Throughout his career, Dr. Robert E. Lee has demonstrated a passion for public service and for educating the next generation of local government leaders. As an associate professor at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), he has earned the respect and appreciation of his past and current students and recognition from his professional colleagues and peers.

Before joining FGCU in 2007, Dr. Lee held local government management positions, including city manager, in Pennsylvania and Florida—experience he draws on in designing his courses. His contributions are described here in terms of teaching, scholarship, and service.

Teaching. Dr. Lee’s colleagues and students describe him as exceptionally thoughtful, insightful, and student-centered in his teaching. He has taught core and specialized elective courses in FGCU’s master of public administration graduate program, covering introductory and advanced topics and incorporating both scholarly and applied professional content. He has overseen and advised students throughout their academic careers and internships and well beyond their time in the classroom. Former students say he has had a transformative impact on their lives and subsequent careers, as he remains an active resource and advocate for them. The Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA) recognized him with the Michael J. Roberto Award for Career Development in 2015. Further evidence of his success as a teacher is the number of highly competitive state-level scholarships that FCCMA has awarded to Lee’s former graduate students.

Scholarship. Dr. Lee has co-authored scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as practitioner-oriented articles and book chapters for the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), the Florida League of Cities (FLC), and ICMA. For ICMA, he has published in PM magazine and co-edited a revised edition of The Effective Local Government Manager. The National Council on Public History awarded him the 2017 Michael C. Robin-son Prize for outstanding historical analysis that contributes directly to the formation of public policy. He also has an ongoing appointment as a research partner with the FLC Center for Municipal Research.

Service. At FGCU, Dr. Lee has served capably as the MPA program’s graduate coordinator—a job that involves crucial recruitment, admissions, advising, and internship supervision, as well as extensive and time-consuming outreach work with the local government and nonprofit administrators serving on the program’s External Relations Council. He has served as the department’s point person for FGCU’s post-baccalaureate local government management certificate program since its inception, and he has served for years as a member of the College of Arts and Science Student Affairs Team. He has also been the faculty advisor for the ICMA Student Chapter at FGCU. In addition to providing the chapter’s members with networking and professional development opportunities, he has assisted them in designing and administering professional workshops on such topics as government ethics, water quality, hurricane preparedness and disaster response, and collaboration between local governments and nonprofit organizations. These workshops are well attended by graduate students and local government and nonprofit administrators.

However, where Dr. Lee’s service commitments and achievements have been most impressive is in the realm of professional service. He has served for years as a member of ICMA’s Graduate Education Committee; and regularly teaches short courses on “Building Your City Team” at the FLC Institute for Elected Municipal Officials, delivers “Cities 101” training at the FLC’s annual conference, presents a program on budget training at the Florida Association of City Clerks Academy, provides state-mandated ethics training to city and county officials in several Florida locations, and administers the week-long Florida Association of Special Districts annual certification program. He also serves as an instructor for the FLC “boot camp” for new city managers and as a presenter on “Florida Local Government 101” at programs organized by organizations such as the Bonita Springs Alliance for Constructive Dialogue and Action.

In summary, Dr. Robert Lee has been highly successful in teaching, scholarship, and service. He combines professional experience in local government management, scholarly acumen, and unflagging commitment to the education of students pursuing careers in local government.