UW–Madison Academic Staff Excellence Awards

The main mission of UW–Madison, and one of its greatest strengths, is the instruction that it provides to students. Academic staff teach about one-third of course sections, supporting thousands of students’ instruction each semester. This award honors sustained excellence in teaching, exceptional commitment to student learning, and a lasting impact on students through instructional effectiveness, innovation, mentorship, and educational leadership. 

Nominees should demonstrate an exceptional commitment to teaching and student learning through sustained excellence in instructional practice, innovation, mentorship, and student engagement. Successful nominations should provide evidence of how the nominee fosters student learning, curiosity, critical thinking, and meaningful educational experiences inside and outside the classroom. You may also include evidence of how the nominee’s teaching has impacted former students’ academic, professional, or personal achievements. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Maintain deep and current subject matter knowledge and continuously improve their teaching. 
• Develop and implement innovative, evidence-based, or creative teaching or learning approaches. 
• Communicate high expectations while creating an engaging, inclusive, and supportive learning environment. 
• Build strong intellectual rapport with students and encourage active participation and discussion. 
• Foster conceptual understanding, critical thinking, and knowledge integration across ideas and disciplines. 
• Demonstrate enthusiasm for teaching and inspire curiosity and lifelong learning. 
• Respect and respond to students’ diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and learning needs. 
• Mentor, advise, and support students beyond the classroom, including facilitating or guiding student-initiated projects, research, or other scholarly activities. 
• Enable students to achieve notable accomplishments through their teaching and mentorship. 

Those nominated for the Mary Lucy Clark Distinguished Teaching Award will also be considered for The Chancellor’s Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching. 

The Chancellor’s Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes an academic staff member who exemplifies the highest standards of teaching excellence at UW–Madison. This award honors sustained teaching excellence, exceptional commitment to student learning, and a lasting positive impact on students through effective instruction, innovation, mentorship, and educational leadership. 

Nominees are evaluated using the same criteria as the Mary Lucy Clark Distinguished Teaching Award. Please refer to the Mary Lucy Clark Distinguished Teaching Award description for more information. 

Many academic staff consistently go beyond the responsibilities of their positions and demonstrate outstanding sustained service and dedication to the university and their individual units. This deep commitment has made UW–Madison a world-class public research university.  This award recognizes an academic staff member who has shown outstanding and sustained commitment to serving UW–Madison and has made a meaningful impact beyond the scope of their role. The award honors individuals who strengthen the university through service, collaboration, engagement, and dedication to our mission. Priority will be given to nominees who have shown long-term commitment to the university (over 10 years).  

Nominees should demonstrate meaningful contributions to the broader university community over time, rather than through a single project, event, or accomplishment. This service can occur at the department, division, school, college, or campus-wide level, but it must have an impact beyond the nominee’s immediate role or unit. Service performed as part of required job duties may be considered if the scope or impact greatly exceeds normal expectations. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Create lasting positive impacts through service that advances UW–Madison’s mission and values. 
• Lead or contribute to initiatives that improve the experiences of students, employees, or the broader campus community. 
• Serve as a trusted, engaged, and dependable contributor whose service benefits others and strengthens the institution. 
• Build partnerships and collaboration across departments, divisions, or campus units. 
• Actively contribute to campus committees, communities of practice, shared governance, task forces, or strategic initiatives. 
• Mentor and support colleagues to help strengthen campus culture and employee engagement. 

As one of the nation’s largest public research universities, UW–Madison relies on academic staff serving as independent investigators to perform critical research that advances knowledge and serves the public. This award recognizes an academic staff member who has shown excellence as an independent investigator through significant research contributions or achievements in their field. 

Nominees should manage a research program or direct research projects in their field. They should be primarily responsible for creating research questions, designing and conducting research, sharing findings, securing research funding and support, or directing research support staff’s work. Nominees typically hold a PhD or other terminal degree as appropriate to their field and a job title in the Research job group (e.g., Scientist, Research Professor) of the UW Title and Standard Job Description Library. Nominees from other job groups will be considered if independent research makes up a major part of their responsibilities. 

