The La Follette School’s faculty are committed to studying and enhancing public policy. Reflecting their excellence and hard work, several faculty members received prestigious awards, honors, and grants in 2024.
Mariel Barnes
Assistant Professor Mariel Barnes received a Vilas Early-Career Investigator Award, which recognizes research and teaching excellence. The Vilas Awards are supported by the estate of U.S. Senator, professor, and UW Regent William F. Vilas (1840-1908). This award will provide Barnes with flexible research funding for three years. Barnes also received a Division of Extension grant for the development of a rent-smart program specifically designed for survivors of domestic violence.
Christine Durrance and Morgan Edwards
In February, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research named Professor Christine Durrance and Assistant Professor Morgan Edwards as winners of the Vilas Associates Competition. They were two out of just 24 faculty winners to be given the title this year. Vilas Associates are chosen through a competitive process based on a proposal reviewed by divisional research committees, which look for new and ongoing research of the highest quality and significance. The award is funded by the William F. Vilas Estate Trust.
J. Michael Collins
Professor J. Michael Collins was awarded the Robert G.F. and Hazel T. Spitze Land Grant Faculty Award for Excellence this year. Award recipients are chosen by the College of Agricultural and Life and Sciences to recognize and encourage faculty who exemplify the Land Grant philosophy through combined excellence in research, teaching, and outreach. The fund was established to honor contributions made by CALS and School of Human Ecology faculty.
Susan Webb Yackee
In March, La Follette School Director and Professor Susan Webb Yackee was awarded a Wisconsin Idea Collaboration grant from the Division of Extension for her work studying the rise of political polarization and the assessment of potential remedies. Yackee’s project is one of 10 selected to receive a grant from UW–Madison’s Division of Extension, which connects people around the state with the cutting-edge research being done at UW–Madison.