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Isiah Warner sites cotton fields as his childhood mentor Warner, LSU Boyd Professor and vice chancellor for strategic initiatives, grew up in the small segregated community of Bunkie, Louisiana, and was the first in his family to attend college. “I didn’t even know what a Ph.D. was, but I had people who told me my dreams were too low,” Warner said. After accepting a full scholarship to Southern University, a historically African American university in Baton Rouge, Warner was introduced to the prospect of obtaining a Ph.D. He received his doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Washington before teaching at Texas A&M and Emory Universities. Although internationally known for his research in spectroscopy and chiral molecules, Warner says his first love is working with students. “I can’t seem to get away from the students,” he said. “They make me feel young. I love interacting with students.” Warner sees teaching as a function of research and has effectively combined both aspects. “Research is not separate from teaching,” Warner said. “Granting agencies have focused so much money and time on research, now it’s time to develop better teaching methods. In the area of better teaching methods, Dr. Saundra McGuire has become my mentor.” Because of his combined dedication to teaching, scientific research,
and mentoring, Warner was named a Howard
Hughes Medical Institution (HHMI) Professor in 2002. This honor,
which includes a $1 million grant, was awarded to only 20 professors
in the country. Warner, in collaboration with McGuire, director
of the LSU Center for Academic
Success, will use the funding to develop a program to integrate
research, education, and peer mentoring. HHMI professors are challenged to bring as much innovation and creativity into teaching science as they use doing research in the laboratory. HHMI’s ultimate goal is to increase the number of science, math, engineering, and technology students going on to graduate school. Warner will create a mentoring ladder involving graduate students, undergraduates, high school students, and elementary students. Su-Seng Pang, George Stanley, Albertha Lawson, Lisa Batiste-Evans, and McGuire make up the team of LSU employees that Warner has assembled to implement and assess the HHMI program. Together they will create a system that provides mentoring, teaching, and learning opportunities for students in elementary school through graduate school. When asked how he manages to balance the research, teaching, and mentoring, Warner said his secret is surrounding himself with really good people. “I have an excellent staff and stellar graduate students,” Warner bragged. “And I’m good at delegating.” Written by Moira Parker | University
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“I
hated working in the cotton fields,” 
He
joined the LSU faculty in 1992, and served as chair of the 
