La Follette School faculty members earned two of UW-Madison’s highest honors in the 2025-26 academic year, showcasing La Follette’s expertise and teaching talents across a variety of disciplines.
Pevehouse selected for Hilldale Award
La Follette School Professor Jon Pevehouse was selected as the recipient of the 2026 Hilldale Award for the social sciences. The Hilldale Award, which is one of the most prestigious awards given by UW–Madison, recognizes Pevehouse’s outstanding contributions to research, teaching and service. Only four UW-Madison scholars are selected each year for the award. Pevehouse and his fellow winners were recognized at the April 6 Faculty Senate meeting.
Pevehouse researches the interaction between international organizations and domestic political institutions as well as how political narratives move across media platforms. He is co-author of International Relations, the leading textbook on international politics.
He is also a highly regarded mentor and teacher to undergraduate and graduate students alike. He has developed and taught 13 courses in both international relations and political methodology and is frequent graduate advisor to PhD students in the political science department where he holds a joint appointment and previously served as chair.
Pevehouse appears frequently in the media, lending his expertise and a nuanced perspective in recent years to conversations around conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.
Pifarré i Arolas wins Vilas Associates Award
Assistant Professor Pifarré i Arolas was one of just 24 UW-Madison scholars selected in the Vilas Associates Competition. The annual competition recognizes faculty on campus conducting research of the highest quality and significance.
Vilas Associates Award recipients are chosen by the divisional Research Committees, and the highly competitive award includes funds to help advance research. The award is funded by the William F. Vilas Estate Trust and Pifarré i Arolas’ award will be for 2026-27 academic year.
Since joining La Follette in 2022, Pifarré i Arolas has quickly established himself as a leading expert on how we determine and measure inequalities in health and mortality. In just the 2025-26 academic year, he published high-profile and impactful research on global life expectancy gains and gaps in longevity gains among U.S. states.