CALS has a total of 39 active professorships/chairs with a combined total endowment value of over $65 million. The minimum gift level to establish a named professorship at UW–Madison is $1 million, and the minimum gift level to establish a named chair at UW–Madison is $2 million.
Recipients of these awards are honored annually at an investiture ceremony, a significant, formal ceremony that honors faculty who have been appointed to named professorships and recognizes the generous donors who made the appointments possible. This tradition began in 2023.
CALS professorship policy: https://admin.cals.wisc.edu/policies-guidelines/cals-professorship-policy/
College-Level Professorships/Chairs
A five-year award for a faculty member in CALS who has established and maintained outstanding research, teaching, and service in the area of natural and environmental resources conservation and management.
Recipients:
- Doug Soldat, Soil and Environmental Sciences – 2025-2030
- Anna Pidgeon, Forest and Wildlife Ecology – 2020-2025
- Timothy Van Deelen, Forest and Wildlife Ecology – 2015-2020
- Ken F. Raffa, Entomology – 2010-2015
- David J. Mladenoff, Forest and Wildlife Ecology – 2005-2010
- Stanley A. Temple, Forest and Wildlife Ecology – 1980-2005
A three-year award that supports and encourages early-stage, high-risk/high-reward research at UW–Madison. Interested faculty submit research proposals, and the faculty member with the winning proposal receives the professorship. Selection is done by a subcommittee of the CALS Research Advisory Committee and preference is given to interdisciplinary projects, particularly out-of-the-box research that could have the potential to significantly change the world.
Recipients:
- Kaiping Chen, Life Sciences Communication – 2022-2025
A five-year award that recognizes faculty for outstanding contributions in the field of agriculture. This includes, but is not limited to, those working in the areas of food science, nutrition, horticulture, agronomy, plant pathology, biological systems engineering, bacteriology, biochemistry, and genetics. The requirement that the candidates come from agriculture or food-related departments does not exclude those from a non-agriculture or non-food-related department if they conduct research in those areas.
Recipients:
- Scott Rankin, Nutritional Sciences – 2025-2030
- Randall Jackson, Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences – 2019-2024
- Shawn Kaeppler, Agronomy – 2014-2019
- Jiming Jiang, Horticulture – 2009-2014
- Marion L. Greaser, Animal Sciences – 2004-2009
- Jiwan P. Palta, Horticulture – 1999-2004
- Stanley Peloquin, Horticulture/Genetics – 1983
A five-year award that supports the advancement of organic agriculture through dedicated research and outreach programs.
Recipients:
- Erin Silva, Plant Pathology – 2022-2027
A five-year award for a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding research and service in vegetable production.
Recipients:
- Amanda Jane Gevens, Plant Pathology – 2023-2028
- Jed B. Colquhoun, Horticulture – 2018-2023
- Amy Charkowski, Plant Pathology – 2015-2016
- William F. Tracy, Agronomy – 2008-2015
- Walter R. Stevenson, Plant Pathology – 2001-2006
- Larry K. Binning, Horticulture – 1992-2001
A five-year award that recognizes and rewards a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional cross-disciplinary scholarship and collaboration in the area of human or animal health, and who advances the impact of agriculture through the identification and development of novel bio-functional compounds.
Recipients:
- Michael Sussman, Biochemistry – 2022-2027
- Xuejun Pan, Biological Systems Engineering – 2021-2026
- David Schwartz, Genetics – 2021-2026
- Richard Lindroth, Entomology – 2016-2021
- Richard Eisenstein, Nutritional Sciences – 2016-2021
- Patricia S. McManus, Plant Pathology – 2016-2021
- Caitilyn Allen, Plant Pathology – 2016-2021
- Alfred Hartemink, Soil Science – 2016-2021
- Laura Kiessling, Biochemistry – 2015-2020
- Ken F. Raffa, Entomology – 2015-2020
A five-year award for a faculty member with an established research portfolio addressing the impact of potatoes and/or vegetables on water, economics, and the environment.
Recipients:
- Matthew Ruark, Soil Science – 2023-2028
A five-year award for a faculty member with an established research portfolio addressing the impact of potatoes and/or vegetables on water, economics, and the environment.
- Irwin Goldman, Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences – 2025-2030
Department-Level Professorships/Chairs
A five-year award for a faculty member in agricultural and applied economics in recognition for high-quality teaching and research.
Recipients:
- Dominic Parker – 2024-2029
- Laura Schechter – 2021-2024
- Jean Paul Chavas – 2010-2021
- Daniel Bromley – 1986-2009
A three-year award for a faculty member in agricultural and applied economics to reward excellence and innovation in research, teaching and outreach in agribusiness, and to enhance the visibility of the Renk Agribusiness Institute.
- Guanming Shi – 2022-2028
- Xiaodong Du – 2019-2022
- Brian Gould – 2017-2019
- T. Randall Fortenbery – 2002-2007
A five-year award for a faculty member in agricultural and applied economics.
- Daniel Phaneuf – 2017-2027
A five-year award recognizing a faculty member working in dairy genetics in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.
- Francisco Penagaricano – 2025-2030
- Kent Weigel – 2022-2025
A five-year award recognizing a faculty member working in dairy physiology, nutrition and management in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.
- Milo Wiltbank – 2022-2027
A five-year award for a faculty member in the Department of Bacteriology to recognize outstanding research, teaching and service.
