UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Sloan Scholars Network recently announced the recipients of the 2026 Alumni Awards. Roderick Lee, associate professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), was named Higher Education Professional of the Year.
With support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the award recognizes a Sloan Scholar alum who has made significant contributions to their field, to the areas of teaching and mentoring or to other forms of service in higher education.
Lee, who earned a doctoral degree in information sciences and technology from Penn State in 2008, is an associate professor in the College of IST Department of Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics, an associate professor of information systems in the School of Business at Penn State Harrisburg and an affiliate associate 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 degree in artificial intelligence methods and applications and the bachelor of science degree in human-centered design and development. He is also a fellow of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and a distinguished member of the Association for Information Systems.
Lee recently served as an administrative fellow to the vice president for commonwealth campuses and executive chancellor at Penn State and has served on numerous advisory bodies at the University, including the Select Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias and Community Safety; an Office of the President initiative on diversity, equity, 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 artificial intelligence (AI) and computing education, designing inclusive and identity-affirming STEM learning environments and advancing human-centered AI innovations across 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 equity 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, where he led the expansion of the organization's doctoral student association to include students in informatics, AI, cybersecurity, and human-centered computing, directly resulting in Penn State's College of IST becoming the first iSchool to formally partner with The PhD Project.
Lee's contributions have been recognized 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 partners with the Sloan Foundation and universities like Penn State to provide funding to graduate students as well as community engagement and mentoring. Lee received the Sloan scholarship in 2003, when he was pursuing a doctoral degree in information sciences and technology in the College of IST.
Other Sloan Scholar alumni from the College of IST include Christopher Dancy, associate 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 manager of dealer development at Mercedes-Benz USA; and Joslenne Pena, assistant professor at Macalester College.
Penn State is shaping the future of higher education in the age of artificial intelligence. Our focus is on human-centered, ethical AI innovation that delivers meaningful impacts for Penn State and the broader community. Through visionary planning, strategic partnerships, targeted hiring and strategic investments, we will equip every Penn State student, staff and faculty member with the AI-related knowledge, experience and confidence they need to succeed in the AI-powered future. Learn more at psu.edu/ai.
Editor’s note: A version of this press release was published by the Sloan Scholars Network on June 29.