By Laurel White
A School of Education faculty member has been chosen to receive the most prestigious alumni award bestowed by Indiana University’s Neal-Marshall Alumni Club.
Brian Burt, a professor in the 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, will receive the 2025 Dr. Charlie Nelms Distinguished Alumni Award next month. The award recognizes an Indiana University alum whose achievements reflect exceptional professional excellence, leadership, and community impact.
Burt says the honor is deeply moving, especially as he reflects on a pivotal interaction with Nelms, a former chancellor of the university, during a vulnerable time during his college career.
“Dr. Nelms encouraged me to get involved on campus, to make connections with peers, and to see IU as my own,” Burt says. “His words and model of excellence were transformative for me and a reason why I’m in the field of higher education and study college student success.”
Nelms’ career was guided by commitments to academic support, diversity, access, excellence, and community engagement. The award in his name honors the spirit of those commitments continuing through the work of Indiana University alumni.
Shontrai Irving, the 2010 recipient of the Dr. Charlie Nelms Distinguished Alumni Award, nominated Burt for the honor. In his nomination, Irving praised Burt’s record of scholarship and mentorship.
“It is evident that he values supporting the next generation of educational leaders,” Irving wrote. “As a mid-career scholar, his exemplary model of mentoring is an asset to the field of education’s present and future.”
The latest honor is Burt’s third alumni award from Indiana University’s Neal-Marshall Alumni Club. In 2019, he received the club’s Exemplar Award. In 2023, he was honored with their Alumni Achievement Award.
Burt will accept the award during Indiana University’s homecoming celebrations next month. While there, he will deliver a series of lectures and participate in mentoring events with undergraduate and graduate students.
“I intentionally wanted to gift my time and talent to my alma mater, because it gave so much to me,” Burt says.
Burt’s lectures will include a focus on his Black Males in Engineering project, which launched last fall and recently won a prestigious Telly Award. The project offers a robust online resource featuring research-backed methods to support Black boys and men in STEM — from primary school through doctoral studies. Its offerings include a video series and a set of interactive handouts with guided questions for key audiences, including parents, K–12 teachers, and college advisors.
Currently on sabbatical, Burt plans to give back to his other alma maters, the University of Maryland and University of Michigan, this academic year. He has also been honored with alumni awards from those institutions, receiving the inaugural University of Maryland Alumni Changemaker Award in 2023 and the Emerging Leader Alumni Award from the University of Michigan’s School of Education in 2021.
Burt has also received numerous awards recognizing his excellence in research, including the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship and National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award.
Burt’s 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. A recent publication, a collaboration with his doctoral student mentees, sheds light on the unique challenges Black men face when adjusting to graduate engineering programs—and offers actionable insights for improving program persistence and support for underrepresented students.