 buildings, accumulated 396 acres of land, and had 812 students and 122 staff members."
