If you have academic staff for whom you will be seeking Distinguished Status, please note that the deadline to CALS Human Resources is January 2, 2026. Although the campus deadline is February 2, the application needs to reach our office by January 2 to assure sufficient time is provided for college review/approval, incorporation of Dean’s letter of support and preparation/submission by campus deadline. When submitting to CALS, the application packet should be in a format that allows editing of the table of contents, without page numbering of the packet. This is so that once the Dean’s letter is incorporated, the table of contents can be edited and the packet then numbered according to campus guidelines.

If individuals have questions regarding the process, contact the CALS HR office.

More information about the Distinguished Status title and application process is included in this email message recently sent by Mallory Musolf, secretary of the academic staff:

Colleagues,

If you are a mid-to-late career academic staff member, you may be eligible to apply for the Distinguished status (formerly known as the Distinguished prefix). The Distinguished status was created to recognize academic staff who have acquired extensive experience, advanced skills/knowledge, and a reputation beyond their school/college/division. Distinguished status is an honor reserved for individuals who have demonstrated remarkable contributions to their profession. Eligible employees include those who are in an academic staff title and whose UW employee category is academic staff; employees in non-academic staff job categories, including limited appointees, are not eligible for Distinguished status. Distinguished status includes a 5-10% base salary adjustment and the use of distinguished in business titles.

For more information and for details regarding the application process, please visit https://acstaff.wisc.edu/resources/#distinguished-status. To facilitate the committee’s ability to appropriately evaluate your application, it is important that your application clearly demonstrates how you have met the criteria for the Distinguished status, including documentation of your outstanding accomplishments with letters of recommendation that support your reputation and influence beyond your school/college/division. Your application should not include extensive personal notes from students/patients or paperwork regarding previous promotions. The quality of information is more important than quantity; redundancy of information should be eliminated.

The Office of the Secretary of the Academic Staff has several sample application packets that you can view. Please contact me to make an appointment. 

Be sure to check with your department/unit human resources office and your school/college/division human resources office for additional information and deadlines. Applications require approval from these offices. Final awarding of the Distinguished status is at the discretion of your dean/director.

Applications can be submitted at any time but are due to my office no later than Monday, February 2 for consideration at the spring meeting of the committee. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Secretary of the Academic Staff.

Sincerely,
Mallory

Mallory Musolf
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Secretary of the Academic Staff
University of Wisconsin – Madison
(608) 263-2985
https://acstaff.wisc.edu