Lee Charlotte Lee (July 19, 1935 – April 30, 2006) was a

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

. She was a

Professor Emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Human Development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body ** This includes physical developments such as growth, and also development of the brain * Developmental psychology * Development theory * Human development (economics) * Human Develo ...

in the College of Human Ecology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Lee was the first woman of Asian ancestry to become a tenured professor at Cornell.

Biography

Lee was born in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, China, in 1935. She attended

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private liberal arts university in Alliance, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until 2019. It had an enrollment of 2,100 students as of 2023. Histo ...

, in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, on a full scholarship. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and mathematics in 1957. She went on to attend

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, completing a Master's degree in clinical psychology in 1959 and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 1968. Lee joined the faculty at Cornell University in 1968, becoming the institution's first woman professor of Asian ancestry. In 1987, she became the founding director of Cornell's

Asian American Studies Asian American Studies is an academic field originating in the 1960s, which critically examines the history, issues, sociology, religion, experiences, culture, and policies relevant to Asian Americans. It is closely related to other Ethnic Studies ...

Program. At Cornell, Lee taught courses and conducted research in

developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...

and in Asian-American identity and history. With Nolan W. Zane, she was the co-editor of the first edition of ''The Handbook of Asian American Psychology'', published in 1998. While a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

from 1992 through 1994, Lee became the founding director of the Hong Kong-American Center. The mission of the Center is to promote cross-cultural understanding between Hong Kong and American communities. Lee retired from Cornell in 2004. In 2006, she died at her home in

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

, New York, at the age of 70.

Selected works

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Lee C. 1935 births 2006 deaths Cornell University faculty American developmental psychologists 20th-century American psychologists American women psychologists University of Mount Union alumni Educators from Suzhou Chinese psychologists Chinese women psychologists Chinese emigrants to the United States Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American women American women academics 21st-century American women