Hi, I'm Chris Kinson!

About Me

I was born and raised in Albany, GA. I attended Albany State University as a Velma F. Grant Honors Scholar, majored in mathematics, and graduated in 2011. During my undergraduate experience, I gained insights about research and graduate school by participating in summer research internships. I realized that I receive joy from helping others, and my capacity to teach and tutor was expanded when I became a First and Second Year Experience peer tutor. Prof. Zephyrinus Okonkwo was my undergraduate advisor and mentor along with Prof. M. H. Talukder who introduced me to statistics.

Entering graduate school was a humbling experience and I was ecstatic to be at the University of Illinois in the Statistics Department. In 2012, I was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. After a few years of coursework and research under the advisement of Prof. Annie Qu, I defended my dissertation in July of 2017 and graduated in August of 2017. After graduation, I joined the faculty in the Department of Statistics as a Visiting Assistant Professor. In the fall of 2018, I began as Teaching Assistant Professor in the department. Additionally, I served as one of the Academic Advisors for the department’s Master’s Program during the years 2018-2020. During the fall of 2023, I was promoted to Teaching Associate Professor.