Honorary Degree Candidate Idea Submission

The Committee on Honorary Degrees welcomes the submission of honorary degree candidate ideas for consideration by the committee.

Qualifications: The University of Wisconsin-Madison awards an honorary degree in recognition of a career of extraordinary accomplishment. In many cases, there will be some single, supreme achievement for which a candidate is best known, but an honorary degree is not given to celebrate a deed alone or upon the simple meeting of a set of minimum standards. The honor is conferred upon a person with uncommonly meritorious activity exhibiting values that are esteemed by a great university.

Before submitting a candidate idea, please review the list of UW-Madison’s honorary degree recipients and the conditions of eligibility. Please note that the university does not accept self-submissions.

Deadline: Candidate ideas received by December 15 will be included in the pool of candidates to be considered for an honorary degree starting in the next academic year. Please note, however, that ideas are accepted on a rolling basis and candidates may ultimately be selected several years after submission.

Expiration: Submissions do not expire. There is no need to resubmit an idea unless there has been a significant change that warrants updated materials. In this case, please submit an entirely new form.

After submission: The submission is placed in a pool for review by the Committee on Honorary Degrees. Due to the volume of candidates, the committee cannot respond individually to each idea received; however, all ideas will be reviewed. Because the committee’s work on honorary degrees is done in the strictest of confidence, you will hear back only if the committee needs additional information.

Confidentiality: This process is highly confidential, and the candidate should not be told of the submission.

Honorary Degree Candidate Idea Submission Form

Contact Information

Primary Contact Name(Required)

First Name Last Name

Primary Contact Email(Required)

Primary Contact Relationship To University(Required)

Honorary Degree Candidate Idea Information

Candidate Name(Required)

First Name Last Name

Candidate Occupation(Required)

e.g., scientist, novelist

Candidate Website or Wikipedia Page

Rationale(Required)

Please provide a rationale for your nomination. (Questions to consider: Why is this person an appropriate candidate for an honorary degree from UW-Madison? How has this person shown outstanding service to humanity globally, nationally, or locally? What pioneering achievement or exemplary contribution to society has this individual offered? How does this person meet the qualifications outlined above and model uncommonly meritorious activity?)

Considerations(Required)

Are there any controversies or issues the committee should be aware of when considering this candidate?

Wisconsin Connection(Required)

Does this person have a connection to Wisconsin? If not, please indicate this. (Though a Wisconsin connection is not a prerequisite, it is helpful to know connections the individual has to the university or to the state.)

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.