The Next Provost at the University of Chicago

Ka Yee C. Lee has been chosen to be the next provost at the University of Chicago. She will take office on February 1. Dr. Lee is a professor of chemistry and has been serving as vice provost for research.

“It is a great honor and privilege to serve the University as provost,” Dr. Lee said. “The distinctive intellectual environment here is a legacy that we will continue to foster and develop as a community. I am excited to work with colleagues across disciplines to push the frontiers of knowledge, and to ensure that students receive a transformative University of Chicago education.”

Dr. Lee’s research focus lies in the area of membrane biophysics. She is the author or co-author of more than 125 scholarly publications. She joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 1998 as an assistant professor in the department of chemistry and was appointed full professor in 2008. She also has academic appointments in the James Franck Institute and the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics.

Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago stated that Dr. Lee “brings to her leadership as provost deep and broad experiences at the university, the ability to bring people of varied disciplines and perspectives together, and a clear understanding of the University’s values of academic excellence and rigorous inquiry.”

Dr. Lee is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in electrical engineering. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University.