UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Sloan Scholars Network not too long ago introduced the recipients of the 2026 Alumni Awards. Roderick Lee, affiliate professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), was named Higher Education Professional of the Year.
With help from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the award acknowledges a Sloan Scholar alum who has made important contributions to their area, to the areas of educating and mentoring or to different varieties of service in greater training.
Lee, who earned a doctoral diploma in data sciences and know-how from Penn State in 2008, is an affiliate professor in the College of IST Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics, an affiliate professor of data methods in the School of Business at Penn State Harrisburg and an affiliate affiliate professor in the College of Education at Penn State.
He is a member of the inaugural cohort of National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource AI Education Fellows, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and serves as the program coordinator for Penn State Harrisburg’s new bachelor of science diploma in artificial intelligence methods and applications and the bachelor of science diploma in human-centered design and development. He can also be a fellow of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and a distinguished member of the Association for Information Systems.
Lee not too long ago served as an administrative fellow to the vice chairman for commonwealth campuses and govt chancellor at Penn State and has served on quite a few advisory our bodies at the University, together with the Select Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias and Community Safety; an Office of the President initiative on range, fairness, inclusion and belonging; and the American Talent Initiative/Association of Public and Land-Grant University’s Powered by Publics steering committee.
His scholarship focuses on broadening participation in synthetic intelligence (AI) and computing training, designing inclusive and identity-affirming STEM studying environments and advancing human-centered AI improvements throughout organizational and societal contexts. As co-principal investigator of an NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Demonstration Project, an Equity Pedagogy Scholar and an Institutional Core Planning Team member for a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence grant, he has been central to Penn State’s efforts to embed fairness pedagogy into STEM instruction at scale.
He served as inaugural chair of The PhD Project Advisory Council (PAC-15) and as a member of The PhD Project Board of Directors, the place he led the enlargement of the group’s doctoral pupil affiliation to incorporate college students in informatics, AI, cybersecurity, and human-centered computing, instantly leading to Penn State’s College of IST changing into the first iSchool to formally associate with The PhD Project.
Lee’s contributions have been acknowledged with the Greater Harrisburg Area NAACP President’s Award, the Association for Information Systems Special Interest Group on Social Inclusion Outstanding Service Award and The PhD Project Circle of Compadres and Faculty Circle Award distinctions.
The Sloan Scholars program companions with the Sloan Foundation and universities like Penn State to supply funding to graduate college students in addition to neighborhood engagement and mentoring. Lee acquired the Sloan scholarship in 2003, when he was pursuing a doctoral diploma in data sciences and know-how in the College of IST.
Other Sloan Scholar alumni from the College of IST embody Christopher Dancy, affiliate professor in the Penn State College of Engineering and College of IST; Alexander Ororbia II, assistant professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology; Julio Ortiz, senior supervisor of vendor growth at Mercedes-Benz USA; and Joslenne Pena, assistant professor at Macalester College.
Penn State is shaping the future of greater training in the age of synthetic intelligence. Our focus is on human-centered, moral AI innovation that delivers significant impacts for Penn State and the broader neighborhood. Through visionary planning, strategic partnerships, focused hiring and strategic investments, we are going to equip each Penn State pupil, workers and school member with the AI-related data, expertise and confidence they want to achieve the AI-powered future. Learn extra at psu.edu/ai.
Editor’s be aware: A model of this press launch was revealed by the Sloan Scholars Network on June 29.