On Thursday, Oct. 29, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) will host the annual Honorary Recognition Ceremony at Memorial Union. The ceremony is open to the public and members of the college are encouraged to attend.

This year, CALS will present Honorary Recognition Awards to Chris and Susan Salm, the Distinguished Service Award to Brian Holmes, Distinguished Alumni Awards to Sharon Brantmeier and Dennis Kenney, and the Distinguished Recent Graduate Award to Kristin Kohlmann. Read more about our 2026 honorees. 

These are some of the highest honors bestowed by the college. The Honorary Recognition Award, now in its 117th year, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to their professions, their communities and the university. The Distinguished Service Award, first given in 1994, recognizes meritorious service by CALS faculty and staff members. The Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement and service of CALS graduates, was established in 2009. The Distinguished Recent Graduate Award, established in 2024, recognizes alumni who earned their degree in the last 20 years and have made extraordinary contributions to their field or public service.

For more information about the awards visit cals.wisc.edu/honorary. Please RSVP by Friday, Oct. 16. 

The Honorary Recognition Ceremony is open to all. We value inclusion and access for all participants. Please email emma.zuidema@wisc.edu two weeks before the event to make an accommodation request. Reasonable effort will be made to support your request.