UW–‍Madison gold medal on a background of campus.

UW–‍Madison IT Recognition Awards

The IT Recognition Awards honor information technology professionals at UW–‍Madison who excel at their work and strengthen our community.

Nominations open each spring semester (typically in March or April). Honorees are nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of volunteers from the distributed IT community. The university honors IT Recognition Award winners during the IT Professionals Conference in the summer.

An annual tradition since 2020, the awards are part of UW IT Connects and sponsored by the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

On this page

2026 honorees

Erik Adel

Student Team Lead

General Help Desk, Division of Information Technology

Rising Star Award

Jason Erdmann

IT Project Manager

Media, Education Resources & Information Technology (MERIT), School of Education

Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement

Erik Geiger

Web Operations Manager

DoIT Communications, Division of Information Technology

Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award

Lee Konrad

Emerit, former Associate Dean for Information Technology & Administration

UW–⁠Madison Libraries

Lifetime Achievement Award

Ryan Larscheidt

Technical Lead

Identity & Access Management, Division of Information Technology

Unsung Hero Award

Jessie Nemec

Software Developer

Software Development & Integration, UW–⁠Madison Libraries

Unsung Hero Award

Brad Sanders

Enterprise Data Management Director

Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research

Transformational Achievement Award

11 people posing in front of an ivy-covered wall. Two of them are holding a framed certificate.
From left: Matt Goins, Leah Bowers, Scott Berg, Josh Ciolkosz, Nate Finch, Jenna Klinner, Cheyanne Lynch, Danielle Cranmer, Kedar Joyner, Julie Schroeder, Jose Valdez.

UW Theme 2.0 Project Team

Strategic Communication: Josh Ciolkosz, Danielle Cranmer, Nate Finch, Nick Gonzales, Kedar Joyner, Danielle Lamberson Philipp, Cheyanne Lynch, Kate Price, Julie Schroeder & Nick Weaver. WiscWeb: Scott Berg, Matt Goins, Jenna Klinner, Andrea Roenning, Andy Summers & Jose Valdez. Center for User Experience: Leah Bowers.

Team Achievement Award

A group of 18 people pose in two rows in front of a living plant wall featuring the UW–Madison "W" crest.
UW–Madison’s 2026 IT Recognition Award honorees. Top row, from left: Lee Konrad, Leah Bowers, Scott Berg, Cheyanne Lynch, Nate Finch, Kedar Joyner, Ryan Larscheidt, Jose Valdez, Brad Sanders, Jessie Nemec, Jason Erdmann. Bottom row, from left: Erik Geiger, Matt Goins, Josh Ciolkosz, Jenna Klinner, Danielle Cranmer, Julie Schroeder, Erik Adel. (Photo by Justin Masuga / Division of Information Technology)

About the awards

We work with excellent people who do awesome things. The IT Recognition Awards acknowledge and appreciate our UW–‍Madison information technology colleagues for their amazingness.

Below are the award categories and descriptions for the annual IT Recognition Awards. Visit our guide to writing an effective IT recognition award nomination for more details, including the scoring rubric the awards committee uses to determine the honorees.

Ellen La Luzerne Community Builder Award

Recognizes an IT professional or initiative that excels in bringing people together through active volunteerism and professional service to the broader IT community.

Janet E. Plato Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award

Recognizes and celebrates the exemplary leadership displayed by an IT staff member in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our community.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Recognizes the continued contributions of a community member whose body of work throughout their career has significantly impacted the success of the university. Emeritus and retired staff are eligible for this award.

Rising Star Award

Recognizes a rising IT community member whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth in contribution to the profession.

Team Achievement Award

Recognizes a single team of IT community members whose collective teamwork in creating or incorporating an information—or technical-based solution on one or more projects has significantly impacted the university.

Transformational Achievement Award

Recognizes an IT community member who made a significant impact in transforming the university through their efforts on a specific major IT project or initiative beyond community events. This award differs from other awards in that it is to recognize a specific initiative, project, or service where creating or incorporating an information or technical solution was essential to success.

Unsung Hero

This award recognizes a member of the IT community who is responsive and proactive, making a real difference to their co-workers by designing or implementing excellent technical solutions. Yet their contributions may be overlooked or receive little formal recognition.

Past honorees