The University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is proud to announce the selections for its 2025 Honorary Recognition awards. This year, the college is honoring four outstanding alumni. CALS will present the Distinguished Alumni Awards to Bill Kennedy and Tom Kennedy. The Distinguished Recent Graduate Awards will be presented to Dantrell Cotton and Maya Warren. 

These are some of the highest honors bestowed by the college. The Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement and service, was established in 2009. The Distinguished Recent Graduate Award, established in 2024, recognizes graduates who earned their degree in the last 20 years and have made extraordinary contributions to their field or public service. 

The awards will be presented at the CALS Honorary Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 30, in Memorial Union.  For more information about the awards, and to register for the event visit cals.wisc.edu/honorary.  

2025 Distinguished Alumni Awardees 

William “Bill” Kennedy BS’72 received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism (now life sciences communication) and began his career as an editor for CALS. He then served as the Communications Director of the American Dairy Association of Wisconsin before founding Kennedy Communications in 1983. That agency has grown to be one of the state’s largest and continues to be recognized year after year as a top workplace. Kennedy has been a champion and leader for his profession serving in many roles, such as president of the American Advertising Federation-Madison and trustee of its Foundation. He has also performed extensive public service with St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and other local boards supporting the Red Cross, the Epilepsy Foundation and community organizations. Kennedy is a long-time supporter of the university. He and his wife Cyndi endowed an annual scholarship for life sciences communication students. 

Thomas “Tom” Kennedy BS’68, MS’73, PhD’75 earned his bachelor’s degree in dairy science and, after serving in the military, received a master’s degree and Ph.D. in veterinary science. He later founded ABF research, a company that developed models and therapies in veterinary parasitology. Throughout his career, he held senior research and leadership roles at several companies, and in retirement, he co-founded three more companies focused on veterinary drugs and animal health. Kennedy was involved in every major professional organization in his field and held leadership positions in many of them. He continues to work with local service organizations to help amplify efforts in their communities. Groups in which he has participated include the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Rotary International. He has served on the CALS Board of Visitors and guest lectured at the Veterinary School for several years. 

2025 Distinguished Recent Graduate Awardees 

Dantrell Cotton BS’14 was a POSSE scholar and majored in community and environmental sociology. As an undergraduate, he conducted research on food justice with Monica White. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he completed a master’s in environment and resources at UW–Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and a master’s in higher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During his time at UW, Cotton served as a House Fellow at Smith Hall and was actively involved in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences, the Black Music Ensemble and the University Gospel Choir. He also served as president of the Kappa Rho chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Cotton currently leads talent management, employee experience, and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging functions at Attentive. He is an International Coaching Federation-certified executive coach, partnering with business leaders to cultivate high performance and drive transformational change. 

Maya Warren PhD’15 earned her degree in food science and specializes in frozen desserts. While in graduate school, she shared her passion for ice cream science both in the lab and beyond. She credits CALS for not only her scientific knowledge but also key skills such as problem-solving, adaptability and confidence. Those qualities were put to use in 2014, when she and former lab partner Amy DeJong won the 25^th season of the TV show The Amazing Race. After graduate school, Warren worked at Cold Stone Creamery helping stores in other countries access ice cream mix and navigate regulations that vary across international borders. In 2021, she co-founded Ice Cream for Change, a platform of ice cream makers and fans that advocate for social change. She currently owns IC3 CRM Consulting LLC, an international company that specializes in the art and science of frozen aerated desserts.