Research takes many forms at UW–Madison, including lab experiments, clinical trials, observational studies, qualitative and textual analyses, archival research, and more. Work can range from basic research that advances fundamental knowledge to applied research aimed at solving practical problems. Successful nominations should clearly explain how the nominee’s work is outstanding within their field and describe the significance and impact of their research accomplishments in a way that reviewers outside their field can easily understand. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Lead an independent research program or direct major research projects within their field. 
• Develop meaningful research questions and design and run scholarly inquiries. 
• Share research findings through peer-reviewed publications (especially as a first or senior author) or other respected professional outlets. 
• Secure external or internal funding, especially as a principal investigator, to support and sustain the success of an independent research program. 
• Earn recognition in their field through awards, patents, journal editorships, invited presentations, or other distinctions. 
• Serve in expert roles, such as consultant, external evaluator, grant reviewer, or program advisor. 
• Mentor students, postdocs, research staff, fellows, or other emerging scholars whose ensuing accomplishments reflect the nominee’s contributions to their development. 
• Produce research that significantly impacts their field, advances knowledge, or addresses real-world problems. 

As one of the nation’s largest public research universities, UW–Madison relies on academic staff in research support roles to help advance knowledge and serve the public good. This award recognizes an academic staff member who has shown excellence in supporting and advancing research through their significant contributions to research programs, projects, operations, or activities directed by others. 

Nominees should provide critical research support through direct involvement in research activities. Nominees typically hold a job title in the Research job group (e.g. Research Specialist, Laboratory Manager, Research Analyst, Biostatistician, Instrumentation Engineer) of the UW Title and Standard Job Description Library. Nominees from other job groups will be considered if they are directly involved in research activities. Nominees may contribute as independent researchers, but independent research should not be the main focus of their job. 

Staff whose roles primarily support the administrative side of research and who are not directly involved in research activities are not eligible for this award. This includes job groups such as Finance; Human Resources; and Sponsored Programs, Grants, and Contracts. 

Research takes many forms at UW–Madison, including lab experiments, clinical trials, observational studies, qualitative and textual analyses, archival research, and more. Work can range from basic research that advances fundamental knowledge to applied research aimed at solving practical problems. Successful nominations should clearly explain how the nominee’s work is outstanding within their field and describe the significance and impact of their accomplishments in a way that reviewers outside their field can easily understand 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Manage laboratory or research operations that are essential to keeping research programs or projects running successfully. 
• Design and oversee research procedures and protocols that and improve the quality or effectiveness of the work. 
• Conduct key research tasks, such as collecting data, managing complex datasets, performing analyses, or operating specialized equipment at an exemplary level. 
• Develop or apply innovative tools, methods, or technologies that improve research capabilities or outcomes. 
• Supervise or train research staff, students, postdocs, or other research personnel on how to conduct research safely and effectively. 
• Provide specialized expertise that improves research quality, rigor, innovation, collaboration, or impact. 
• Write or contribute to research publications, presentations, reports, or other scholarly outlets. 
• Make sustained contributions that greatly enhance the success, impact, or advancement of research programs, projects, or teams. 

Academic staff play a vital role in advancing the university’s mission and supporting more than 75,000 people who work and study on the UW–Madison campus. This award recognizes an academic staff member who shows exceptional leadership within their employing unit (e.g., department, center, program, or office). This award honors an individual whose leadership improves day-to-day operations, team culture, and outcomes at the local level through initiative, innovation, and collaboration. 

Leadership is defined by action and impact; nominees may hold formal leadership titles, but a formal leadership title is not required. The nominee’s main leadership impact should be within a single unit or closely related team. Successful nominations should demonstrate how the nominee’s leadership has strengthened their unit and positively influenced its people, operations, culture, or outcomes. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Lead meaningful improvements in how the unit operates or delivers services. 
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative, and supportive work environment that promotes engagement and belonging. 
• Demonstrate initiative and innovation in identifying and addressing local challenges or opportunities. 
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and empower team members to drive positive change. 
• Align unit work with broader school, division, or university missions and the Wisconsin Idea. 
• Positively influence colleagues through mentoring, onboarding, community building, coordination, or informal leadership. 
• Lead or contribute to local workgroups, task forces, projects, or initiatives that strengthen collaboration and advance shared goals. 
• Create lasting, positive impacts that strengthen team culture, improve outcomes, or help the unit fulfill its mission. 

With work happening across dozens of units, fields, and departments, UW–Madison relies on leaders who can connect and advance efforts across the university. This award recognizes an academic staff member who shows outstanding leadership beyond their immediate unit, and has a major impact at the school, college, division, or campus-wide level. This award honors an individual who helps advance institutional priorities, drives collaboration across units, shapes policy or strategy, and leads initiatives that create lasting, large-scale change. 

