In a virtual ceremony on May 14, 2021, 48 members of the UW-Madison Police Department, the UW-Madison campus, and the general public were presented with awards for their extraordinary service to the UW-Madison community. These awards are for efforts and/or actions in 2020 with an emphasis on public safety.
The awards ceremony was UWPD’s 30th annual event — for the second year in a row, it was held virtually due to COVID-19. You can view the ceremony below:
A complete list of 2020 award winners is below — congratulations to all, and thank you for your continued hard work to keep UW-Madison a safe, enjoyable place for all.
- Meritorious Service Commendation – awarded to department members for outstanding service above and beyond the call of duty, for highly creditable acts serving the community, for major protection of property, for consistently demonstrating highly professional performance over an extended period of time, or for demonstrating uncommon perseverance in an ongoing investigation.
- Bill Curtis
- Excellent Service Commendation – awarded to department members for excellent service above and beyond the norm in the performance of everyday duties; or for exhibiting a high standard of job performance in a single incident, investigation, or exceptional arrest; or for training others with dedication and concern in an effort to improve the Department’s operations; or for submitting for consideration a device or method that is adopted to increase efficiency in an administrative or tactical procedure.
- Sgt. Juan Avila
- PO Stew Ballweg
- Lt. Adam Boardman
- PO Jake Colvin
- PO Brad Davis
- Anthony DeVito
- PO Barrett Erwin
- Sean Geib
- PO Eric Grudzinski
- PO Corey Johnson
- Dave Krueger
- ESC Josh Larson
- PO Patrick Lau
- PO Heidi Laundrie (ret.)
- ESC Ed Lawson
- PO Jake Lepper
- Marc Lovicott
- Lt. John McCaughtry
- Mandi Meier
- PO Erik Pearce (2)
- Andy Rose
- ESC Tim Slater
- William “Smiley” Stebbins
- PO Jake Tincher
- Paul Wittkamp
- Lifesaving Award – awarded to department members who knowingly and directly act to save a life or lives even in the event that the attempt was unsuccessful.
- PO Ryan Bridges
- Sgt. Dan Burgoni
- PO Brad Davis
- PO Barrett Erwin
- PO Corey Johnson
- PO Jeff Kirchman
- PO Jessie Koutoulas (former)
- PO Patrick Lau
- PO Heidi Laundrie (ret.)
- PO Jake Lepper (2)
- Chief’s Award– presented to a member or members of the community who have assisted a member of the department or have performed commendable acts such as lifesaving.
- Grethe Jennings
- Ben Miller
- Dr. Elisavet Paplomata
- Dr. Christine Seibert
- UW Fleet and Service Garage
- Matt Winchell
- Problem Solving Award — awarded to department members who have been determined to find solutions to a problem, through commitment, initiative, creativity, and fortitude. They utilized the problem-solving approach to identify a problem(s) that have negatively impacted the UW-Madison campus and surrounding areas. Through their resolve they have effectively managed to change the course of the issue and continue to monitor its successes and failures, to ensure the identified problem does not continue.
- LED Jake Birkhaug
- PO Jeff Kirchman
- SO Andrew Monk
- SO Dean Olsen (2)
- Professional Service Award – awarded to non-sworn department members for outstanding contributions to law enforcement, the department, and/or the community through a project, program, or event which contributes to the highest degree of professional excellence. The employee’s actions during the service were above and beyond regular, expected work, and/or the service required considerable devotion of time to complete.
- Tracey Berman
- Cindy Blankenship
- SO Patrick Horne