Dr. Charles Lee Isbell Jr.In a move that signals both continuity and transformation in higher education leadership, Dr. Charles Lee Isbell Jr. has been named the 11th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, bringing with him a distinguished record of academic innovation and an unwavering commitment to expanding access in STEM fields.
The appointment, announced by University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen, represents more than just a leadership transition. It marks the arrival of a scholar-administrator whose career has been defined by his efforts to democratize technology education and create pathways for underrepresented students in computing and artificial intelligence.
Isbell, currently serving as provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will formally assume his new role on August 1. The 56-year-old computer scientist brings more than two decades of experience in higher education leadership to one of the nation’s premier public research institutions.
What sets Isbell apart in the landscape of academic leadership is his dual expertise in cutting-edge technology and social justice advocacy. As a Fellow of both the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery, his technical credentials are impeccable. Yet it’s his work as a nationally recognized advocate for broadening participation in STEM fields that may prove most transformative for Illinois.
“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,” the university noted in announcing his appointment, highlighting work that has garnered attention from major national publications.
This focus on inclusion comes at a critical time for higher education, as universities nationwide grapple with questions of access, affordability, and representation in rapidly evolving technological fields. Isbell’s approach has been to build bridges rather than barriers, recognizing that the future of computing depends on drawing talent from all corners of society.
Isbell’s innovative approach to education was perhaps most visible during his tenure at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he spent 20 years climbing the academic ranks. As dean of the College of Computing, he helped transform the program into one of the largest and most diverse computing programs in the nation—a testament to his ability to scale inclusive excellence.
His most groundbreaking achievement at Georgia Tech was the launch of the university’s Online Master of Science in Computer Science program, the first of its kind offered at scale by a leading research university. The program broke new ground in making graduate-level computer science education accessible to students who might otherwise be excluded by geography, work schedules, or financial constraints.
This innovation in educational delivery demonstrates Isbell’s understanding that true accessibility requires not just opening doors but reimagining how those doors function. The success of the Georgia Tech program has since influenced online graduate education across the country, proving that rigorous academic standards and broad accessibility need not be mutually exclusive.
Killeen’s enthusiasm for Isbell’s appointment centers on his “clear, creative and inspiring vision for what public higher education can and should be.”
“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,” Killeen noted, emphasizing Isbell’s appreciation for the interconnectedness of academic disciplines.
This interdisciplinary perspective may prove crucial as Illinois faces the challenges common to public research universities: maintaining excellence while expanding access, securing adequate funding while controlling costs, and preparing students for a rapidly changing economy while preserving the liberal arts traditions that create engaged citizens.
Isabell said that he is excited to take the helm of a university with more than 56,000 students and nearly 13,000 faculty and staff.
“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 upon his appointment. “I’m energized by this chance to serve the citizens of Illinois and advance the mission of learning, discovery, engagement and economic development.”
April 7, 2025, by Dean Hoke: This profile of Washington and Lee University is the eighth in a series presenting small colleges throughout the United States.
Background
Founded in 1749, Washington and Lee University (W&L) is a private liberal arts college located in Lexington, Virginia. With a 325-acre campus in the Shenandoah Valley, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the U.S. Originally Augusta Academy, it became Washington College after George Washington’s 1796 gift. It later took on its current name in honor of Robert E. Lee, who served as president following the Civil War. The school became coeducational in 1985 and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges nationally. The President of Washington and Lee since 2017 is William (Will) Dudley.
W&L enrolls approximately 1,900 undergraduates and 375 law students. The university boasts an 8:1 student-faculty ratio and an average class size of 15. The university is renowned for its rigorous academics, a single-sanction honor system, and a strong emphasis on ethical leadership and community.
Curricula
W&L offers 36 majors and 41 minors across disciplines such as the humanities, sciences, arts, business, journalism, and engineering. It’s the only leading liberal arts college with accredited undergraduate programs in business and journalism. Students can pursue either a B.A. or B.S. degree and are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary interests. Popular majors include Business Administration, Economics, Political Science, and interdisciplinary areas such as Environmental Studies and Poverty Studies. Signature programs include the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability, combining classroom learning with community engagement on social justice issues. Over 60% of undergraduates study abroad, and a significant number participate in internships and research, often supported by university grants.
Strengths
Exceptional Outcomes and Opportunities: W&L’s four-year graduation rate is about 92%, and over 93% of graduates secure employment or enter graduate school within six months of graduation. They are a top producer of Fulbright scholars and other fellowship winners, reflecting the high caliber of their students and the support they receive in pursuing global opportunities.
Academic Excellence: W&L consistently ranks among the top liberal arts schools in the United States. It has been ranked #9 by US News and World Report in Best Small Colleges in America and #9 for best liberal arts colleges. The school consistently ranks among the top producers of Fulbright and other prestigious fellowships.
