The University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is proud to announce the selections for its 2026 Honorary Recognition awards. This year, the college is recognizing six outstanding honorees. CALS will present Honorary Recognition Awards to Chris and Susan Salm, the Distinguished Service Award to Brian Holmes, Distinguished Alumni Awards to Sharon Brantmeier and Dennis Keeney, and the Distinguished Recent Graduate Award to Kristin Kohlmann. 

These are some of the highest honors bestowed by the college. The Honorary Recognition Award, now in its 117th year, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to their professions, their communities and the university. The Distinguished Service Award, first given in 1994, recognizes meritorious service by CALS faculty and staff members. The Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement and service of CALS graduates, was established in 2009. The Distinguished Recent Graduate Award, established in 2024, recognizes alumni 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. 29, in Memorial Union.  For more information about the awards, and to register for the event visit cals.wisc.edu/honorary.

2026 Honorary Recognition Awardees

Christopher BS’75 and Susan BS’76 Salm exemplify leadership rooted in integrity, service and a deep commitment to advancing the Wisconsin Idea. Their goal has been to build trusted relationships while finding and proving new technologies that can better feed the world. Chris and Susan have provided transformative leadership in meat science, animal agriculture and research commercialization. They both sat on the committee that reenvisioned UW’s Meat Science Program and helped catalyze its expansion into the Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery (MSABD) program and its new building. They brought rigorous science into industry and founded Ab E Discovery, which advances commercialization of UW-based research in animal agriculture and human health.

Chris has served on the CALS Board of Visitors and is serving on the WFAA Board of Trustees. Both he and Susan advocate for CALS at the federal level for food and agricultural research, extension and teaching programs. In 2022, they established the Salm-Bray Distinguished Chair which honors the legacy of the late Robert Bray and recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional cross-disciplinary scholarship and collaboration in the area of human or animal health. Impacts of the Salms’ work are keenly felt throughout the college and university, out into the state and beyond.

2026 Distinguished Service Awardee

Brian Holmes served the community as a professor and extension specialist in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering for 34 years, from 1979–2013. During that time, he built collaborations with faculty in several departments and co-taught the livestock housing course, part of the Farm and Industry Short Course. He also served two terms as interim associate dean of extension and outreach. He and his wife, Mary, developed a professorship in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering to continue to support research and education in the field.

Holmes’ extension career was devoted to educating farmers and professionals serving farmers. He has expertise on a number of topics including forage storage, energy, dairy freestall barn design, manure management, farmstead planning and more. He identified the needs of producers and industry professionals and produced materials that fit those needs. Throughout his career, Holmes developed farm-friendly educational materials and decision-making software programs, completed research projects that could be easily adapted on the farm and generously made himself available to anyone needing his help.

2026 Distinguished Alumni Awardees

Sharon Brantmeier BS’85, MS’86 founded Eventus Wealth Advisors, a private wealth practice with Ameriprise Financial, in 2001 and served as its chief executive officer until her retirement in 2024. She is a respected leader in the financial services industry and a dedicated advocate for agriculture and community engagement. Brantmeier received many national awards during her time as CEO, including Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisor. She built a highly successful firm grounded in client-centered planning and long-term relationship management.

Raised on a dairy farm, Brantmeier’s roots in agriculture have remained central to her life and leadership. Having earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dairy science from CALS, she continues to give back through mentorship, philanthropy and volunteering. She served on the CALS Board of Visitors from 2020-2025 and has been deeply involved in organizations supporting agricultural education and women in the industry, including Daughters of Demeter and the Association of Women in Agriculture (AWA).

Dennis Keeney MS’61 earned his master’s degree in soil science from UW–Madison and went on to advance foundational research on soil nitrogen cycling and the environmental impacts of conventional agricultural practices. He served on the UW–Madison faculty, as chair of the Department of Soil Science and as chair of the Land Resources Graduate Program. Keeney worked to address concerns about overdevelopment, environmental neglect and limits in food systems. His constructive engagement helped establish the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at UW–Madison.

Keeney played a pivotal role in elevating the awareness of agricultural sustainability, providing federal testimony and advocating for systems-based approaches to improve environmental outcomes. As the founding director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, he established a nationally recognized model for integrating science and policy that drove meaningful change in agricultural systems and promoted Aldo Leopold’s concept of land health. He has a long record of public service, leadership, and raising concerns about groundwater contamination and fertilizer misuse.

2026 Distinguished Recent Graduate Awardee

Kristin Kohlmann BS’13 earned her degree in genetics and a certificate in global health. After graduation, she worked to improve the nutritional outcomes of people living in poverty in Ghana and Malawi. She spent time as a Community HealthCorps Member in Milwaukee distributing medications and at the International Rescue Committee where she developed the Health Mentor Program pairing volunteers with refugee families. She also worked as a clinic coordinator for Project Peanut Butter, creating feeding programs for mobile nutrition clinics using ready-to-use therapeutic food.

Kohlmann earned her medical degree from the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health in 2025 and is currently a medical resident in the Department of Pediatrics at UW Health. Her long-term goal is to build a career as an academic pediatrician that allows her to work around the world. She hopes to combine clinical medicine with global child health research to better understand the problems faced by children in resource-limited settings and develop practical solutions that can be implemented where they are needed most.