Musician Steve Miller and former UW-Madison faculty member Thomas Brock received this year’s honorary degrees for excellence in their careers.
Recipients of the honorary degrees award are often known for a single achievement in their career. However, the award is not meant to celebrate one achievement but rather a career-long dedication to values that coincide with the university’s beliefs. Recipients are often affiliated with the university as well.
“Honorary degrees are to recognize a lifetime of extraordinary achievement,” Secretary of the Faculty Steve Smith said. “At UW, we also look for a meaningful connection to the state.”
UW-Madison community members can nominate recipients for an honorary degree. All recipients are then elected by a committee made up of faculty members, the chancellor and the UW System president.
Steve Miller, of the Steve Miller Band, is a Milwaukee native who attended UW-Madison in the 1960s. Miller left UW just a few credits shy of graduating with a degree in comparative literature, leaving to pursue his music career. The Steve Miller Band’s hit song “The Joker” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Miller has maintained a connection to the university. In 2017, he returned to campus and conducted the UW-Madison marching band during the fifth quarter of the homecoming football game.
Microbiologist Thomas Brock taught at UW-Madison for nearly 20 years and continues to contribute to the university by promoting ecological conservation and biodiversity.
Brock is most well-known for his discovery of bacteria living in hot springs at Yellowstone National Park, leading to the study of extremophiles, or organisms that live in extreme environments. This discovery proved to be greatly influential in the field of microbiology.
Kathie Brock, Thomas’ wife, is also an accomplished microbiologist. The couple founded the Pleasant Valley Conservancy in Dane County, which became influential in the field of ecological restoration.
“In the eyes of the committee and the other people in the process, [Miller and Brock] were deemed to have met the criteria and been deserving of the award,” Smith said.
Miller and Brock will be honored at the Kohl Center in May.
