Klara Nahrstedt is the Ralph M. and Catherine V. Fisher Professor as well as the Director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She joined the Computer Sciences Department in 1995, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with her Ph.D. in Computer and Information Sciences. Nahrstedt has received a number of awards and accolades for her many accomplishments in the field. She is both an IEEE and ACM Fellow. <strong>
L.C. arrived at the University of Illinois in 2013 as a librarian and enrolled in the PhD program for information science in 2020. In this interview, he explains what it was like growing up in Grovetown, Georgia, shares his educational journey, and discusses his placemaking experiences as a Black transmasculine student and staff member at the University of Illinois.
Laouida Glover was born in Batesville, Mississippi. She was attracted to the University of Illinois through a Project 500 Newspaper flyer promising free tuition for college. Her mother, Thelma Thomas Glover Childress, was active in the Civil Rights Movement. She talks about the influences her upbringing and experiences at the University of Illinois had on her journey to becoming a lawyer.
Leroy McCray is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And even though he had a full-ride Track and Field Scholarship offer from Temple, he didn't want to go to college so close to his high school. His "Welcome to Champaign" included an unfriendly roommate, racial harassment, and a militant police response to a mostly peaceful demonstration at the Illini Union. Leroy's fondest memories at the University of Illinois involved becoming a family with his fellow Project 500 and Black Student Association members.
Leslie Aulls Bryan was the Director of the Institute of Aviation at the University of Illinois from 1946 to 1968. In this interview, he discusses the Institute of Aviation, the development of the University's aeronautics program, related research, and both University Presidents Arthur C. Willard and his own careers in aviation.
