Clayborn Benson (’87 BFA Film, ’24 MA Public History) was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the UWM Alumni Association. Victoria (Tori) Isaac (’21 BA Dance/BA Sociology, ’23 MA Sociology) received the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award.
Clayborn Benson ’87, ’24
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.
Victoria (Tori) Isaac
Isaac is an accomplished dancer, educator, and choreographer at Turning Point Dance Studio in Elmwood Park, Illinois. Her interests in dance and sociology developed as an undergraduate student at UWM.
During her time at UWM, Isaac participated in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, a program aimed at increasing the number of underrepresented students pursuing graduate studies.
This has led her to pursue a doctorate at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), where she explores the Black community, education, and religion. Her work in the Chicago area explores the intersection between creative expression and community building.
Isaac performed and taught dance in Milwaukee for many years, focusing on hip-hop, tap, contemporary, and improvisation, including at Danceworks MKE and Signature Dance Company, as well as a lecturer at PSOA. She also collaborated with Maria Gillespie (Professor and Graduate Program Representative, Dance) to develop a movement education program for incarcerated youth.
UWM’s Alumni Awards reflect on the contributions and accomplishments made by the most exceptional UWM alums.
“The UWM Alumni Association is privileged to represent over 207,000 Panther alumni living in 110 countries around the world,” said Board Chair Michelle Putz in the UWM Alumni Awards Evening program booklet. “Our alumni make a difference in their communities both near and far, though we feel especially fortunate that more than 80% of graduates from the last decade have chosen to remain in the state of Wisconsin.”
Benson and Isaac were honored alongside other award recipients at the UWM Alumni Awards Evening at the Pfister Hotel in February 2025. Learn more about the UWM Alumni Awards on the University Advancement website.