FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Joan Lee, PhD, professor of accounting and a Deloitte Fellow in Accounting in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, has been named one of the 50 Best Undergraduate Professors according to Poets and Quants.
The selection process included the evaluation of over 1,000 nominations from around the world, focused on both teaching excellence and research contributions. For its research evaluation, Poets & Quants considered factors such as the volume of a professors Google Scholar citations, media coverage, research and writing awards, and industry impact. Criteria also included teaching awards and professors’ contributions to their schools and departments.
Dr. Lee has been teaching undergraduate students at Fairfield University since 1997, offering courses in Introduction to Financial Accounting, Introduction to Managerial Accounting, and Business Ethics. In her most recent paper, Dr. Lee presents an innovative approach to integrating professional skills (“soft skills”) into accounting education, without compromising technical content. In her business ethics courses, she demonstrates a deep commitment to her students, openly expressing her passion for both their development and the importance of ethics in the curriculum.
Accounting education, Ignatian pedagogy and ethics are key areas of research for Dr. Lee. A licensed CPA in the state of New York, Dr. Lee earned a PhD in accounting from New York University, and an MBA in finance, and a bachelor’s of science in accounting from Fordham University.
Dr. Lee has been widely recognized for her teaching and scholarly contributions. Her accolades include: the Innovation in Accounting Ethics Education Award of the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association (jointly with Dawn Massey) in 2024; the American Accounting Association Outstanding Educator Award in 2019; the Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. Award from Colleagues in Jesuit Business Education in 2014; the Innovation in Accounting Education Award from the American Accounting Association (jointly with Dawn Massey) in 2001. She was named Alpha Sigma Nu Teacher of the Year in 2008 at Fairfield University. Dr. Lee serves on multiple editorial boards of academic journals and is an editor of the Journal of Jesuit Business Education. She is a past president of Colleagues in Jesuit Business Education, and has served on its board since 1999.
Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 44 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 43 countries, are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.