Marquette University education professor honored by Gov. Walker with prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr., Heritage Award

Award was presented in Madison’s Capitol Rotunda in a ceremony today

Dr. Howard Fuller, distinguished professor of education at Marquette University, has been honored today by Gov. Scott Walker with the Martin Luther King, Jr., Heritage Award.

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Heritage Award, which was presented during the State of Wisconsin’s 33rd annual tribute and ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, recognizes and affirms those who have made significant contributions in the areas of race relations, justice and human rights and exhibit an edifying passion and onus to lifelong community service.

“Howard Fuller began championing social justice during the American civil rights movement, and his seminal work in educational equity has come to exemplify the very essence of all the Heritage Award seeks to honor," said Dr. William A. Henk, dean of the College of Education at Marquette University. "I genuinely believe that Dr. King himself, who served as a role model and inspiration for Howard, would regard him as an ideal recipient.”
 
Fuller is the founder and director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University. A former superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, Fuller is an outspoken advocate of educational options for low-income families and is considered a national expert on the issue of school choice. He has devoted his career to providing quality education options for students of low-income families.
 
Since the Institute for the Transformation of Learning was founded in 1995, it has worked across systems to reform K-12 education in Milwaukee and nationally. The primary beneficiaries for all of the work of the Institute are low-income children and families in the City of Milwaukee, and children anywhere who are being ill served by the current systems of education.
 
In November, Fuller was named one of the most powerful educators in America by TakePart, a leading source of socially relevant news with the goal of inspiring and accelerating social change by connecting content to social action.