Professor Rance P.L. Lee joined the Planning Committee of Wu Yee Sun College in 2007 to deliberate on the mission and vision of this new College, and was invited to serve as the Founding Master of the College from 2011 until his retirement in July 2017.
Professor Lee graduated from the Department of Sociology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Chung Chi College) in 1965. After obtaining his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968, he immediately returned to Hong Kong to teach sociology at his Alma Mater. He became Chair Professor of Sociology in 1984. During his long service as faculty member, he took on many administrative duties on top of teaching and research responsibilities at the university: he served variously as Director of the Social Research Centre, Dean of Social Science, Chairman of the Department of Sociology, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Continuing and Professional Studies, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Physical Education, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies. The highlight of his services, however, was his tenure as Head of Chung Chi College from 1994 to 2004, in which he contributed much not only to Chung Chi College, but to the overall development of the university's college system.
Professor Lee was a pioneer in medical and health sociology in Hong Kong, and led many surveys on social issues and medical problems in both Hong Kong and China. As an academic, his services to the community included advising government bodies as well as other community organizations including: the Central Policy Unit, the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Research Grants Council, the Advisory Committee on Social Work Training and Manpower Planning, the Council on Human Reproductive Technology, the Health Services Research Committee, the Police Education and Welfare Trust Management Committee, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention, the Release Under Supervision Board, the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Council, and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel. In 1992, Professor Lee was appointed as Non-official Justice of the Peace, was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. He was conferred Honorary Fellowship by CUHK in 2010.