Please note that we are processing this collection, this page, the inventories, and the digital collection are a work in progress. 

Dr. Howard Fuller Digital Collection - Click on the link to view the digital material that Marquette University has copyright of within the Dr. Howard Fuller Collection.  

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Abstract:  Professional and personal materials of Dr. Howard Fuller, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Education, and prominent advocate of civil rights, school choice and education reform. 

Biographical Note: Howard Fuller was born on January 14, 1941 in Shreveport, LA and grew up in Milwaukee, WI. He attended North Division High School and was a star basketball player, earning him a scholarship to play at Carroll College (now Carroll University), in Waukesha, WI. Fuller made history as part of the first racially integrated class at Carroll and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962. In 1964, Fuller earned his Master’s in Social Administration at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. In 1985, Fuller received his PhD in Sociological Foundations of Education at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. 

Fuller’s career of being a civil rights activist took off in 1964 when he participated in a protest opposing the segregation of a predominantly Black neighborhood.  In 1965, Fuller joined Operation Breakthrough, a non-profit organization against poverty in Durham, NC. Fuller continued his fight for the equality and protection of Black residents in Durham. In 1969, Fuller founded the Malcolm X Liberation University with an all-black student body. In the early seventies, while in Africa, Fuller became involved with Pan-Africanists and the freedom fighters. During this time, Fuller went by his adopted African name, Owusu Sadaukai.

In 1977, Fuller returned to Milwaukee and joined the Marquette University Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) in which he provided counseling and academic support for struggling students until 1983. From 1983 to 1986, Fuller served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations. He served as Dean of the General Education Division at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) from 1986-1988, and was appointed as Director of the Milwaukee County Health and Human Services Department in 1988, serving until 1991.

 From 1991-1995, Fuller served as the Superintendent at Milwaukee Public Schools. He was a Senior Fellow at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University from 1995-1997, while also being Director of the Marquette University Institute for the Transformation of Learning (ITL) from 1995 - 2020. Fuller retired from Marquette University in 2020 with the title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus. 

Fuller is also an advocate for education reform having being the chairman of the non-profit, Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) and a board of director of School Choice Wisconsin among other education reform programs. 

Restrictions:  Except where indicated on the inventories, access to these records is unrestricted. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of these records. Consult an archivist for further information.

Digital Collection: Much of the collection is digitized and anything that Marquette University has copyright of is available in the Dr. Howard Fuller Digital Collection.

Other material can be viewed in person or select digital files can be viewed for research use. Consult an archivist for further information on the process.  

Scope and Content:  The collection documents parts of Fuller's life including student life in high school and university, activism, and various professional positions. There are a number of speeches and curated news clippings and scrapbooks.

Arrangement:  The collection is divided into eight sub-series. 

Sub-series 1	Biographical Information, Photographs, and Correspondence
Sub-series 2	Research Material and Publications
Sub-series 3	Speeches
Sub-series 4	Curated Clippings
Sub-series 5	Activism
Sub-series 6	Milwaukee Public Schools
Sub-series 7	Marquette University
Sub-series 8	Scrapbooks and Oversize Material