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Accounting Professor Jason Lee Promoted to Rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor


jason lee distinguished teaching professorThe SUNY Board of Trustees has promoted Dr. Chuo-Hsuan “Jason” Lee, SUNY Plattsburgh Department of Accounting professor, to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor.

The Distinguished Teaching Professorship is conferred upon instructional faculty for outstanding teaching competence at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional levels. Teaching mastery is to be consistently demonstrated over multiple years at the institution where the Distinguished Teaching Professorship is bestowed.

Lee joined the faculty in the School of Business and Economics in 2006 and has taught across the spectrum of accounting courses during his tenure here to undergraduates, graduate students and online students.

In nominating him, Dean Rowena Ortiz-Waters wrote that "Jason is truly a star in the classroom, as evident in student-nominated and colleague-nominated teaching awards and recognitions received over his academic career.”

In her letter of support, Provost Anne Herzog said, "Dr. Lee’s department chair (Dr. Mohamed Gaber), his dean (Dr. Rowena Ortiz-Walters), additional letters of peer/faculty support (internal and external), and most importantly from my perspective — student tributes — all describe Dr. Lee as a gifted and 'superior' teacher. Students comment in their Course Opinion Survey anonymous feedback that he is 'amazing' and 'passionate in helping students to find their path and reach their full potential.'"

For his part, the Taiwan native said that learning of the nomination “really made me stop and reflect about all of the things I have done on my journey since the day I came to the United States.”

“This accomplishment means a lot to me, considering that I spoke a different language in my daily life before I turned 27 years old,” he said. Now, Lee said, “I never thought that I would be teaching in the United States one day, and yet here I am today.”

Lee has numerous awards and citations to his credit, including the 2011 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has also been cited as a SUNY Online teaching ambassador and Teacher of the Month by SBE. His work includes numerous published articles, most in peer-reviewed journals; one of them is a teaching manual for managerial accounting, published by McGraw-Hill. He has served as a reviewer for journals and textbooks, conferences and more.

In 2017, Lee was instrumental in creating the online B.S. degree completion program in accounting, which allows students to complete their bachelor’s degree in accounting remotely. The first students were accepted into the program in fall 2017 with 15 students. After three years, the program had grown to 265 from 42 New York state counties. He also took the lead in developing the accounting and data analytics combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program, the first of its kind in the state.

“I am most proud of my students’ achievements; so many of them have gone on to do amazing things, and I am grateful to have been a part of their educational journeys,” he said.

However, he also praised his colleagues and what he termed the “teaching culture” at SUNY Plattsburgh.

“My achievement speaks to not just my own teaching ability, but also to the teaching culture of SUNY Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh has taught me how to go above and beyond for our students. I am grateful for the many lessons I have learned from my colleagues as well as my experiences at Plattsburgh.”

“Dr. Lee represents the best of what our students experience as they work toward the attainment of their college degrees,” said President Alexander Enyedi. “I am personally proud he is an integral part of Cardinal Country.”

The college community will honor Lee more formally later in the year with a portrait in the Feinberg Library gallery and a medallion from SUNY.

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