Robert A. Lue, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, passed away in November 2020. Rob fostered innovative teaching in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), elevating its profile on campus. Rob taught in undergraduate courses from 1988 until his death, garnering recognition as one of Harvard’s foremost leaders in undergraduate education.
Prior to his teaching career, Rob earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University, creating a longstanding passion for and commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and research. From 2004 to 2015, he served as the director of Life Sciences Education at Harvard, where he led a complete redesign of the introductory curriculum leading to some of the most popular science courses on campus. In 2012, Rob became the faculty director of HarvardX due to his extensive work in using technology innovations in learning. At HarvardX, Harvard’s university-wide initiative that includes the edX partnership in online education with MIT, he helped define the university’s engagement in online learning in a way that reinforces its commitment to teaching excellence. He also served as the UNESCO Chair on Life Sciences and Social Innovation; and as faculty director and principal investigator of LabXchange, an online science education platform. In addition to his final role as the faculty director of the Harvard Ed Portal, Rob worked on integrating undergraduate education with community outreach on Harvard’s Allston campus.
