As we welcome new and continuing students to the start of a new academic year, we thought we’d extend a warm welcome to another new Illini, Chancellor Charles Lee Isbell, Jr. In our conversation, he shared a bit about himself as well as some sound advice on the journey of graduate school.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Well, I was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but my earliest memory is arriving in Atlanta in a moving truck when I was three, so I think of myself as being from there. I am a computationalist, researcher, educator, and advocate for the idea that higher education creates opportunity, drives progress, and broadens our understanding of the world. I earned my undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech and graduate degrees from MIT. My research has focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning, with an emphasis on how those systems interact with humans in responsible and inclusive ways.
Because it’s important to have hobbies and interests outside of your work and studies, I will also tell you that I enjoy Ultimate Frisbee and racquetball. Come find me on the courts and on the fields. I currently own 22,546 comic books, but I buy new ones every Wednesday, so that number will likely change by the time you read this.
How did graduate school impact you personally and/or professionally?
Graduate school was where I really learned how to be a researcher. As an undergraduate, you do the important work of absorbing facts and theories, even at a research-oriented place like my alma mater. Grad school is where you start to put information back out to the world. It challenges you at times to be critical of theory, or to think about the facts in new ways. It is a leap that helps you grow as a professional and as a person. It was both a training ground and a place for transformation. Just as importantly, grad school was where I met friends and mentors I still rely on today.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
What makes Illinois distinctive is that we don’t educate you just so you can blend in and join the herd; rather, we create an environment where you can learn. We encourage you to stand out because we know progress happens when you bring your individuality and ideas forward, not when you conform to the status quo. We also recognize that new ideas usually mean making mistakes along the way, and that is an essential part of the learning process.
So, my advice? Try new things. Make mistakes. Remember that you are here to create, not copy.
And what advice do you have for graduate students who are in the thick of it, that place where you are far along but may not quite see the end of the tunnel?
I haven’t met a single master’s student, doctoral student, or post-doc who didn’t feel that way at some point, including myself. We’ve all been there. Know that you are not alone, and you will make it through. Lean on friends, colleagues, and mentors for encouragement and perspective. If you need to, hit the reset button by reminding yourself why you are doing this work and the impact you hope to have… the point of the exercise, after all.
What are you most looking forward to your first year at Illinois?
Illinois is a wonderful university with a wonderful history. There are so many innovations and ideas that took hold here and then went on to change the world: the LED, the third branch of the Tree of Life, the first graphical web browser, and the MRI, just to name a very short list.
While that is inspiring, I am really most excited about the future. This university has a breadth and depth of impact across disciplines that very few others can match. I am most looking forward to the things I don’t yet know, the students I am going to meet, and the impact we’re going to have together. I am listening and learning, and it excites me to hear how passionate our students, staff, faculty, and alumni are about their studies and their work. We are all part of the Illinois story, and what a great and grand story it is.
