Effort to Bolster Image : National University Names New President

National University trustees, eager to bolster the school’s position in the academic community, have named a seasoned East Coast educator to take the reins of the 11-campus institution.

Jerry C. Lee, former president of a prominent university for the deaf, was selected from among a field of more than 100 to lead National University.

Lee succeeds the school’s founder and first president, David Chigos, who resigned last year amid problems over accreditation at the 17-year-old university, which serves mostly working adults.

“He has a rare combination of managerial skills and academic background which fits National’s needs perfectly,” said Donald L. Fagan, chairman of the trustees. “His experience in both business and higher education will be particularly valuable to the university as we move into the future.”

A one-time corporate executive with General Motors and other private firms, Lee is perhaps best known for his long tenure at Gallaudet University, a school for the deaf in Washington.

Critical Juncture

He served at Gallaudet for nearly two decades, beginning as vice president for administration and business before moving up to the presidency in 1984. His resignation last year set in motion a series of events that prompted national interest and headlines. Hearing-impaired students protested when they learned that his successor, like Lee, was not deaf.

Lee, 47, assumes National University’s top spot at a critical juncture in the school’s history, as it struggles with financial problems caused by rapid growth during the mid-1980s and a nagging reputation as an academic lightweight.

In December, school leaders announced a major financial reorganization that included issuing bonds and selling the Vista campus, which was leased back as part of the deal.

The university was recently given a reprieve by the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges, which put National on a yearlong probation and threatened to yank its academic accreditation, maintaining that the school’s rapid growth was undermining the quality of its classes.

“We’re hoping we can put some of this to rest,” said Peter Casey, a university spokesman. “We feel it’s pretty good news that National has been able to attract someone of the caliber of Jerry Lee.”