Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence

Meet LaVar J. Charleston

Dr. LaVar J. Charleston, an accomplished researcher, scholar and practitioner with nearly two decades of experience related to broadening participation in higher education and the scientific workforce, leads the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s diversity and inclusion efforts.

Charleston is the university’s vice chancellor for inclusive excellence (VCIE), also holding the title of Elzie Higginbottom Director of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement, or DDEEA.

As VCIE, Charleston provides overall leadership for the university’s efforts to create inclusive learning and working environments for all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others who work with the university. Along with the staff of the DDEEA, he partners with leadership in the university’s schools, colleges, and divisions, as well as shared governance groups, to promote pluralism and inclusive excellence while fostering a sense of belonging for all members of the UW community.

A native of Detroit, Charleston most recently served as the inaugural associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion at UW-Madison’s School of Education, where he is a clinical professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. Prior to that role, he served as the inaugural assistant vice chancellor for student diversity, engagement, and success at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.

Charleston earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the UW-Madison School of Education and has served in various capacities, developing and offering courses at the graduate and undergraduate level and serving as a senior level administrator. Charleston has been a part of 12 education-related start-ups and has collaborated on multimillion-dollar projects with diverse faculty, staff, students, and university partners from a range of disciplines, departments, and institution types (e.g., HBCUs, PWIs, 2-year institutions) throughout the country and the world. Through this work, he has been instrumental in receiving, facilitating, and/or evaluating research and education grants, projects and awards totaling over $10 million, and was recently appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion, where he was also named chair of the Economic and Business Development sub-committee for the State of Wisconsin. In 2018, Charleston was named one of the State of Wisconsin’s most influential Black leaders.

Charleston has a long affiliation with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, where he helped found Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB), a multimillion-dollar social science research laboratory, and held several leadership positions therein. His research focuses on diversity, access and inclusion within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. He is the author or co-author of 50 manuscripts, including the book “Advancing Equity and Diversity in Student Affairs.” He has delivered over 100 presentations at local, national, and international venues, all to ensure that research, teaching, leadership and service practices are in line with empirically based, data-driven solutions that positively impact the educational development, outcomes, and equitable success of diverse students, faculty, and concerned citizens. Charleston was a Division I college football player and continues to have a passion for physical activity, music, and other forms of artistic expression.