The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) honored the recipients of its 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards on April 16, 2026, at a ceremony held in Morgridge Hall on the UW–Madison campus. The award, presented annually since 1936, recognizes University of Wisconsin graduates who have made significant contributions to their professions, their communities, and society at large.
This year’s honorees — entrepreneur Jeffrey Sprecher, diplomat Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and computer scientist Rakesh Agrawal, — were selected during the 2025 award cycle and gathered with family, friends, and university supporters to accept the recognition in person.
Sarah Schutt, chief alumni officer and executive director of the Wisconsin Alumni Association, opened the evening by welcoming guests and reflecting on the award’s nearly 90-year history. “This award recognizes individuals whose lives and careers truly reflect the Wisconsin Idea,” Schutt said. “Excellence, service, leadership, and impact that reaches far beyond our campus.”
Alisa Robertson ’94, MBA’03, president and CEO of WFAA, presided over the award presentations. Robertson noted the strength of UW–Madison’s alumni network — more than 500,000 living graduates — as a defining asset for the university and a fitting backdrop for the evening’s recognition.
Rakesh Agrawal PhD’83
Widely regarded as the father of data mining, Rakesh Agrawal is credited with helping create a field that laid the foundation for modern data science. After completing his doctoral degree at UW–Madison in 1983, Agrawal went on to lead pioneering research at Bell Labs, IBM, and Microsoft Research. As an IBM Fellow, he led the team that developed the first commercial data-mining product. His research publications rank among the most cited in all of computer science.
In his remarks, Agrawal reflected on arriving in the United States from India as a young graduate student — with a suitcase and little else — and credited UW–Madison with giving him the foundation on which his entire career was built. “I accept this award not as a trophy but as a tribute to a university that stands as a beacon of opportunity for students from every part of the world,” he said. Agrawal continues to support UW–Madison through mentorship, service on the Department of Computer Sciences Board of Visitors, and philanthropy.
Jeffrey Sprecher ’78
Jeffrey Sprecher is the founder and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, a global digital infrastructure company that serves as the parent organization of the New York Stock Exchange. Trained as an engineer at UW–Madison, Sprecher has led the Intercontinental Exchange to encompass between 25 and 30 of the world’s exchanges, with operations on nearly every continent.
Sprecher, who also grew up in Madison and attended high school in the city, spoke of the lasting influence of his Wisconsin upbringing on his approach to global business. He credited his UW engineering degree as the single best investment of his life and expressed gratitude for the Midwestern values — generosity, directness, and fairness — that he said served him well in navigating international markets.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield MA’75
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield brings more than four decades of distinguished public service to this recognition. Her career in the U.S. Foreign Service culminated in her role as the 33rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations, serving, as President Biden described, as “America’s voice to the world.” She received an honorary doctorate of laws from UW–Madison in 2018 and delivered the university’s spring commencement address in 2022.
Thomas-Greenfield spoke candidly about the role UW–Madison played in shaping her sense of purpose. “It was here in Wisconsin, as a young Black student from the South, that I found my own calling and learned that I could contribute to society — not just in small ways but in big ones, if I put my mind to it,” she said. She credited the late Professor Crawford Young as a formative mentor and noted that throughout her global career, she continually encountered fellow UW graduates in positions of leadership — from government ministries in Africa to the halls of the United Nations. “Not only did UW make its mark on me,” she said. “It has made its mark on the world.”
Following the presentations, guests gathered for a reception to congratulate the honorees in person.
For more information, visit uwalumni.com/about/alumni-awards
