USU Associate Professor to Serve on International Board

Victor Lee will soon begin serving on the leading international organization in his field — and he hopes to influence it in a way that nurtures emerging talent.

Lee is an award-winning associate professor in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department at Utah State University. He was recently elected to the International Society of Learning Sciences board.

It’s a field that is growing fast, he said.

Policymakers feel the pressure to keep America competitive in a global market. Advances in artificial intelligence and cognitive science have made the learning sciences grow in scope and importance, but they have brought new challenges. New sub-fields have been included.

Lee would like the field to retain its quality and rigor as it grows.

Within the learning sciences, young scholars also face obstacles. It is hard for them to present in conferences, which have become more competitive under the pressure to put the newest research out quickly. It’s easier for faculty with an established infrastructure and staff to put their work forward.

“If you can’t crack into the conference at all, how do we grow the field responsibly?” Lee asked. He wants to represent the interests of graduate students and young researchers, who make up a significant portion of the organization’s membership.

He would also like to make research more available to the public.

“There’s good work in the field,” he said. “We need to figure out how to get that out more broadly. Academic communities can get very insular.”

He begins his six-year term in January of 2016.

Related links:

Contact: Victor Lee, victor.lee@usu.edu

Writer: JoLynne Lyon, 435-797-1463