Recipients:
- Federico Rey – 2025-2030
- Timothy Donohue – 2020-2025
- Cameron Currie – 2015-2020
- Richard L. Gourse – 2010-2015
- Robert Landick – 2006-2010
- Jorge C. Escalante-Semerena – 2001-2006
A five-year award to support a faculty member in bacteriology.
- Jade Wang – 2025-2030
- Katrina Forest – 2020-2025
- Michael Thomas – 2015-2020
- Diana M. Downs – 2009-2014
- Carol Gross – 1990-1995
Created with a reallocation of WARF funds to support faculty in biochemistry.
Recipients:
- Robert Landick – 2018-2028
- Laura Kiessling – 2006-2015
A five-year award to support a faculty member in biochemistry, established by Marie Chiang in honor of her father, Fang Shui Chow.
- Vatsan Raman – 2024-2029
A five-year award to support a faculty member in biochemistry.
- Brian Fox – 2001-2020
Created with a reallocation of WARF funds to support faculty in biochemistry.
- Alan Attie – 2025-2030
A five-year award to support a distinguished professor engaged in research to understand fundamental life processes.
- Chad Rienstra – 2025-2030
- Michael Cox – 2013-2023
- William Reznikoff – unknown
Established in a bequest by Mrs. Steenbock in 1976 to support a faculty member in biochemistry.
- Samuel Butcher – 2021-2026
- John L. Markley – 2000-2019
- Thomas Record, Chemistry – 2002-2012
- William Wallace Cleland – 1992-2002
Created with a reallocation of WARF funds to support faculty in biochemistry.
- Katherine Henzler-Wildman – 2021-2026
- Jill Wildonger – 2020
Created with a reallocation of WARF funds to support faculty in biochemistry.
- Aaron Hoskins – 2021-2026
This award is intended to follow the department chair providing support, so the chair can continue ongoing faculty work, while acting as chair, as well as providing financial resources for the good of the department.
- Anita Thompson – 2023-2026
- Troy Runge – 2020-2023
A three-year award to support a faculty member in community and environmental sociology who has made exceptional contributions to both rural sociology and the larger discipline of sociology.
- Katherine Curtis – 2024-2027
- Samer Alatout – 2023-2026
- Nan Enstead – 2020-2023
- Michael Bell – 2015-2020
- Todd Flournoy – 2014-2015
- Daniel Kleinman – 2008-2009
- Jill Pritikin – 2007-2012
A five-year award to support a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and research in food chemistry.
- John Lucey – 2021-2026
- Srinivasan Damodaran – 2018-2020
A five-year award for a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding research and service to the vegetable processing industry.
- Tu-Anh Huynh – 2024-2029
- Bradley Bolling – 2019-2024
- Kirk L. Parkin – 2014-2019
- Sherry A. Tanumihardjo, Nutritional Sciences – 2009-2014
- Kirk L. Parkin – 1998-2008
- Joachim von Elbe – 1993-1998
A five-year award to support a faculty member in food science devoted to teaching and research in food chemistry, food bacteriology or food engineering.
- Richard Hartel – 2023-2028
- James Stelle – 2015-2020
- Richard Hartel – 2005-2015
- Srinivasan Damodaran – 2000-2005
A five-year award to support a faculty member in genetics. The holder of the professorship will be a faculty member within the Laboratory of Genetics, which includes the Department of Medical Genetics within the School of Medicine and Public Health and Department of Genetics in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Recipients:
- Bret Payseur – 2020-2024
A five-year award to support a faculty member in nutritional sciences.
Recipients:
- Guy Groblewski – 2019-2024
- David Eide – 2014-2019
- Denise M. Ney – 2009-2014
- Richard S. Eisenstein – 2004-2009
A five-year award to support a faculty member in horticulture (now the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences).
- Amaya Atucha – 2015-2030
- Rebecca Harbut – 2012-2013
- Jed B. Colquhoun – 2009-2012
- Brent H. McCown – 1991-2009
A five-year award to support a faculty member in agronomy (now the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences).
- Chris Kucharik – 2024-2029
- Shawn Conley – 2019-2024
- Jean-Michel Ane – 2014-2019
- Shawn M. Kaeppler – 2008-2014
- James G. Coors – 2005-2007
- Thomas C. Osborn – 2000-2005
- Edward Oplinger – 1998-2000
A five-year award for a faculty member working in the area of phytobacteriology in the Department of Plant Pathology.
Recipients:
- Caitilyn Allen – 2014-2024
A five-year award to support a faculty member in plant pathology.
- Damon Smith – 2025-2030
- Douglas Rouse – 2019-2024
- Ann E. MacGuidwin – 2014-2018
- Patricia S. McManus – 2009-2013
- Craig R. Grau – 2003-2008
- Walter R. Stevenson – 1993-2003
A five-year award to support a faculty member working in symbiotic nitrogen fixation or soil microbiology.
Recipients:
- Zac Freedman – 2021-2026
- Thea Whitman – 2016-2021
- William J. Hickey – 2011-2016
A five-year award to support a faculty member in soil and environmental sciences.
Recipients:
- Jingyi Huang – 2024-2029
- Alfred Hartemink – 2019-2024
A five-year award to support a faculty member in soil and environmental sciences.
- Nick Balster – 2022-2027
- Francisco Arriaga – 2017-2022
- Joel A. Pedersen – 2012-2016
- Philip A. Helmke – 2002-2007
- John M. Norman – 1997-2002