The Department of Communication Arts is excited to offer four Distinguished Alumni Awards to some of our most accomplished alumni each year. Please read through the criteria for the award you are considering nominating an alum for to make sure they meet the award requirements.
Communication Arts Career Impact Award
This award recognizes the distinguished achievements of alumni who have realized the departmental vision of making a difference in the world through effective communication. Any list of examples risks narrowing the field when the intent is to recognize the breadth of contributions that our alumni make. Nevertheless, alumni might be recognized for their accomplishments as communicators in creative work, in careers in specific industries and businesses, for their contributions to the public good in non-profit sectors, or more. Whether seeking to inform, entertain, or persuade, the alumni recognized with this award will have made a vital contribution to the lives of the people and communities they engage in their work. All alumni who have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree in Communication Arts will be eligible.
Communication Arts Early Career Award
This award recognizes and encourages the beneficial endeavors of younger alumni—typically within 10-12 years of graduation—who are developing successful careers that also promise to make a difference in the community at large. Whether in the private or public sectors, business world or non-profit domain, the creative community or the education field, award recipients demonstrate excellence in their chosen professions as well as a regard for the well-being of the people and communities with whom they interact. All alumni who have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree from Communication Arts in the last 10-12 years will be eligible.
Communication Arts Service Impact Award
This award recognizes the contributions of alumni whose generosity and commitment have transformed the Communication Arts department. Alumni nominated for this award will be those whose participation in our community continues after graduation and results in extraordinary efforts to support our academic and research mission. This is not, however, a simple recognition of funds donated; the alumni nominated for this award must have a record of engagement through which they have invested the time and energy to make Communication Arts an even stronger program. Their support has led to genuine transformation at the level of what our department is able to accomplish and how we are able to meet our students’ needs. All alumni who have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree in Communication Arts are eligible. However, service to the Department made while students or employees of UW-Madison (as faculty, staff, etc.) are not to be recognized.
Communication Arts Research Impact Award
This award recognizes the achievements of alumni researchers who have made unique, significant, and transformative contributions to the study of communication. We seek to nominate alumni who have taken what they learned from their study with Communication Arts faculty and built their own cutting-edge research programs at other campuses and institutions. The alumni nominated will have a record of research excellence evidenced by strong publications as well as by the impact of their work—whether on the field, the public, or both. All alumni who have completed a graduate degree in Communication Arts are eligible.