Dr.Howard Fuller
Maintaining Educational Choice
Dr. Howard Fuller was instrumental in BAEO’s founding, and he has led the organization since its incorporation, serving as Board Chair throughout BAEO’s first decade and Vice Chair from 2010-2011 and resuming the chairmanship in early 2012. Dr. Fuller is a Distinguished Professor of Education and Founder/Director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The mission of the Institute is to support exemplary education options that transform learning for children, while empowering families, particularly low-income families, to choose the best options for their children.
From 1991-1995, before his appointment at Marquette University, Dr. Fuller served as the Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, earning national recognition as effective champion of fundamental education reform. His prior positions include Director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, Dean of General Education at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations, and Associate Director of the Educational Opportunity Program at Marquette University. He was also a Senior Fellow with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.
Dr. Fuller received his B.S. degree in Sociology from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1962; M.S.A. degree in Social Administration from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1964; and his Ph.D. in Sociological Foundations of Education from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1986.
He has received numerous awards and recognition over the years, including four honorary doctoral degrees: Doctorate of Humane Letters from Carroll College; Doctorate of Laws from Marian College, Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin; Doctorate of Business and Economics from The Milwaukee School of Engineering; and Doctorate of Humane Letters from Edgewood College, Madison, Wisconsin.
He is the Chair of the Board of the Wisconsin Municipalities Private School Finance Commission, the Alliance for Choices in Education in Milwaukee, and CEO Leadership Academy. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Transcenter for Youth, the Johnson Foundation, the Big Picture Company, the Joyce Foundation, School Choice Wisconsin, Advocates for School Choice, the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, The Charter School Review Committee for the City of Milwaukee, and the Wisconsin United for Health Foundation.