My career has spanned disciplinary and department homes, but my research has consistently focused on equity and excellence in college classrooms, and teaching as a critical, reflective practice.  My doctoral training and early faculty experience was in English departments.  I have been fortunate to teach a diverse range of courses, including: first year and basic writing; multicultural, feminist, and U.S. literature courses; poetics workshops and interdisciplinary, senior capstone courses for writing majors; doctoral seminars in composition theory, critical pedagogy and research methods in composition studies; and practicum and community-engaged learning courses. 

My early research focused on teaching writing. Using classroom-based action research, I studied the intersections of feminist, process, and critical pedagogies in composition classrooms and how the learning of teaching happens, including how faculty learn to critique, refine, and adapt their pedagogy in response to complex and shifting sites of practice.  This research resulted in multiple articles and two books, Teaching Writing that Matters (co-authored with Chris Gallagher, 2008) and Composing Critical Pedagogies (2002).   

My current research moves outside of the writing classroom to focus more broadly on engaging diversity as a resource in college teaching and classrooms.  I am currently conducting an institutional research project to investigate an interdisciplinary program designed to implement inclusive excellence, and longitudinal, qualitative research to investigate students’ process of developing intercultural competence.

I have served in administrative positions at three public research universities, including directing an undergraduate English major, directing a writing program, and coordinating community-action learning curricula and partnerships. For five years, I served as a mentor in the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Early Career Teaching Program.

Recent Research

Lee, A., Poch, R., Williams, R. Engaging Diversity in Collegiate Classrooms. ASHE Higher Education Report Series; Jossey-Bass (under contract; anticipated 2012).       

Lee, A., William, R., Kilaberia, R. “Engaging Diversity in First-Year College Classrooms.” Innovative Higher Education 37 (2011).

Lee, A.,  Jie Y., Williams, R. "Common Book: Practical Strategies for Supporting Learning for Student Learning and Success" eSource for College Transitions (Vol.8, No.1) 2010.

"Engaging Diversity Across Higher Education Curricula: Preparing Students to Succeed in an Intercultural Society," AERA, March, 2011.

"Excellence for All: Integrating Student Learning and Development," ASHE,November, 2010.

“Inclusive Excellence in an Integrated First-Year Program.”  FYE Conference, 2010.

Honors and Awards

University of Minnesota’s Morse Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award (2005)

McKnight Research Fellowship (2001)

University of Minnesota Summer Research Fellowship (2000)

College Composition and Communication Association’s James Berlin Award (1996)

SUNY-Albany Innovations in Teaching Award (1996)

University of Massachusetts-Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award (1994)