Clayborn Benson

Clayborn Benson received the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Awardee from the UWM Alumni Association. The award was presented during the Alumni Awards Evening on February 21, 2025, at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.

Clayborn is an award-winning broadcast journalist, historian and community leader. After 39 years with Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV as a photographer, editor and producer, he retired in 2007 to focus on his second career as founder and director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum. Clayborn produced documentary series, including “Black Communities,” during his TV career and continues to tell the story of the Black legacy in Wisconsin as one of the state’s most influential voices. He serves on the board of the Milwaukee County Historical Society and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin’s Historical Records Advisory Board. He also serves on the City of Milwaukee Street and Building Renaming Committee. He is an emeritus member of UWM’s Alumni Association board and a past president of the Association of African American Alumni. Clayborn’s many awards include the Living Legacy Award from the city of Milwaukee, an Emmy-Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences regional chapter, the Hall of Fame Award from the Milwaukee Press Club and the Key to the City Award from former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.