Experiential Learning: The unique Spring Term and emphasis on study abroad (60%+ participation) offer high-impact, immersive educational experiences. Programs like the Shepherd Poverty Program and community-based internships promote civic learning.
Financial Strength: With a $2 billion endowment (roughly $900,000 per student), W&L offers strong financial aid and has a need-blind admissions policy for most domestic and international applicants.
Weaknesses
Exclusivity: W&L has historically attracted a particular student demographic and features a social scene dominated by Greek life, which presents challenges in broadening campus culture. Approximately 75% of undergraduates join fraternities or sororities—one of the highest Greek participation rates in the nation. This deep-rooted Greek presence contributes to close social bonds and robust alumni networks. Still, it can also create a perception of social exclusivity for Students who do not participate in Greek life.
Historical Legacy and Diversity Challenges: W&L grapples with aspects of its historic legacy that pose modern challenges. The institution’s very name honors Robert E. Lee, and debates have occurred over whether to rename the university, given Lee’s ties to the Confederacy and slavery. In 2020, campus discussions on this issue drew national attention and revealed divisions among stakeholders. The cultural transition – shedding outdated perceptions and ensuring that students from all backgrounds feel fully welcome – remains an ongoing challenge for Washington and Lee.
Economic Impact
W&L is not only an academic institution but also a major economic engine for Lexington and the surrounding Shenandoah Valley. In addition to educating students, W&L significantly boosts the local economy through employment, spending, and partnerships. The university is one of the largest employers in the region, with roughly 870 faculty and staff. A comprehensive economic impact study in 2010 found that W&L was responsible for over $225 million in economic activity in the region in a single year.
Enrollment Trends
As of Fall 2024, Washington and Lee’s total undergraduate enrollment stands at 1,866 undergraduate students, with an additional 355 students in the law school. Over the past decade, undergraduate enrollment has remained stable.
The undergraduate acceptance rate has declined from 24% to 14% over the past five years, reflecting increased selectivity. The gender balance has also shifted to slightly favor women (51%). The university maintains a first-year retention rate of 96-98% and six-year graduation rates remain steady between 93% and 95%, reflecting a high level of student satisfaction and institutional support.
Degrees Awarded by Major
In the Class of 2020 -21, W&L conferred degrees across a wide spectrum of majors. Below is a breakdown by number of degrees awarded that year:
Return of Investment
According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s study, Ranking 4,600 Colleges by ROI (2025), W&L offers a strong return on investment. In this study, ROI is calculated as the difference between a graduate’s cumulative earnings over time and the total out-of-pocket cost of attending college, which refers to the net cost after accounting for grants and scholarships.
For students earning a bachelor’s degree, W&L’s median ROI significantly exceeds the average for private nonprofit colleges, both in the short and long term.
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, analysis of U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data, 2009–2022.
Alumni
W&L boasts a vibrant alumni network that is both tightly knit and far-reaching. There are over 25,000 living W&L alumni worldwide, spread across all 50 states and dozens of countries. Alumni often refer to themselves as “Generals” (after the school’s athletic moniker) and maintain strong ties to the institution long after graduation.
Notable Alumni: W&L’s alumni list includes prominent figures in law, government, business, journalism, literature, and the arts:
Lewis F. Powell Jr. (Class of 1929; Law 1931): Was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice (served 1972–1987) . Justice Powell was one of three Supreme Court justices who attended Washington and Lee.
Tom Wolfe (Class of 1951): Best-selling author and journalist, pioneer of the “New Journalism” movement. Wolfe wrote influential works like The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities, and is an icon in American literature.
Roger Mudd (Class of 1950): Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist. Mudd was a longtime CBS News correspondent and anchor known for his work on CBS Evening News and documentaries.
Joseph L. Goldstein (Class of 1962): Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research in cholesterol metabolism.
Warren A. Stephens (Class of 1979): Chairman, president, and CEO of Stephens Inc., President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Rob Ashford (Class of 1982): A renowned choreographer and director, Ashford is an eight-time Tony Award nominee (winning one), a five-time Olivier Award nominee, and an Emmy Award winner.
Linda Klein (Class of 1983): American Lawyer and past president of the American Bar Association.
Endowment and Financial Standing
W&L’s financial foundation is exceptionally strong for a liberal arts institution of its size. As of 2024, W&L’s endowment is nearly $2.0 billion, placing it among the top liberal arts college endowments in the nation (and even comparable to some mid-sized research universities).
In a typical year, endowment earnings contribute roughly 40-50% of the university’s operating budget. The 2023 analysis by Forbes rated W&L a solid “B+” in financial health (score of about 3.34 out of 4.5)
Why is Washington & Lee Important?
