Jaekyung Lee

Jaekyung Lee, (University of Chicago, PhD), is a professor and former dean of education at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Being an advocate for whole-child/youth development and universal learning rights, Lee is an international leader in educational policy research and evaluation on the issues of educational equity and accountability. He is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), a Fellow of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a Fellow of the Stanford University Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), and a Fulbright Global Scholar. His research is aimed at improving evidence-based policies of global systemic school reform towards closing the inequalities of education opportunities and achievement/well-being gaps among disadvantaged and marginalized students.

Lee is the author/editor of books, including "The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (But Can Still Win) the War on Underachievement" (Oxford University Press, 2016) and "Centering Whole-Child Development in Global Education Reform: International Perspectives on Agendas for Educational Equity and Quality" (Routledge, 2022). His research helped inform and advance educational policy debates on high-stakes testing and school accountability, achievement gap and school equity issues; it includes his policy research work in collaboration with the University of Colorado National Education Policy Center, the Harvard University Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project, the UCLA Civil Rights Project, and the Rockefeller Institute of the Government, and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI).

His research has been supported and recognized with many grants, fellowships and awards. His projects received funding support from the AERA, IES, NCES, NSF, and Spencer Foundation. He was the recipient of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, the AERA Raymond B. Cattell Early Career Award, the Rockefeller Institute of the Government Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellowship, the Korean-American Educational Researcher Association (KAERA) Distinguished Researcher Award, the Western New York Educational Service Council Robert W. Heller Award, the Fulbright Global Scholar Award (Visiting Scholars in Korea, Kazakhstan and Vietnam), and the World Education Research Association (WERA) Visiting Researcher Award (South Africa). He has received the UB Exceptional Scholar of Sustained Achievement Award in 2024.

Lee currently serves as the Chair of AERA International Relations Committee, promoting international exchange of innovative research ideas and best practices for global education improvement. He also serves on the Fulbright English Teacher Assistant (ETA) Award National Screening Committee. He is an editorial board member of academic journals, including Education Policy Analysis Archives, Journal of Research in Rural Education, Educational Psychology, Educational Sciences, and KEDI Journal of Educational Policy.

• PhD, University of Chicago

• UB Exceptional Scholar of Sustained Achievement Award; University at Buffalo; 2024-08-26;
• World Education Research Association (WERA) Visiting Researcher Award (University of Pretoria, South Africa); World Education Research Association (WERA); 2024-05-01;
• Fulbright Global Scholar Award; The US State Department Fulbright Program; 2020-04-09;
• Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellowship (2018); The Rockefeller Institute of Government; 2018-01-01;
• Robert W. Heller Award; Western New York Educational Service Council; 2015-10-01;

• Lee, J. & Wong, K. (Eds.) (2022). Centering Whole-Child Development in Global Education Reform: International Perspectives on Agendas for Educational Equity and Quality. New York: Routledge.

• Lee, J., Kim, N., Su, M., & Greenwood, S. (2024). What High-Impact Practices Work for Minoritized Students? Institutional Inequities in College Learning Opportunities and Outcomes. Trends in Higher Education 3(2), 180-198. https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu3020011
• Lee, J., Kim, N., & Su, M. (2021). Immigrant and International College Students’ Learning Gaps: Improving Academic and Sociocultural Readiness for Career and Graduate/Professional Education. International Journal of Educational Research Open. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2021.100047
• Lee, J. (2020). What’s Missing from the Nation’s Report Card. Phi Delta Kappan [Online] https://kappanonline.org/whats-missing-nations-report-card-health-lee.
• Lee, J. & Lee, M. (2020). Is 'Whole Child' Education Obsolete? Public School Principals' Educational Goal Priorities in the Era of Accountability. Educational Administration Quarterly. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013161X20909871.

• Lee, J. (2023, May). Transforming Lives through Education: Critical Lessons from South Korea and New Pathways to Realize Asian Dreams. Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education Seminar. Astana, Kazakhstan.;

• Lee, J., Seo, Y., & Faith, M. (2024, April). Whole-Child Development Losses and Racial Inequalities during the Pandemic: Fallouts of School Accountability Turnover with Remote Learning and Unprotective Community. Paper presented at the 2024 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia.;
• Lee, J. & Su, M. (2023, April). Re-envisioning American Education Reform: How and Why Whole Community Environment Matters for Whole Child Development. Symposium Paper presented at the 2023 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago.;
• Lee, J., Cobanoglu, A., & Anderson, A. (2023, April). What Works For (or Against) Whom, Why and How? Towards Critical Race-Conscious Education Policy/Program Evaluation for Equity. Paper presented at the 2023 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago.;
• Lee, J., Saultz, A., & Vasquez, J. (2023, April). State Accountability Systems. Symposium “Future of Measurement and Accountability” Opinion Essay presented at the 2023 annual meeting of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago.;

• Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI): Innovating Beginning Reading Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners; Federal; IES; Awarded; (09/01/2024-08/31/2029)
• HELP (Health-Education-Life Protection) for At-Risk Children in Disaster-Affected Nations; Local; UB Office of International Education; Awarded; (06/01/2023-05/31/2025)
• Academic and Sociocultural Readiness for Postgraduate Education among Immigrant and International Students: Promoting Equal Access and Success in Graduate/Professional Schools; Foundation and Research Organization; Access/Lex Institute and the Association for Institutional Research; Awarded; (03/01/2019-05/31/2020)

• Consulting Editor of Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology
  04/29/2020-03/31/2025
• Editorial Board Member, Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) Journal of Educational Policy, 2009 – Present
  01/01/2009-12/31/2023
• Editorial Board Member, American Educational Research Journal (Social and Institutional Analysis Section), 2014 - 2017
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• AERA International Relations Committee (IRC) Chair
  05/01/2023-04/30/2026
• Fulbright U.S. National Screening Committee Member for English Teacher Assistantship Program, 2021 - Present
  09/01/2021-08/31/2024