Former Design Department Chair for the Yale School of Drama Ming Cho Lee will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 67th annual Tony Awards this June.

The 82-year-old long-time Yale professor has been with the School of Drama since 1969 and is the current Donald M. Oenslager Professor of Design. In addition to designing numerous shows both on and off Broadway, Lee designed the Metropolitan Opera as well as numerous operas, ballet and theater stages.  He was has previously received the Tony Award for best scenic design, and has been honored with the Drama Desk and Helen Hayes awards.

“The role of the designer in presentational theatre is far more exciting than the designing of pictures,” Lee told Theater Magazine in 1970. “It is the determination of an environment.”

Lee will accept the accolade at the Tony Awards on June 9.

ANYA GRENIER