UWL Honorary Doctorate

• Although a Wisconsin connection is not a prerequisite to an honorary doctorate, the committee is obliged to give preference in its nominations to persons who are connected in some significant way with the state or with the university.
• The Foundation will not recommend an honorary doctorate for an emeriti faculty or staff member solely based on their performance during their time at UWL.
• The Foundation will not recommend awarding honorary doctorates to serving members of the Wisconsin legislature or the Wisconsin congressional delegation, elected and appointed officials, members of the state judiciary, serving members of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, or anyone currently employed by any university of the UW System or by UW System administration. Such persons are eligible for consideration five years or more after they have vacated office or terminated employment.
• UW System policy generally limits the number of honorary degrees any individual may receive from universities within UW System to one.
• The Foundation seeks to avoid involving the university in partisan politics.
• The Foundation will not award an honorary doctorate solely in recognition of past or prospective gifts to the university.
• The Foundation will not accept self-nominations.

The following is the generally recommended timeline and procedure for a spring commencement honorary doctorate. However, the University may request Board of Regent approval at any time for a winter or spring ceremony provided the agenda item is sent to the regents at minimum one month prior
to the regent meeting and the regent approval occurs at minimum, two months prior to the commencement ceremony. All procedures must align with Board of Regent Policies.

• September: Call for eligible candidate nominations is sent to all university employees, community members, and alumni by the UWL Alumni & Friends Foundation, with a notice to the UW System Board of Regents.
• Ongoing w/December 15 deadline: Campus and community partners submit eligible candidate nominations through the online form. Nominations received by December 15 are included in the pool of candidates to be considered for a degree starting in the next academic year. Ideas are accepted on a rolling basis, review is ongoing, and candidates may ultimately be selected several years after submission.
• January-April: The UWL Alumni Foundation considers candidates and sends preliminary nominations to the chancellor.
• May-June: The Foundation prepares and sends full nominations to the chancellor.
• May-June: The Chancellor sends recommendations to the Board of Regents for their summer meeting.
• October-December: Invitations are sent by the Chancellor to the honorary degree candidate representative(s) to attend spring commencement.
• May: Commencement and degrees are bestowed.

Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis through the UWL Honorary Doctorate Nomination Form. Nominations received by December 15 will be included in the pool of candidates considered beginning in the next academic year. Candidates may remain under consideration for future years.

Submission of a nomination does not ensure its successful outcome; therefore, it is of utmost importance that potential candidates not be informed that a nomination is under consideration. Preliminary consideration of candidates for honorary doctorate is conducted with the high degree of confidentiality appropriate to matters of personnel. Only the chancellor may authorize the public announcement of honorary doctorate recipients.

Nominators will not be notified of the outcome while a candidate is under consideration. Nominators will not be notified whether their nominee has been selected while the candidate is under consideration. If a nominee is selected, the nominator will be notified after the honorary doctorate has been publicly announced.