World of Opportunity

July 27, 2004

DR. JAMES MICHAEL LEE, September 29, 1931 - July 15, 2004, RIP

On July 15, 2004, sudden illness struck down our beloved Dr. James Michael Lee, a member of our WOO Community Advisory Board, and a faculty advisor of our program at UAB School of Education.

Dr. Lee's passion was in religious education. Dr. Lee, a devout Catholic, wrote books, articles, and lectured in ecumenical theology as it pertained to education. I had the pleasure of taking two of his secular courses at UAB School of Education; an undergraduate and a graduate course on the foundations of education.

When Dr. Lee entered the classroom, he brought an air of Socratic classiness, scholastic professionalism, a spirit of enthusiasm, pizzaz and gusto like no other professor I had ever experienced. When he marched into the first session, I distinctly remember asking myself, "My oh my, what have I gotten myself into?" He was always dressed impeccably and without the least hesitation observed that I dressed like a "shlump," fondly reminding him of the Catholic Worker movement which he deeply admired. He was as apt to greet you in English as well as in Latin, Italian, German, Russian, and with tremendous thespian bravado. And always with a smile, oblivious to all those that he left bewildered in his wake.

The first thing which he told his class, as he adjusted his shirt collar and tie in Dangerfield-esque fashion was, "If you are not becoming a teacher to be a student advocate, then you will fail miserably in your profession. You are wasting your time being here." I was stunned. Could this be? Did he really mean this?

Yes, it could be. He meant every word of it. Dr. Lee was a genuine student advocate who believed in the right of every student in this land to receive a quality education. He developed these beliefs during his work with public school students in New York and other urban school districts some three decades ago.

When Dr. Lee learned about the tragedy of the 522 students who were pushed out of Birmingham high schools in 2000 to raise SAT-9 scores, he was outraged. He recruited me to his local lecture circuit because he wanted his students to have an appreciation for what they were up against as student advocates. From each presentation I made each semester to his class, at least one volunteer tutor came forward to assist our students at the World of Opportunity (WOO). That delighted him.

Even after he retired last year, Dr. Lee navigated us through the grant writing and research avenues of the School of Education and encouraged those departments to assist the WOO. Thanks to Dr. Lee and Dean Michael Froning, Lee's successor, Dr. Andrew McKnight, has been a real source of assistance and encouragement to students at the WOO.

The legacy which Dr. Lee has left for the students of the WOO are his views on compassion and education. In an article he wrote for an anthology, Compassionate Ministry, Religious Education Press, 1993, Dr. Lee explained that love and compassion cannot be taught statically in a classroom. My humanist interpretation of Dr. Lee's theological writing is that compassion and love can be encouraged by instructors, but can only be internalized (incrementally and then qualitatively) by students (and teachers) in practical everyday life. That is why peer mentoring, community service, restorative justice, and civic courage are strong themes at the WOO. Compassion is as much (or more) a part of our curriculum as is ratios, percents or dreadful dangling past participles.

We shall miss Dr. Lee. Our heartfelt thoughts are extended to his wife, Marlene, and their sons, James, Michael, and Patrick Lee.