The Wisconsin Alumni Association presented the 2019 Forward Under 40 Award to UW-Madison alumni Dr. LaVar Charleston during its annual Founders’ Day event Tuesday night.
Charleston is assistant vice chancellor of student diversity engagement and success at UW-Whitewater. He oversees a portfolio of 15 programs that are designed to engage students in academics and the campus experience.
He lettered in football as an undergraduate at Ball State University and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in education leadership and policy analysis at UW-Madison.
The Forward Under 40 award recognizes UW alumni under the age of 40 who are living out the Wisconsin Idea and serving the public good through their academic experience, according to Sarah Schutt, executive director of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.
Presenting the award was Dr. Richard Halverson, an associate dean for innovation and outreach at UW-Madison’s School of Education. Halverson and Charleston engaged in a conversation-style presentation titled “Healing Communities through Conscientious Inclusion.”
Schutt started the presentation by explaining the origins and importance of the Founder’s Day celebration.
“It is a great way to acknowledge and remember that this university had very humble beginnings,” Schutt said. “The university is successful because of the people and alumni that give back to the university, which makes a great impact.”
Charleston talked about his life growing up, how it impacted his academics, athletic endeavors, and now his career.
“My grandma used to call me Dr. Va, and what she spoke into my life actually came to fruition,” Charleston said. “I never thought that would happen.”
He explained that when he was struggling to manage his STEM courses with his obligations as a Division I athlete, he was encouraged to switch his major instead of being given the resources he needed to continue.
“I was always a STEM guy. One of the things that got me out of that was the challenge of the combination of athletics and academics,” Charleston said.
The path he took after switching out of his STEM major is what opened up opportunities for his work in education policy.
Charleston’s research focuses on how to motivate more students from underrepresented groups toward career paths in STEM fields. He helped develop Beyond the Game, a program that helps male African-American student-athletes create a plan for careers outside of professional sports.
The program also focuses on the importance of diversity and inclusion in interdisciplinary research. Charleston explained that students and academics alike are able to do their best work when they bring their whole self to the table.
“You have to create a culture of inclusivity where you’re valuing people’s differences and their contributions,” Charleston said. “We are probably more alike than we are different, but if we never get to know each other, we’ll never know.”
