STUDENT AWARDS
Congratulations to the 2025 Winners of the University Writing Awards!
We invite UW-Whitewater faculty and instructional academic staff members to nominate students for the University-wide awards for outstanding undergraduate student writing. Papers, essays, and other types of written assignments completed by undergraduate students to meet a course requirement will be accepted. Instructors may nominate up to two papers per class section.
Nominations now being accepted for papers from classes offered during Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 semesters. The deadline for submissions will be February 6, 2026.
Instructors should submit papers electronically using the web form available here (nominators must be logged in to their UWW Google account).
Submissions are accepted in the following categories:
- Expository Essays (e.g. short analytical or persuasive papers and exams)
- Expository Essay/Literacy Interpretation (First Year)
- Research Papers (e.g. quantitative or qualitative research papers)
- Creative Writing (e.g. fiction, nonficiton, poetry, drama, multi-genre pieces)
- Reviews and Critiques (e.g. book, media, performance or art exhibit reviews; literary critiques)
- Technical and Professional Writing
- Journalism/Communications
Writing Matters: A Guide to UWW Writing Matters [PDF]
For more information, please contact writingawards@uww.edu.
The McGraw Award is the university's top student award. Arthur McGraw, former dean of the School of Graduate Studies, created the award in 1985 to honor outstanding student achievement. The award is presented annually, with the recipient receiving a $500 honorarium.
To be eligible, a student must have completed 60 credits from UW-Whitewater with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in their major and be actively involved in university and community organizations. A selection committee reviews the applicants. McGraw suggested the award should recognize "an outstanding, well rounded UW-Whitewater graduate ready for the world of professional work and one who potentially appears ready to contribute in a positive way to society."
Please select the 2025 McGraw Award for Student Excellence link to learn more about this award.
- For student applicants the McGraw Award for Student Excellence Application is due to the Dean’s Office for your College.
- Each College will establish a screening process and submit a maximum of five of the best qualified candidates to the University Selection Committee no later than 12:00 p.m. on March 7, 2025.
- The University Selection Committee will select the recipient of the award no later than March 28, 2025.
Please contact Brian Bredeson (bredesob@uww.edu), Career Services, for further information.
The Student Award for Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is intended to recognize either a UW-Whitewater student or student organization based on the following criteria:
- The student or organization has demonstrated a long-term commitment to inclusion and diversity at UW-Whitewater through a multiplicity of engagement and across disciplines/programs
- The student or organization has played an active leadership role in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on campus or in the Greater Whitewater Community
Deadline for nominations: January 31
Individuals are allowed to submit multiple nominations for any or all awards (a separate nomination form is required for each nomination). The Chancellor's Committee on Inclusive Excellence then determines the award recipients based on these nominations.
Past recipients:
2025 - Jaelyne White (Higher Education Leadership), Muslim Student Association
2024 - Montana Petersen (Sociology)
2023 - Orin Smith (Letters & Sciences)
2022 - Ashley Munoz (Disabilities Studies) & Adah Muwonge (Letters & Sciences)
2021 - The Association for Graduate Students of Color
2020 - Laura Piña (International Studies) & Destiny Tillman (Sociology)
2019 - Marco Marquez (Communication)
About the Award:
For 20 years, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has celebrated the unique and transformative leadership of women at our university and in our shared Whitewater community through the Women in Leadership Awards. Historically sponsored by the Women’s Issues Committee, these awards recognized leadership that is collaborative and equity minded. Often leadership is viewed as a quality held by those in positions of power. But the Women in Leadership ceremony sought to recognize many different kinds of leaders; leaders who build community, engage in mentoring, sustain collegiality, model resilience, and more. These kinds of leaders are not always found in traditional leadership positions but nonetheless, transform their workplace and communities.
As we celebrate the 20th year of these awards, the Women in Leadership recognitions enter a new era. Specifically, the Women’s Issues Committee has merged with the Chancellor’s Committee on Inclusive Excellence. And we have taken that opportunity to rename these awards, now titled Women, Gender Equity, and Community Leadership Awards.
Like always, these awards will celebrate diverse and innovative leadership, including those outside of traditional definitions of power. But with the new name, we want to expand our leadership recognition to include diverse gender identities, as well as leaders working on issues of gender equity, diversity, and inclusion in various community spaces in our selection criteria.
Eligibility:
We accept nominations from students, classified staff, non-instructional academic staff, instructional academic staff, faculty, administrators, and community members.
Nominated employees should have worked at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for at least 2 full years.
Nominated students should have at least junior standing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Community members are also eligible for this award. By community, the awards subcommittee means individuals that embody the values of UW-Whitewater, both in our immediate region and global community of alumni and friends.
Selection Process:
The Chancellor’s Committee on Inclusive Excellence and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies invites you to submit nominations. Representatives from the Chancellor’s Committee, including a Women’s and Gender Studies department representative, will serve on a sub committee to select awardees.
Each year, at least 4 leaders will be recognized with the Women, Gender Equity, and Community Leadership Award. The sub committee strives to recognize a breadth of leadership types, campus roles, and community contributions, informing the annual selection of awardees.
Application Process:
To nominate a student, employee, or community member, please write a letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s contributions to leadership at UW-Whitewater and/or surrounding communities. In crafting your nomination, please consider expansive definitions of leadership and influence. Leadership does not always look like traditional forms of power and authority; rather, these awards seek to recognize diverse forms of leadership, celebrating community building, mentorship, tenacity, and more. Nominations can also consider the various intersectional approaches, practices, and initiatives nominees are leading related to issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in institutional and community spaces.
To help with the evaluation process, we recommend a letter of at least a page in length and 2 professional references to be checked at a later date by the award subcommittee.
Self-nominations are welcome.
Deadline: January 31 | Nomination form
Past Recipients
2025 - Maren McDonnell, Environmental Studies Student
See University Awards page for past staff, faculty, and community member award recipients.