Updated on June 5 at 12:35 p.m. CT
URBANA — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is hiring an administrator from another Big Ten campus to lead the state’s flagship public university.
Charles Lee Isbell Jr. will become the U of I’s 11th chancellor and the University of Illinois System’s vice president. Isbell is currently provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and previously served as dean of the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“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,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said in a news release.
“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.”
Isbell grew up in Atlanta and has a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on social and ethical considerations with artificial intelligence.
The UW-Madison provost will officially step into his new role on August 1 pending confirmation from the Board of Trustees. But he will come to campus in the middle of July to begin the transition from the U of I’s current chancellor, Robert Jones.
Jones is leaving this summer to serve as president at the University of Washington.
He was the first Black chancellor for the U of I — making Isbell the U of I’s second Black chancellor.
“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 in a statement. “I’m energized by this chance to serve the citizens of Illinois and advance the mission of learning, discovery, engagement and economic development.”