Billups memorial set for Sunday, Dec. 11

LaMarr Billups, former senior special assistant to the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and well-known Madison community leader, passed away on Friday, Nov. 11 at his home in Northern Virginia.

Billups was known as a skilled ambassador between the university and city, and was deeply committed to key civic institutions and social causes. He died after a brief illness.

He served as a special assistant to two UW–Madison chancellors, David Ward and John D. Wiley, and was director of community relations between 1996 and 2007. In 2007, he accepted a similar position at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

“LaMarr provided an essential bridge between university and community,” says Chancellor David Ward, who worked closely with Billups during his first term as chancellor. “All who knew him will miss him deeply.”

“He was revered by all who knew him because he always had time for people – as a sounding board, to provide advice or simply lend a hand,” adds Dawn Crim, who succeeded Billups as director of community relations and now serves as associate dean of the School of Education. “He was a a boss and mentor to me and served as a mentor to many others, both young and seasoned, throughout the community.”

While at UW–Madison, Billups managed the relationships between the university and local governments, especially the Madison Office of the Mayor and city departments. He represented the chancellor and university while serving on key city and county committees, including the Alcohol License Review Committee and Civil Rights Department Ad Hoc committee.

He served personally and for the university as a member of boards of directors involving the Overture Center for the Arts, the Urban League of Greater Madison, Edgewood College and the Collaboration Council — Capital Region. He also took a leave from UW–Madison to lead the transition for then-Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz

“LaMarr was liked and respected by everyone in the Madison community. And he was known by everyone, easily gliding from the Mayor’s Office or the Chancellor’s Office to troubled neighborhoods and soup kitchens and back to corporate boardrooms,” Cieslewicz says. “LaMarr wasn’t just wired in to the community, LaMarr was the wire.”

One of his most important contributions, both at UW–Madison and Georgetown, was his efforts to curb sweatshop abuses in the collegiate-licensed apparel industry. UW–Madison has been a leader in the area for more than a decade, in no small part due to his contributions.

He played a major role in the work of the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent monitoring group that advanced anti-sweatshop initiatives, of which UW–Madison was a founding member.

“LaMarr’s contribution to the WRC’s work was enormous – from his aggressive efforts pressing licensees to end labor rights abuses, to the many years of guidance and wise council he provided to the organization, to his passionate advocacy for the cause in the university community,” says Scott Nova, executive director of the WRC.

“LaMarr was not only a great colleague and ally in the labor rights cause, but a great friend,” he adds. “His warmth and genuine concern for friends and colleagues was a constant in our experience with him.”

Billups was also involved in local civil rights groups, such as 100 Black Men of Madison Inc., the local NAACP and many other community interests.