{"id":13055,"date":"2026-09-10T15:59:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T20:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/secu\/?p=13055"},"modified":"2026-09-10T15:59:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T20:59:51","slug":"honorary-degrees-committee-annual-report-2025-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/secu\/honorary-degrees-committee-annual-report-2025-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Honorary Degrees Committee – Annual Report – 2025-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Members:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Name<\/th>Rank<\/th>Department<\/th>Div<\/th>E\/A<\/th>Term Ends<\/th>Email<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Martha Carlin<\/td>FAC<\/td>History<\/td>AH<\/td>E<\/td>2028<\/td>carlin@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Gerlinde H\u00f6ebel<\/td>FAC<\/td>Biological Sciences<\/td>NS<\/td>E<\/td>2028<\/td>hoebel@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Anna Schmidt2<\/sup><\/td>AS<\/td>UWM Libraries<\/td>\u2013<\/td>A<\/td>2028<\/td>schmidag@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Richard Popp<\/td>FAC<\/td>History<\/td>AH<\/td>A<\/td>2028<\/td>popp@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Kennan Ferguson<\/td>FAC<\/td>Political Science<\/td>SS<\/td>E<\/td>2027<\/td>kennan@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Cesar Ferreira<\/td>FAC<\/td>Spanish & Portuguese<\/td>AH<\/td>E<\/td>2027<\/td>cferr@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Jun Kim<\/td>FAC<\/td>Music<\/td>AH<\/td>A<\/td>2027<\/td>kimjy@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Michele Polfuss, Chair<\/strong><\/td>FAC<\/td>Nursing<\/td>PR<\/td>E<\/td>2027<\/td>mpolfuss@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Ionel Popa<\/td>FAC<\/td>Physics<\/td>NS<\/td>E<\/td>2027<\/td>popa@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Susana Antunes<\/td>FAC<\/td>Spanish & Portuguese<\/td>AH<\/td>A<\/td>2026<\/td>antunes@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Sunny Brysch<\/td>AS<\/td>Teaching and Learning<\/td>\u2013<\/td>A<\/td>2026<\/td>brysch@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Michael Farrell<\/td>FAC<\/td>Finance<\/td>SS<\/td>E<\/td>2026<\/td>farrell1@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Jeana Holt 1<\/sup><\/td>FAC<\/td>Nursing<\/td>PR<\/td>E<\/td>2026<\/td>jmholt@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Maria Gillespie<\/td>FAC<\/td>Dance<\/td>AH<\/td>E<\/td>2026<\/td>gillespi@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Joan Nesbitt<\/td>VC<\/td>University Advancement (Chancellor Rep)<\/td>x-o<\/td>o<\/td>2026<\/td>nesbitjm@uwm.edu<\/td><\/tr>
Johannes Britz<\/td>VP<\/td>UW System rep<\/td>x-o<\/td>o<\/td>2026<\/td>jbritz@uwsa.edu<\/td><\/tr>
< ><\/td>Student<\/td>Undergrad<\/td>\u2013<\/td>A<\/td>2026<\/td> <\/td><\/tr>
< ><\/td>Student<\/td>Grad<\/td>\u2013<\/td>A<\/td>2026<\/td> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
< > Yet to be appointed
x-o Ex-officio
o Serves by virtue of office
Students (2)-1G, 1UG
1 Repl. M. Kavanaugh (2026-E)
2 Repl. L. Jones (2028-A)
Last updated: 3\/5\/2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charter:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A3.1    Honorary Degrees Committee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The committee considers and recommends candidates for honorary degrees, the Ernest Spaights Plaza marker, and citations for distinguished service. It coordinates campus-wide nomination processes and presents its recommendations in accordance with Faculty Senate procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Membership.<\/strong>\u00a0The committee is comprised of the following members:\n
      \n
    1. two elected Faculty members from each Division;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. one additional elected Faculty member from any Division;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. three faculty members appointed by the University Committee.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. two Academic Staff from the Division of Academic Affairs appointed by the Academic Staff Committee;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. two students appointed annually by the Student Association:\n
        \n
      1. one graduate student;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. one undergraduate student;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. two ex-officio and non-voting members as follows:\n
          \n
        1. the President of the University System;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. the Chancellor or designee.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Chair.<\/strong>\u00a0The Chair of the committee is designated by the Chancellor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. Functions.<\/strong>\n
            \n
          1. Considers and recommends candidates for honorary degrees in accordance with the following procedure. During the spring semester, the Chair of the Honorary Degrees Committee shall transmit to the Deans, Directors and the Chairs of the Divisions, centers, colleges and departments, invitations for submission to the committee of names of persons to be considered for honorary degrees. A list of previous recipients is to be attached to the call for nominations. At least one-half of those presented as candidates for honorary degrees should have some connection with the University system, the City or the State. The Committee shall present its report and recommendation at a meeting of the University Faculty or Faculty Senate in accordance with the provisions of\u00a01.04(8)<\/a>. A two-thirds affirmative vote of those present and voting at the Faculty meeting or Faculty Senate meeting shall be required to nominate a candidate for an Honorary Degree.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Considers and recommends candidates to be honored on the Ernest Spaights Plaza marker. During the fall semester, the Chair of the Honorary Degrees Committee shall issue to the UWM community a call for submission to the Committee the names of persons to be considered for nominations. The Committee shall meet in the spring semester to select candidates for recommendation to the Chancellor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Considers and recommends, in consultation with the University Committee, candidates for a citation for distinguished service or significant contributions to UWM. The award is given by the Chancellor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Meetings:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            The UWM Honorary Degrees Committee had a productive AY 2025-26. The committee met twice (October 2025 and April 2026). The following are highlights of the committee’s accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In October 2025, the committee discussed nominations for the 2025 UWM Honorary Degrees. Two nominations were received. All submissions met the criteria in SAAP 1-12 Honorary Degrees and Criteria and were reviewed by the committee. After discussion, the committee recommended two nominees and shared them with the Chancellor for recommendation to the Board of Regents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The committee reviewed the Spaights Plaza Award Criteria and Call for Nominations, made revisions, and approved them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In April 2026, the Honorary Degrees Committee reviewed the materials of three nominees for the 2026 Ernest Spaights Plaza Award. All three candidates met the criteria and the committee recommended them for the Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Members: Name Rank Department Div E\/A Term Ends Email Martha Carlin FAC History AH E 2028 carlin@uwm.edu Gerlinde H\u00f6ebel FAC Biological Sciences NS E 2028 hoebel@uwm.edu Anna Schmidt2 AS UWM Libraries \u2013 A 2028 schmidag@uwm.edu Richard Popp FAC History AH …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[62],"tags":[43,82,24],"class_list":["post-13055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-honorary-degrees-committee","tag-2025-2026","tag-annual-report","tag-faculty"],"uwm_unpublish_requested":false,"yoast_head":"\nSecretary of the University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/secu\/honorary-degrees-committee-annual-report-2025-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honorary Degrees Committee - 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