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), is featured in the Winter 2025 issue of On Wisconsin magazine.
In an insightful Q&A, Burt discusses his research on the underrepresentation of Black men in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and his web initiative, Black Males in Engineering, which aims to increase their participation in these areas.
“Black males make up only 2 percent of graduate students in STEM, and it’s been stagnant for more than five decades,” Burt says. “So even with millions of dollars going toward changing these numbers, it isn’t working.”
Burt’s project includes articles, short videos, and interactive handouts designed to prompt self-reflection among parents, educators, and advisors. “Throughout the project, we’re asking people to interrogate their assumptions,” he explains.
For instance, in one handout he offers a question for college advisors: “What assumptions do I make about what talent, brilliance, and high achievement look like?”
Burt also highlights the broader impact of greater representation in STEM. “Increasing the number of Black males in STEM would increase the number of brilliant thinkers who could contribute to solving the nation’s and world’s grandest challenges,” he says.
Read On Wisconsin’s full Q&A with Burt, “Do Talent and Brilliance Have a Color?”