Profile
April 13, 2000
9
Lee allows for discussion style classroom
Susan Duppstadt
The Pendulum
Witty, enthusiastic, and
creative are just a few adjec
tives to describe Richard Lee,
one of Elon’s English profes
sors. Lee’s main objective is
grabbing the attention Of his stu
dents, and holding it until the
end of class.
As a child, Lee was a Navy
brat. Traveling the world al
lowed him to grasp the idea of
cultural diversity, which has
made him the open minded per
son he is today.
Lee said the quote he lives
by is a saying by Buddha: “All
we are is the result of every
thing we have thought.”
Another favorite of his is
this line from the film “Islands
in the Stream”: I know now that
not one thing is true, but that
everything is true.”
He is enthusiastic about
Elon as a whole. “Elon really
does preach and practice one on
one relationship between stu
dents and professors.” Lee said
the future at Elon will be a bright
one. “Elon is trying to be on the
cutting edge of global curricu
lum and incorporate technol
ogy into the classroom”
Lee takes an interesting
approach to teaching. He would
rather hear his students’
thoughts and ideas rather than
stand in the front of the class
room and lecture. “Education
has to be fun and interesting
and it can’t be all the time,” he
said.
Lee is an educator who
trusts his students and enjoys
interacting with them.
He said, “I feel that most
educators today do not give stu
dents enough credit.”
Lee promised himself that
he would never ignore what his
students could bring to the
classroom.
“Have fun with learning
and do not take it so seriously,”
he said.
Lee is committed to ser
vice, especially here at Elon.
He was the first professor to
teach the winter course: a call
to sevice. His goal during that
class was for the students to
participate in reflective discus
sions and take something away
from it.
He has also been an ad
visor for many of the service
trips.
Kathy Lee, his wife of
22 years, is also a professor at
Elon College. She said, “Ri
chard is interested in every
thing! His vitality for life and
teaching plus his vivacious
personality helps bring his
love of new and challenging
activities into the classroom.
He is always sharing his
interesting reading with his
students,” she said, adding
that he stretches his students’
minds and fulfills their thirst
for knowledge.
Students say they can re
late to Lee as a teacher. “He
represents Elon’s persona of
getting to know the teacher
on a personal level: where the
teacher is more than a teacher
is, he is a friend,” said stu
dent, Amy Collins.
Lee’s advice to students:
“Education is an ongoing pro
cess. Always question things,
and be an advocate for some
thing in your lifetime.”
Pendulum is
looking for
candidates for
the A-listl
To suggest a faculty
or staff member, or a
student who has con
tributed to the Elon
Community, e-mail us
at pendulum@elon.edu
by April 17th.
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