Lee University held its second annual Ollie J. Lee Symposium to honor Distinguished Professor of Sociology Dr. Ollie Lee. Showcasing original student research, the symposium was hosted by the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
More than 30 students from the anthropology, psychology and sociology disciplines made a wide range of academic and poster presentations to an audience of faculty members and students.
“I was really impressed with the quality of our students’ research,” said Dr. Jeff Sargent, department chair of Behavioral and Social Sciences. “They exhibited a level of expertise and sophistication that is not often observed in undergraduate students. I believe this demonstrates that our faculty is appropriately challenging our students to develop into social scientists.”
Dr. Lee joined the Lee faculty in 1967 and has served for 44 years in numerous roles, including vice president of Academic Affairs, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences. He now serves as professor emeritus.
“Ollie Lee has been very influential during the critical periods of Lee’s transition from a college to a university,” said Dr. Carolyn Dirksen, vice president of Academic Affairs. “The Lee University of 2012 is significantly different from the Lee College of 1967, and much of the hard, behind-the-scenes work of that transformation has been done by Ollie Lee.”