William L. Van Deburg (born May 8, 1948) was the Evjue-Bascom Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Van Deburg graduated from Central High School in 1966.
cum laude with Honors in History from Western Michigan University in 1970 and was awarded a National Defense Education Act Fellowship to attend graduate school.
He earned a Ph.D. in American History from Michigan State University in 1973, submitting a dissertation entitled: Rejected of Men: The Changing Religious Views of William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass.
After training with Russel B. Nye, a contributor to the development of American popular culture studies, at Michigan State, Van Deburg began teaching at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.