About

Roy Y. Chan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Education and Ed.D. Program Director in the Helen DeVos College of Education at Lee University, Tennessee. He currently teaches graduate-level courses on action research methods, doctoral seminar in professional practice, dissertation proposal development, introduction to U.S. Christian colleges and universities, higher education practicum, leadership theory and practice in education, diversity and inclusion in the classroom, and introduction to comparative and international education. His research agenda broadly focuses on college retention and completion, graduate and professional education, online and distance education, and international higher education.

Prior to his academic appointment in 2021, Roy served as the Director of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) at Lee, where he led the renewal of a 5-year grant of $1.3 million funded by the U.S. Department of Education. At that time of his appointment, Roy was recognized by the Council for Opportunity in Education as the first ‘Asian American male’ to serve as a TRIO SSS Director in the United States, and the only Chinese American male to successfully lead a TRIO SSS program at any U.S. public or private university since its founding in 1968.

Roy is an active member of ACSD, AEFP, ASHE, AERA, ACPA, CIES, and NASPA. He has published peer-reviewed journal articles in Research in Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education, and Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, and has served as a Reviewer for the AERA Open, Journal of International Students, and Journal of First-Generation Student Success. Roy currently serves as Chair of the AERA Division J Dissertation of the Year Award, Immediate Past Chair of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Study Abroad and International Students (SAIS) Special Interest Group (SIG), and Editorial Board of the Research in Higher Education and Journal of Postsecondary Student Success. Roy also serves as a Director of Book Publications at the STAR Scholars Press, Council Member of the Doctoral Education Council at Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), and At-Large Member of the Indiana University Asian American Pacific Islander Alumni Association.

Roy is the author of ChatGPT and Global Higher Education: Using Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning by STAR Scholars Press (2024), Rethinking Hybrid and Remote Work in Higher Education: Global Perspectives, Policies, and Practices after COVID-19 by Palgrave Macmillan (2023), and Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during COVID-19: International Perspectives and Experiences by Routledge (2022). He holds a Ph.D. degree in History, Philosophy, and Policy in Education with a Graduate Certificate in Institutional Research from Indiana University Bloomington, a M.A. degree in Higher Education Administration from Boston College, a M.Ed. degree in Comparative Higher Education from The University of Hong Kong, and a B.A. degree in Criminology, Law & Society from the University of California, Irvine.

In 2024, the Cleveland Daily Banner named Roy as “20 under 40” most influential community leader in the city of Cleveland, TN.

During his free time, Roy enjoys traveling, kayaking, baking holiday cookies, visiting art galleries and museums, and volunteering at his local church.