Charles Lee Isbell Jr., a leading computer scientist, academic innovator and provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will become the 11th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and vice president of the University of Illinois System, U of I System President Tim Killeen announced today.
Isbell will formally assume the role Aug. 1, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. He will serve in a designate capacity beginning July 16 as current Chancellor Robert Jones completes his term.
Killeen said Isbell’s appointment follows an extensive national search that attracted a diverse and highly qualified pool of candidates from across the country. Throughout the process, Isbell emerged as a standout — for his academic prowess, leadership experience, collaborative spirit, vision and passion for the transformative role of public higher education.
“As I grew to know Dr. Isbell, I soon realized that he should be the next chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has a clear, creative and inspiring vision for what public higher education can and should be and for how this great university will continue to work for the people of our state in the years ahead,” Killeen said. “He brings a deep understanding of not only technology and its fast-evolving, far-reaching impacts, but also the vast range of disciplines that are integral to any great university and our society — the arts and humanities, the social sciences, STEM and so many more.
“Ultimately, I am thrilled to welcome Charles to Illinois and eager to work together to ensure that Urbana-Champaign continues to be a thriving hub of educational excellence and groundbreaking research across its incredible range of disciplines, a place where the future we need comes to life,” Killeen added.
Isbell, 56, brings more than two decades of experience in higher education leadership, research and innovation. As provost at Wisconsin, he has guided the university’s academic mission across all schools and colleges, launched innovative academic initiatives and worked to strengthen graduate education and research excellence.
At the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he spent 20 years, he served as executive associate dean and later dean of the College of Computing. There, he helped grow the college into one of the largest and most diverse computing programs in the nation and played a key role in launching the university’s groundbreaking Online Master of Science in Computer Science program — the first of its kind offered at scale by a leading research university.
As chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Isbell will lead a top-ranked public research university with more than 56,000 students and nearly 13,000 faculty members and staff.
He brings a collaborative spirit to the leadership of the university’s next era of innovation, excellence and impact.
“It’s the honor of a lifetime to be appointed to the role of chancellor and I’m deeply grateful to President Killeen and the Board of Trustees,” Isbell said. “I’m energized by this chance to serve the citizens of Illinois and advance the mission of learning, discovery, engagement and economic development.”
Hailing from Atlanta, Isbell earned a bachelor’s degree in information and computer science from Georgia Tech and completed his master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research in artificial intelligence and machine learning has focused on interactive and human-centered systems, with applications in education, ethics and social impact. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery, an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has written more than 100 academic papers.
Isbell is also a nationally recognized advocate for broadening participation in STEM fields, particularly in computing. His efforts to create more inclusive academic pathways have influenced national conversations on the importance of making a way for all to access, contribute to and benefit from technology education. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.
Isbell and his wife, Sheila, have two children, Cody and Joni.
