New Jersey City University Athletics

Tom Lee (M.S. '11) joined New Jersey City University on April 10, 1995, is one of the longest tenured athletics employees at NJCU and currently serves as the Gothic Knights' Aquatics Director. He oversees all aquatic activities at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center’s 25-yard natatorium, including managing daily operations, scheduling and special events, implementing safety and risk management protocols, training and hiring of instructional and lifeguarding staff, planning in-service training sessions, coordinating Learn to Swim / Private Swim programming, scuba diving operations and instruction.

Tom Lee is a well-respected PADI Master Instructor in scuba diving who has appeared on the cover of two major diving magazines. He was featured on the Winter 2002 cover of Immersed, the quarterly international scuba diving magazine, in which he was pictured during a dive beneath the ice at Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H. He was featured on the January 2007 cover of Northeast Dive News, where Lee is again shown under the ice at Lake Winnipesaukee as assisting and instructing as part of an ice diving course. The cover photo is part of a story entitled “Ice: Hard Facts About a Cold Friend."

Lee has been an open water scuba instructor since 1994 and has been teaching and assisting in ice dive training since 1997. In addition to his duties as aquatics director at NJCU, Lee frequently teaches swimming, lifeguarding and water safety courses and is a scuba instructor at the JMAC. He has also served on various search committees, including those for head athletic trainer and women’s basketball coaching positions. Lee is also a volunteer diver and trains with the Point Pleasant Beach First Aid Rescue Squad’s Dive Team and is on call for land and water searches, including those requiring scuba divers.

Prior to coming to NJCU, Lee was the Aquatic Director from 1989-1994 for the Hoboken/North Hudson YMCA. From 1976-1989, Lee held various aquatics positions ranging from pool manager and instructor to lifeguard.  He was first certified as an American Red Cross Senior Lifesaving by the Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation in 1976 and became a YMCA Progressive Instructor in 1978 and an American Red Cross Water Safety and Lifeguarding instructor in 1979.

From 1986-1994, Lee served as an art director, associate art director and assistant art director and worked in the art departments in the field of editorial magazine design for publishing houses, including Time Inc., Forbes Inc., American Express and Hearst Communications.

In 2011 Lee earned a M.S. in Health Sciences with a specialization in Community Health from NJCU. Lee is a 1986 graduate of Parsons School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 1985, he studied abroad at The Republic of China’s Tamkang University as part of its Asian Studies Program. He also studied at the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design from 1983-84. He began in undergraduate coursework at Prince Georges Community College (MD) from 1979-83, earning an associate’s degree.

Born in Hawaii, currently resides in Westfield with his wife Mary Beth, 14-year-old daughter Madelyn, and 12-year old daughter Grace and their family dog Winston.