Academic Excellence & Ethical Leadership: W&L exemplifies a liberal arts education that blends intellectual rigor with character development. Its Honor System promotes integrity and responsibility, shaping graduates who lead with both intellect and ethics.
Graduate Success & Influence: With 93% of graduates employed or in grad school within six months, W&L delivers top-tier outcomes. Alumni go on to excel in law, government, business, journalism, medicine, and the arts—many serving as civic leaders, mentors, and public servants.
Economic & Cultural Impact: Though small, W&L plays a major role in the Shenandoah Valley. It creates jobs, draws thousands of visitors annually, and enriches the area culturally with events, lectures, and museums. Its partnership with the local community strengthens regional vitality.
Access & Forward-Thinking Values: W&L’s need-blind admissions and robust financial aid reflect its commitment to affordability and inclusivity. It ranks highly for free speech and integrates modern disciplines like data science and entrepreneurship into a classic liberal arts framework, demonstrating how tradition and innovation can thrive together.
With its blend of tradition and innovation, W&L continues to influence American higher education. It upholds the time-honored virtues of a liberal arts college—close mentoring, a broad education, honor, and civility—while evolving to meet contemporary challenges by opening doors to more students and engaging with real-world issues. W&L remains a cornerstone institution among small colleges, illustrating the enduring importance of the liberal arts model in shaping thoughtful, responsible citizens.
Dean Hoke is Managing Partner of Edu Alliance Group, a higher education consultancy, and a Senior Fellow with the Sagamore Institute. He formerly served as President/CEO of the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA). With decades of experience in higher education leadership, consulting, and institutional strategy, he brings a wealth of knowledge on small colleges’ challenges and opportunities. Dean, along with Kent Barnds, is a co-host for the podcast series Small College America.
Last time we checked in with Lee Bradshaw, the founding CEO of Rhodes Advisors, he shared insights into how universities might grow online programs without breaking the bank. As a follow-up, I wanted to pick Lee’s brain about what he is hearing from the higher education leaders he works with on the evolving online program landscape.
Q: As the online program ecosystem has grown and a few large universities have invested heavily in scaling their offerings, do you still see room for colleges and universities to enter the online degree market?
A: Yes, the demand is still there, but the landscape has changed. We’re supporting universities launching new programs that achieve substantial first-term numbers—even in saturated markets. Growth is happening, but expecting 1,000 percent five-year ROIs like a decade ago isn’t realistic. Universities must temper expectations and/or focus on innovative, sustainable wins. That said, as we address in your third question later, I’m unaware of many investments an institution can make that carry a 275 percent ROI over five years.
If institutions want to launch online degrees that start strong and stay strong, here are four things they should prioritize.
Market research that drives big decisions. Legacy OPMs excelled at data-driven market research before launching a program. Universities taking control of their growth need to do the same. Predictive, high-quality market research isn’t cheap or easy, but it’s indispensable. I’m bullish on how AI-facilitated deep research is advancing—within two years, I expect the cost to drop by 90 percent or more. However, the need for sound, evidence-based planning remains the same.
Regionalization for most institutions. The earliest entrants focused on scaling national brands. But for universities growing in-house, regional strategies pay off, too. Think targeted regional marketing, employer partnerships tied to local workforce needs and even weaving apprenticeships or other learn-and-earn models directly into degree pathways. It’s not about being everywhere—it’s about playing to your strengths in your region.
Breaking down silos to build relevant programs. One trend I like and am supporting is cross-campus collaborations leading to hybrid or interdisciplinary graduate programs. Northeastern’s combined majors model is well-known in undergraduate circles. We’re seeing more deans replicate that at the graduate level—joint programs, additional tracks and revenue-sharing agreements between schools. They’re savvy partnerships that pull together institutional strengths rather than competing internally.
Scrutinize your tech stack. When I started the company, I assumed going inside universities would be illuminating. I wasn’t prepared for the delta in capability between OPM and campus technology stacks. Technology should be frictionless to the point that it’s invisible. And you should feel your stack moving from software as a service to results as a service. Before spending hundreds of thousands or millions in digital marketing to grow, I suggest a rigorous evaluation and professionally led tech discovery phase before doing any significant online endeavors. We’ve begun doing assessment and development work on Salesforce, Slate, WordPress, Drupal and more to unlock technological gains for our partners. Candidly, it wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card. But it’s critical work, so we had to add it as a service.
Q: Given the pricing pressures on online degrees, with some well-known universities offering sub-$30,000 online master’s, how might institutions unable to offer lower-cost online degrees compete?
A: Josh, I founded my first business in high school and my second in college—so I always nerd out on the entrepreneurial edges of higher education. And, of course, I’m in favor of lowering the cost of degrees while preserving quality. Some innovative higher education leaders and friends I deeply respect have entered the low-cost arena. They’ve gone to market with the support of MOOC platforms, which point millions of course takers’ eyes to the programs.