Leadership is defined by action and impact; nominees may hold formal leadership titles, but a formal leadership title is not required for this award. The nominee’s leadership impact should demonstrably extend beyond their home unit to affect multiple departments or contribute at the school, division, or university level. Successful nominations must show how the nominee’s leadership has improved collaboration, helped achieve shared goals, influenced organizational practices or strategy, or created lasting change across a broader area of the university. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Lead initiatives or collaborations that connect multiple units, departments, disciplines, or areas. 
• Advance strategic priorities at the school, division, or campus level, connecting this work to the university’s mission and the Wisconsin Idea. 
• Demonstrate innovation in identifying and addressing complex, systemic, or organizational challenges. 
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and empower teams to drive positive change. 
• Build partnerships, foster collaboration, and develop consensus among diverse stakeholders. 
• Develop scalable programs, models, practices, or solutions that have a broad and lasting impact. 
• Shape policies, strategies, and practices to improve outcomes across multiple areas of the university. 
• Positively influence colleagues through cross-unit mentoring, shared governance, community building, workgroups, task forces, or other organizational leadership. 
• Create lasting, positive impacts that improve institutional effectiveness and advance shared university goals. 

At UW–Madison, a dedicated staff member’s hard work and knowledge can make the difference between something functioning smoothly and efficiently or, it working poorly. This award honors an individual who consistently demonstrates excellent work, possesses deep institutional knowledge and expertise, and serves as a trusted resource and problem-solver. This award recognizes an academic staff member who is on the front lines of daily operations and leads from within the organization. Their dedication to the university and its mission is obvious. Often viewed as “unsung heroes,” recipients typically do not hold formal leadership roles or receive broad campus recognition. 

Nominees should demonstrate long-term dedication to excellence in their daily work rather than a single outstanding achievement or project. Their contributions might include overseeing essential processes, providing specialized expertise, analyzing and translating complex information, preserving institutional knowledge, identifying practical solutions, or providing support to help others succeed. While their work might be focusedin a specific area and might not receive broad recognition, their contributions must directly or indirectly support the university’s operations and mission. Priority will be given to staff who do not hold formal leadership, supervisory, or management roles. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Consistently show exceptional performance, dedication, reliability, and attention to detail in their daily work. 
• Possess deep institutional knowledge or specialized expertise essential to their unit or the university’s operation. 
• Serve as a trusted resource and problem- solver for colleagues seeking guidance, expertise, or help. 
• Manage or support essential processes, systems, programs, or services that keep work running smoothly. 
• Anticipate needs, identify challenges, and develop thoughtful, practical, and constructive solutions. 
• Analyze, organize, or translate complex information to help better decision-making and improve outcomes. 
• Preserve and share institutional knowledge that strengthens continuity, supports colleagues, and enables long-term organizational success. 
• Demonstrate long-term excellence and commitment without relying on formal authority or seeking recognition. 
• Make meaningful behind-the-scenes contributions that are highly valued by those who rely on them. 
• Create a lasting, positive impact that supports university operations and advances UW–Madison’s mission. 

Examples of the Type of Person Deserving of the Martha Casey Award

This award recognizes a retiring or recently retired academic staff member who has shown leadership and made significant contributions on behalf of academic staff across campus, while achieving professional excellence throughout their career. Nominees must have contributed in meaningful ways that support academic staff beyond their employing unit. Nominees should also demonstrate a distinguished record of leadership, professional achievement, and high professional standards throughout their work. 

Nominees must demonstrate excellence in two areas: (1) supporting and advancing the interests of academic staff across campus, and (2) maintaining a distinguished career record in their professional roles. Campus-wide contributions to academic staff can include service through shared governance, leading efforts on issues affecting academic staff, or other initiatives that benefit academic staff beyond the nominee’s own unit. Evidence of career achievement should align with the nominee’s field, responsibilities, and role(s) at UW–Madison, showing long-term excellence and service that serves as an exemplar for faculty and staff. 

Nominees must have retired during the previous calendar year or be retiring during the academic year in which the award is given. Nominees must also have served as UW–Madison academic staff members for at least 15 years. Nominations that fail to provide sufficient evidence of activities that support academic staff across campus will be considered ineligible for this award. 

Example Behaviors of Award Winners: 

• Demonstrate long-term excellence and distinction throughout their career at UW–Madison. 
• Provide leadership on issues, programs, or initiatives that support academic staff across campus. 
• Actively contribute to campus committees, communities of practice, shared governance, task forces, or strategic initiatives in the interests of Academic Staff. 
• Make key contributions to campus initiatives affecting academic staff, such as HR changes, title and compensation updates, or other organizational changes. 
• Develop, lead, or support professional development programs that serve academic staff across campus. 
• Advocate for academic staff and create opportunities for engagement, professional growth, recognition, or campus participation. 
• Show leadership, integrity, and the highest professional standards throughout their career. 
• Serve as an exemplar for faculty and staff through exceptional professional achievement, institutional service, and dedication to UW–Madison.