Current Initiatives

Professional Development Grant Program for University Staff 

The College of Letters & Science has made available $10,000 per fiscal year to be used to fund professional development opportunities for college university staff.  This year, because of increasing demand for these funds, the college has doubled the amount of support it offers per year at the request of the University Staff Issues Committee.  There are two opportunities, one in fall and one in spring. In each round, the committee will distribute $5,000 to awardees for approved activities. The maximum per individual request is $2,000 per program. However, it is understood that development opportunities do not always run on this schedule, so applications may be submitted at any time. If there are funds remaining after either round, the funds will be distributed for applications submitted outside of the deadline dates.

This program is in response to USIC's concern that some university staff members do not have funding available to them to attend training and professional development opportunities, particularly employees in small departments and those in technical and blue-collar positions. All permanent university staff in the College of Letters & Science are eligible for these grants. Fixed term terminal and temporary employees are not eligible.

 Examples of training and development opportunities that employees have received funding for in the recent past include:

• Courses from UW-Madison or within the UW System relevant to your professional development

• Other courses- either off-site or via distance learning- such as language courses or software training, offered through institutions such as Madison College, etc. Stronger consideration will be given to non-private type organizations (e.g. UW-Madison, Madison Colleges)

• Attendance at the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professional Conference

• Leadership & Management Development Conference through OHRD

• UW-Madison Conference for the Office Professional

• National Council of University Research Administrator Conference 

• Diversity Training

• Membership fees for professional organizations 

As you prepare your proposal, make sure your initiative meets college, UW-Madison and State policies and procedures. If your training involves travel, you should justify that (i.e. sole provider of training/retraining only available at single location, no locally known trainer, consultant, etc.)  If a fee for membership in a professional association is requested, explain the relevance of the association to your job.  If you request language training or software training, explain why the language or software proficiency will help you in your current job or career. The grant will not subsidize the purchase of software.

For additional information on UW-Madison specific training, please refer to the Office of Human Resources, Professional Development website at  https://hr.wisc.edu/professional-development/. 

People who receive these awards need to fill out a Coursework Training Request form to obtain Divisional HR approval before beginning the course. For more information, including policy and procedures, visit L&S Job-related or Career-related Training/Course work KB page.

Note: employees cannot pay for the course on a p-card and must request reimbursement after the course is completed. They will need to submit proof of completion/passing the course.

The next opportunity to apply will be in fall 2025. Please contact Lori DeMeuse (lori.demeuse@wisc.edu) with questions. 

• Michele Myers, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

University Staff Excellence Awards

Each year, the Dean of the College of Letters and Science also offers five awards of $3,000 each recognizing outstanding performance, service and/or contributions by L&S University Staff members. 

Based on proportionate number of employees in each grouping within the College, there will be three awards given to employees in non-exempt administrative support, fiscal & staff services, general broadband; one award given to an employee in a blue collar or technical position; and one award given to an exempt employee. The individuals nominated must have two years consecutive service within the College and are eligible once every ten years.

The individuals nominated must have two years consecutive service within the College and are eligible once every ten years.

Nomination factors for the University Staff Excellence Awards include:

The next call for nominations will take place in fall 2025. 

Reach out to Lori DeMeuse at lori.demeuse@wisc.edu with questions.