Xing Wu
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Hollylynne S. Lee, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Statistics Education at NC State’s College of Education, has been named the 2022 recipient of Baylor University’s Robert Foster Cherry Award for Outstanding Teaching.
The biennial award, which comes with a $250,000 prize, honors faculty with exceptional teaching skills who are known to have a positive, inspiring, and lasting impact on students.
“I want to make math and statistics relevant to every person’s life and change the experiences they have in schools,” said Lee, who is an expert in designing and using technology to help students to learn mathematics and statistics. “I want teachers to have access to meaningful learning materials so they can change the kinds of experiences students have with relevant data in their classrooms. »
As the Cherry Award recipient, Lee will receive the $250,000 prize and his home department, the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, will receive $25,000. She will also teach in residence at Baylor for one semester.
“Professor Hollynne Lee expertly embodies NC State’s mission, and she is a true agent of change in higher education,” said NC State Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Warwick Arden. “Her excellence in teaching and research has changed the way math and statistics are taught and understood, and she has had an immeasurable impact on tens of thousands of students and educators, from kindergarten to Grade 12 and up, thanks to his hard work. We are blessed to have him at NC State, and the entire state benefits from his transformational efforts.
Lee is also a senior researcher at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and director of the Hub for Innovation and Research in Statistics Education, which creates data science and data literacy materials for students and teachers in math and science classrooms. kindergarten to 12th grade. Lee has secured millions of dollars in research grants, created open educational resources, and offered free online courses to educators. His scholarship and writings include over 100 journal articles, book chapters and conference papers, four co-authored books and one co-edited book.
“Dr. Lee is a colleague who has followed her passion for teaching statistics with technology and demonstrated how far you can go when you engage in work that is both rigorous and meaningful,” said Paola Sztajn, acting dean of the NC State College of Education. . “Her careful integration of research and teaching has allowed her to use her knowledge to support and improve her teaching to new levels of effectiveness. This award is a recognition of the great scholar and teacher that is Dr. Lee.
Lee joined the NC State faculty in 2000. She received her BS in Secondary Mathematics Education from Pennsylvania State University in 1991, her MAEd. in secondary education-mathematics in 1995 from William and Mary and his doctorate. in Mathematics Education from the University of Virginia in 2000. Prior to her work at the university level, she was a K-12 teacher.
“Dr. Lee’s scholarship and teaching expertise focuses on teaching and learning probability, statistics, and data science in grades 4-12 and early-level courses. We were very impressed with his design and use of engaging technology tools that make it easier for students to learn math and statistics, as well as his ability to inspire future teachers in these important areas,” said said Michael W. Thompson, committee chair and associate dean of undergraduate programs at Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science.
The award is the latest in a series of accolades for Lee. In April 2020, she received the UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence. She was also selected as one of the 2020 American Statistical Association (ASA) Fellows based on her contributions to teacher preparation and the professional development of K-12 statistics teachers. She was also named a Fellow of the International Society for Design and Development in Education in 2019.
“I am an educator through and through. Having a national award that recognizes teaching at the college level in any discipline sends a strong signal that it’s not just what we teach, but how we nurture, teach and mentor students that really matters. It couldn’t have been made truer than during a pandemic,” Lee said at Baylor University. “The significance of this award became more apparent to me as I learned about the long history of the award, the commitment and vision of Robert Foster Cherry and his family, and the incredible contributions and perspectives current and past finalists and winners. This speaks volumes about Baylor University’s commitment to education given the incredible efforts put into the award process by Baylor faculty and staff.