And if you’ve spent enough time around John Katzman, you’ve probably heard him say, “Low cost generally means low faculty.” That’s stuck with me. So, if that’s the architecture, we need to ask ourselves where the “low-faculty” model can work before stripping away any components required for quality learning outcomes. For example, I wouldn’t point that strategy at clinical nursing, education or health sciences degrees anytime soon. And frankly, we haven’t seen rigorous, long-term research on these $30,000 degrees yet, outside of self-published enrollment and graduation rates. Before diving in headfirst, I’d argue it’s worth conducting objective studies on the ROI for learners.
To your question about institutions that might not have access to that scale, I’d advise them to call me. My team will sign an NDA and pressure-test their plan as a favor. I won’t tiptoe around this: I predict a MOOC-fed degree correction within a year from now. So, Rhodes Advisors is architecting solutions that leverage a next-gen course platform, AI-guided admissions and fresh tactics to drive lead volume, should that correction happen.
MOOC platforms (and, to an extent, significant B2B relationships) are the only proven route for low-cost degrees to compete at scale in the hand-to-hand combat environment of online degree growth. Why? Fundamentally, platforms reduce your marketing overhead and let you tap into sophisticated conversion practices they’ve been working hard on.
If you’re using a low-cost degree to serve a mission-driven purpose, you don’t need millions of learners from a platform. I’d suggest covering the delta in tuition with a foundation or donor. And I’d focus heavily on messaging and positioning so learners see you’ve struck the right balance between value and price. Rhodes Advisors is often brought in to do that work, too.
Q: Let’s talk numbers. Say a university wants to build a new online master’s degree or certificate program. How much money does developing, launching, recruiting and running that program cost? To set some boundaries, let’s say that the online master’s tuition is about $50,000 and the target enrollment at steady state is 150. Help us understand the economics of the online learning business.
A: I prefer talking numbers and using them to cut through the noise, so I’m glad you went there. We’ve recently run this analysis for several universities evaluating alternative revenue strategies. I’ll extend this answer beyond the basic analysis data and into some significant trends I’m seeing that your readers will find helpful.
But first, any degree analysis requires a few caveats—there are a lot of variables when estimating costs to launch a stand-alone program. But assuming you have a competent tech stack, a skilled team and you’re building something the market favors, you can launch a 30-credit online master’s degree for roughly $900,000 to $1.2 million in the early years before breaking even as enrollment comes in. As your readers know, most of those costs fall into course development, faculty compensation and marketing/enrollment services. Assuming steady demand, the five-year ROI will land around 275 percent, or about $3.7 million. Anyone quoting a smaller up-front investment number is likely at a small private with fully centralized operations—or running programs with a few dozen students, not 150-plus as you asked about. And anyone quoting a significantly larger ROI has been lucky enough to find a niche.
On the certificate side, launching a 12-credit stand-alone certificate typically requires $200,000 to $400,000 up front, with a best-case five-year ROI of around 70 percent or $500,000 total return. But certificates face steeper competition: They’re up against degrees in the digital keyword bids, and the market heavily favors industry certifications (Google, Microsoft, etc.) or programs offered by elite universities in business, tech, or licensure-required fields. So, while master’s degrees demand more up front, long-term economics almost always favor them.
Reducing costs while maintaining growth has never been more critical than it is in 2025. Improving ROI, especially in new ventures, requires scrutinizing every operational lever—especially in learning design, marketing and enrollment management. There are two things I’m seeing play out that have a material impact on efficiency:
Integrating core online and in-person program operations and functions like admissions, recruitment, student services, alumni affairs and career services has become essential. When universities unify these areas, they eliminate redundancies, lower operational costs and deliver a seamless experience for students moving between all modalities. That said, I typically see skill and knowledge gaps surface quickly when tasking a residentially focused function with online program efforts, so we’ll usually dedicate capacity-building and training efforts during a transitional period.
Anywhere AI can streamline effort or lower direct costs should be surfaced immediately and prioritized. For instance, we’ve worked closely with the University of Virginia this year, and they have been able to drive down centralized course production directionally by applying AI tools in specific and strategic ways. Another partner is preparing to launch a master’s degree in our co-pilot DIY model, intentionally designing enrollment operations to be AI-first. Applicants interact with an AI chat bot to handle basic program details before reaching a human adviser. Early signs suggest that approach will cut costs by more than 50 percent—though we’ll let the data speak as it matures.
I hope this check-in was helpful. And I’d love to come back and share more as we continue down an exciting and fulfilling path at Rhodes Advisors!
IHEC Blog a project by David Comp: Lee Satterfield, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, International Education Week 2023 Message
