UW-Madison’s Brian Burt is being inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars during a ceremony on March 26 at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College.
Induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity honors individuals at various career stages and across a wide spectrum of influence who have shown commitment to the adaptive faithful servant-scholar moral cosmopolitan leadership tradition and selfless service to humanity, in tribute to King.
“I am extremely humbled by this recognition,” says Burt, an assistant professor with the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, and a research scientist with Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory.
Burt’s scholarship in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion is in part an extension of the important efforts King led as a pioneer and advocate in this domain, inspiring generations of people.
Having received multiple awards and recognitions, Burt is an accomplished researcher who uses qualitative methodological approaches to study the experience of graduate students and the institutional policies and practices that influence students’ pathways.
His current research falls into two strands: understanding team-based science and exploring the experiences of underrepresented graduate students of color in engineering. Through his research, Burt seeks to provide new ways to understand science participation and the experiences that might promote or turn students away from science pathways.
“Dr. Burt’s recent recognition into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars is a testament as to why the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis sought to bring him to UW-Madison,” says Jerlando Jackson, the Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education who chairs the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, and leads the Wei LAB. “Likewise, his contributions across the university and School of Education, including the Wei LAB over the next several decades, promises to make this a special place to work and learn.”
The Collegium of Scholars is comprised of academics and scholars who are committed to research, writing, teaching, and mentoring in a wide variety of disciplines and contexts.
The theme for this year’s induction ceremony, now in its 35th year, is “Neighbors First: Co-Creating a Moral Cosmopolitan Culture of Peace.”
“I hope that my research, writing, teaching, and mentoring continue to live up to the honor that this award’s namesake bestows,” says Burt.