Jaekyung Lee chosen as fellow in prestigious international education group

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Jaekyung Lee, PhD, interim dean and professor in the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education, has been named fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the largest and most prestigious organization of educational researchers in the world.

The international distinction recognizes Lee for exceptional scholarly contributions to education research, and significant contributions to educational research through the development of research opportunities and settings.

The AERA Fellows Program honors education researchers with substantial research accomplishments, conveys the association's commitment to excellence in research and helps the next generation of emerging scholars to appreciate the value of sustained achievements in research and the breadth of scholarship worthy of recognition.

Lee is one of 23 fellows to be honored this year. The 23 join 534 current AERA fellows. Lee will be inducted into the AERA April 28 during the organization’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

Lee served as an associate editor of the American Educational Research Journal, and currently serves as an editorial board member of the academic journals Education Policy Analysis Archives, KEDI Journal of Education Policy and Journal of Research in Rural Education.

His research has been supported by grants from the AERA, the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation.

Lee is the author of the book, “The Testing Gap: Scientific Trials of Test-Driven School Accountability Systems for Excellence and Equity.”

“I am humbled by this great honor,” says Lee. “I take pride in helping frame and inform the nation’s current policy debates on high-stakes accountability and the achievement gap.”

His research on these topics has been cited by many, including the National Research Council’s 2011 report, "Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education."

AERA Fellows are nominated by their peers, selected and recommended by the Fellows Committee and approved by the AERA Council, the association’s elected governing group.

“The AERA Fellows program is designed to honor researchers in education who evidence outstanding research accomplishments,” says Lois Weis, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB Graduate School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. “Jaek Lee's election as an honorary fellow brings great distinction to the university and spotlights UB as a place that encourages and supports cutting-edge research.

“This election is a great credit to Jaek, as well as the university as a whole.”

Lee is also a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and a fellow of the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is the recipient of the 2007 AERA Early Career Award.

In addition to his role as interim dean, Lee is a professor and the associate dean for academic affairs in the Graduate School of Education. His scholarly research agenda includes education accountability policy and high-stakes testing; P-16 education pathways and school interventions; educational equity and achievement gaps; and international and comparative education.  

Lee was appointed interim dean of the Graduate School of Education in 2012.