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David R. Lee, professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, began his role as the first Provost’s Fellow for Internationalization July 1.

David R. Lee, professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and director of the International Relations Minor at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, has been named the first Provost’s Fellow for Internationalization for a two-year term. The appointment was effective July 1, and Lee reports to Fredrik Logevall, vice provost for international affairs.

As a member of Logevall’s leadership team, Lee will work closely with the Einaudi Center and with faculty and staff across Cornell’s colleges and schools to expand undergraduate student engagement. Among other responsibilities, he will co-chair the new Global on Campus Committee charged with reviewing the international content of the undergraduate student experience. By the end of the 2014-15 academic year, the committee is expected to identify strategies that will help Cornell students take full advantage of opportunities available on campus and globally.

“David’s advocacy for international studies and engagement as well as his own teaching, research and service to the field make him the ideal colleague to inaugurate this position,” said Logevall. “His dedication and creativity will bring added energy to our multi-pronged effort to strengthen global Cornell.”

The new Provost’s Fellow position is part of Logevall’s initiative, Call to Action: Advancing Cornell’s International Dimension, that aims to internationalize the student experience, support globally engaged faculty, enhance partnerships abroad, and facilitate coordination and discussion with stakeholders across campus. Among other efforts, Logevall has formed an Internationalization Council comprising senior associate deans from Cornell’s schools and colleges, and an External Advisory Council. In May the first cohort of International Faculty Fellows were chosen.

“I am eager to work with Vice Provost Logevall over the next two years on a variety of projects related to promoting the internationalization of the university,” said Lee. “Cornell has a long and distinguished tradition of international-oriented research and educational programs, as well as generations of committed international alumni. From food security and climate change to global health and terrorism, many of the world’s most pressing challenges are expressly international in scope, as are their solutions.

“As President Skorton indicated in his 2012 white paper, ‘Bringing the World to Cornell and Cornell to the World,’ we must do more to assure that our students are prepared to address the international challenges before us. Cornell is well-positioned to do so. I look forward to contributing to this important effort.”

Lee, who joined the Cornell faculty in 1982, researches the interface between economic development, agriculture and the environment, including food security, agricultural sustainability, technology adoption, climate adaptation and agricultural and environmental policy. He has conducted research or consulted in nearly 30 countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

He has served as a visiting economist in several U.S. government and international agencies and as a visiting professor at universities in the Netherlands, Venezuela, Honduras and Slovakia. Lee has served as an economic consultant and technical adviser to the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., the United Nations Development Programme, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other organizations. In both 2007 and 2011, Lee was a co-recipient of the World Bank’s “Green Award” to recognize excellence in addressing environmental and sustainability concerns.

Lee will continue to lead his teaching and graduate research program during his appointment.