Green, Mary Elizabeth Harrison
Mary Elizabeth Harrison Green was hired at the Bible Training School to lead the high school division following the tenure of R.R. Walker in that role. Mary Elizabeth also was the first administrator of the school with a graduate degree. She had significant influence in helping BTS transition into an accredited academic institution, and she was one of the key progressive voices who, early on, was able to imagine the potential of what is now Lee University.
Mary Elizabeth’s father was a local Presbyterian pastor, and her mother was a Church of God minister. Her mother, Alda B. Harrison, was well-known and influential in the Church of God because of her role in beginning the denomination's youth ministry (called Young People's Endeavor, or YPE) and for publishing The Lighted Pathway youth magazine. It was this environment in which Mary Elizabeth spent her childhood and youth.
In 1941, the two-year junior college was established at BTS, largely through the efforts of R.R. Walker. The following year Mary Elizabeth Harrison was hired as a faculty member to teach high school courses in Speech, Dramatics, and History. She also was sponsor of the Speech Club. When R. R. Walker accepted another ministry position, Mary Elizabeth replaced him as the principal of the high school.
Her arrival at BTS was important because of her academic credentials, as she held a graduate degree. In those early years, sometimes Mary Elizabeth’s position as high school principal was viewed as an administrative role and sometimes as faculty. It wasn’t until 1946 that her position as principal was more formally viewed as administrative. This was due to the influence of Earl M. Tapley, who was hired that year as the school’s first Vice President and helped develop a new academic structure.
One of the Mary Elizabeth's initiatives continues to be an active part of campus life today. When she was hired in 1942 she suggested the practice of corporately reciting Psalm 19:14 at the close of each chapel service. This practice continues today and is known as the “university benediction.” It is the most enduring legacy of her time at Lee.
In 1945, BTS instituted a Boys’ Student Council and Girls’ Student Council, and Mary Elizabeth was the first sponsor for the Girls’ Student Council. By this time Mary Elizabeth was teaching European History, Speech, and Education courses.
By 1947 she married Leon Green, who had attended Lee and later taught Mathematics and Physics at Lee College. Mary Elizabeth was a progressive administrator who actively worked to move Lee forward as an accredited, academic institution. She left Lee in 1951, but her early work toward accreditation and raising the academic standard helped lay a foundation from which Lee would be able to move forward academically and ultimately become a four-year school. Years later, after Lee had become a university and during one of her return visits to campus for Homecoming, Mary Elizabeth expressed a sense of deep thanksgiving to God for all He had accomplished and the advancements made at Lee.
/ L.F. Morgan
Mary Elizabeth’s father was a local Presbyterian pastor, and her mother was a Church of God minister. Her mother, Alda B. Harrison, was well-known and influential in the Church of God because of her role in beginning the denomination's youth ministry (called Young People's Endeavor, or YPE) and for publishing The Lighted Pathway youth magazine. It was this environment in which Mary Elizabeth spent her childhood and youth.
In 1941, the two-year junior college was established at BTS, largely through the efforts of R.R. Walker. The following year Mary Elizabeth Harrison was hired as a faculty member to teach high school courses in Speech, Dramatics, and History. She also was sponsor of the Speech Club. When R. R. Walker accepted another ministry position, Mary Elizabeth replaced him as the principal of the high school.
Her arrival at BTS was important because of her academic credentials, as she held a graduate degree. In those early years, sometimes Mary Elizabeth’s position as high school principal was viewed as an administrative role and sometimes as faculty. It wasn’t until 1946 that her position as principal was more formally viewed as administrative. This was due to the influence of Earl M. Tapley, who was hired that year as the school’s first Vice President and helped develop a new academic structure.
One of the Mary Elizabeth's initiatives continues to be an active part of campus life today. When she was hired in 1942 she suggested the practice of corporately reciting Psalm 19:14 at the close of each chapel service. This practice continues today and is known as the “university benediction.” It is the most enduring legacy of her time at Lee.
In 1945, BTS instituted a Boys’ Student Council and Girls’ Student Council, and Mary Elizabeth was the first sponsor for the Girls’ Student Council. By this time Mary Elizabeth was teaching European History, Speech, and Education courses.
By 1947 she married Leon Green, who had attended Lee and later taught Mathematics and Physics at Lee College. Mary Elizabeth was a progressive administrator who actively worked to move Lee forward as an accredited, academic institution. She left Lee in 1951, but her early work toward accreditation and raising the academic standard helped lay a foundation from which Lee would be able to move forward academically and ultimately become a four-year school. Years later, after Lee had become a university and during one of her return visits to campus for Homecoming, Mary Elizabeth expressed a sense of deep thanksgiving to God for all He had accomplished and the advancements made at Lee.
/ L.F. Morgan