Brenda Lee named RIT's 2018 Minett Professor

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Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee, a medical educator and medical school administrator, was appointed the 2018 Frederick H. Minett Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Lee has previously served appointments at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. In 1987, she was appointed as an assistant professor in the Division of the Medical Humanities and the assistant dean for medical education and student affairs at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (URSMD). She held a permanent appointment on the URSMD Admissions Committee, designed an annual African American History Seminar Series and was a member of the Double Helix Curriculum’s Diversity Theme.

The Minett Professorship brings distinguished Rochester-area multicultural professionals to the RIT campus to share their professional knowledge and experience with RIT’s students, faculty and staff for one academic year. Minett Professors are selected by the Minett Professor Emeritus, then appointed by RIT President David Munson and Keith Jenkins, RIT’s vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion.

“We are excited to welcome Brenda Lee to the RIT family as the 2018 Minett Professor,” said Jenkins. “She has been a visible and contributing member of the greater Rochester Community for many years, having served on the Black Scholars Steering Committee, the Board of Managers of the Memorial Art Gallery and as a current member of the Board of Ethics of the Town of Brighton, New York. We now welcome her valuable contributions to RIT.”

In her role as Minett Professor, Lee aims to help prepare RIT students who wish to continue their studies at medical school with the admissions process and mentor student groups including Women of Color, Honor and Ambition (WOCHA). Lee will also deliver a talk as part of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Series from 1 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28.

“It is a distinct honor to serve as the 2018 Minett Professor,” said Lee. “I look forward with enthusiasm to collaborating with members of the RIT community to advance institutional goals and transform lives.”

Lee is the 26th Minett Professor at RIT, and those who have served in the position include many of Rochester’s most prominent business, academic, medical and law enforcement professionals, including Melisza Campos, Dale Carnegie master trainer and now with Wegmans Food Markets, Store Operations (2016-17 Minett Professor); Jerome Underwood, newly appointed CEO and president of Action for a Better Community (ABC); Essie Calhoun-McDavid, retired chief diversity officer and director of community affairs, Eastman Kodak, and member, RIT Board of Trustees; Augustin Melendez, chief human resource officer at Hillside Family of Agencies; G. Peter Jemison, manager of the Ganondagan National Historic Site, central to the Seneca Nation; James Norman, retired president and CEO, Action for a Better Community; Teresa Johnson, Rochester City Court Judge; and Pete Otero, retired executive dean, Monroe Community College, Damon City Campus.