Jerry Lee, chancellor of the National University System since 2001, will step down at the end of the next calendar year, the school announced today.
"The past 22 years have been some of the most extraordinary years of my life, and I have been blessed to have been associated with such outstanding students, faculty, staff, trustees and friends of the system community,'' said Lee, who was president of National University from 1989-2007.
"I believe the National University System's best years lie ahead, and I look forward to observing our progress while continuing to contribute, but in a much different way,'' he said.
The system oversees National University; National University International; John F. Kennedy University; National University Virtual High School and National University Academies; Spectrum Pacific Learning; and WestMed College.
National University under Lee's leadership has become the second-largest private, nonprofit institution of higher education in California and the 12th largest in the country, according to the school.
The Board of Trustees will begin a search process next February. Lee's resignation is effective Dec. 31, 2012.
