By Laurel White

In a new commentary, a School of Education faculty member offers fellow scholars a guide to responding to questions that challenge their scholarly inquiry — and humanity.

Brian Burt, a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and director of Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, wrote the Teachers College Record commentary while on sabbatical. It follows his previous commentary that urged faculty and students to tend their well-being while working in academia. 

In this commentary, which is available via open access with no fee for viewing, Burt describes an experience at a research convening in which the focus of his scholarship was questioned. 

“Although I probably should not have been stunned, I was stunned by the question,” he wrote. “I did all the tricks I knew at the time: I asked for clarification, I wrote the question on a piece of paper, I paused. I was trying to slow my racing brain and calmly breathe. I was trying to think of a coherent response that both addressed the question and authentically clarified my stance. And from a power perspective, I was also thinking about how to respond in a way that would not backfire on me professionally during this high-stakes presentation with many advanced and senior scholar colleagues in attendance.” 

He later shared, “Even after giving a great overall presentation that resonated with many in the audience, I left feeling deflated and disappointed in myself.”

This commentary — which Burt calls “his redemption song” — represents “how I should have responded,” he wrote.

 He urges colleagues in the academy to be prepared for similar challenges.

“It is my wish that when you do encounter such questions, you will be able to respond authentically, with intellectual rigor and self-assurance,” he wrote. “Your voice and work are equally powerful and important.”

Burt also previously published a commentary in Teachers College Record on his evolution as an academic writer. 

Burt is an award-winning scholar who has been recognized with alumni awards from Indiana University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Michigan, as well as the International Colloquium on Black Males in Education and the American Society for Engineering Education. His research 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 research experiences and exploring the experiences of underrepresented graduate students of color in engineering. 

In 2024, Burt launched the Black Males in Engineering project, which won a prestigious Telly Award, as well as an Anthem Award. He recently published a study in The Journal of Higher Education that highlights isolation and collaboration in Black men’s experiences during graduate school. He co-authored that study with many current and former graduate students in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. 

The full commentary, “My Healing, My Redemption Song, My Rest: Advocating for Humanity and Scholarly Inquiry,” is available here.