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Sarah Lee joined The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in August 2020 as Director of the School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering (CSCE), bringing nearly a decade of academic leadership experience from Mississippi State University (MSU), where she served as Assistant Department Head in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Under her leadership, the School of CSCE has experienced significant growth and transformation. Strategic initiatives have doubled student enrollment, earned designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (NCAE-CDE), and secured initial ABET accreditation for two undergraduate programs. While at USM, Sarah’s contributions have been recognized through numerous honors, including the USM Heart of Gold Faculty Service Award (2021), the ISC² Diversity Award (2022), the Women Leading Change Award from Women for Progress of Mississippi (2023), recognition at the Women for Progress Women of the Year Awards (2026), and selection as a member of the inaugural cohort of Alumni Guild Award recipients at the Mississippi University for Women. In 2021, she was part of a team selected as a Top 10 finalist in the XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling Competition for developing alternative pathways into technology careers across Mississippi.

Before entering academia, Sarah spent 19 years at FedEx in information technology roles, where she managed major software development initiatives, including a courier route planning system and a customer relationship management platform. During her tenure, she received multiple FedEx Hall of Fame awards and was endorsed through the company's Leadership Evaluation and Awareness Process (LEAP).

Since transitioning to higher education, Sarah has become a national advocate for broadening participation in computing. In 2016, she and Dr. Vemitra White received a National Science Foundation (NSF) INCLUDES grant to establish the Mississippi Alliance for Women in Computing (MSAWC), an initiative dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and supporting women pursuing careers in computing and technology.

At MSU, she established several outreach initiatives, including the Mississippi affiliate program for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Award and the Bulldog Bytes summer program that introduced K–12 students to programming and cybersecurity. Supported largely through the National Security Agency's GenCyber initiative, Bulldog Bytes grew into a nationally recognized program. In recognition of her teaching, she received MSU's highest faculty honor, the John Grisham Master Teacher Award, in 2020.

Sarah's work has also focused on increasing accessibility and expanding opportunities for students from historically underrepresented groups. She has collaborated with AccessComputing at the University of Washington and the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, mentored students through the Dow Diversity Fellowship, and worked closely with the Mississippi Coding Academies. In addition, she co-founded the Last Mile Education Fund, an organization dedicated to helping students overcome financial barriers as they complete degrees in computing and engineering.

Sarah earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems from the Mississippi University for Women, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Mississippi State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Computer Science from the University of Memphis.

A fifth-generation resident of Lowndes County, Mississippi, Sarah enjoys genetic genealogy and has helped numerous individuals discover and reconnect with family members through genealogical research. She remains actively involved in the Bernard Romans Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Lowndes County Pioneer Society, and the Pace Society of America.

Sarah Lee
PHD