Three members of the UW–Madison School of Education — Emily Arthur, Angela Byars-Winston and Li Chiao-Ping — are among 16 Wisconsinites receiving the 2026 Fellows Award from the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.
The Academy’s highest honor recognizes outstanding achievement and a lifelong commitment to intellectual discourse and public service.
Since 1982, the Wisconsin Academy Fellows Award has recognized educators, researchers, mentors, artists, civic leaders and business leaders whose work has contributed significantly to Wisconsin’s cultural life and the well-being of its people.
The three UW–Madison honorees are:
Angela Byars-Winston, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Medicine and investigator with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Education, is recognized for her research on mentorship and efforts to diversify the scientific workforce. Her work focuses on barriers facing historically underrepresented groups in STEMM fields. She co-developed the Culturally Aware Mentorship program, a model for culturally responsive mentoring.
Li Chiao-Ping, the Sally Banes Professor of Dance and a Vilas Research Professor in the School of Education’s Dance Department, has spent more than three decades creating and teaching contemporary dance at UW–Madison. Her multidisciplinary work explores culture and identity and has been presented at venues including the Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow and Joyce SoHo. She also has worked extensively with K-12 students, professional dancers and older adults through residencies, mentorship and movement workshops.
Emily Arthur, a professor in the School of Education’s Art Department, is an American artist whose work explores environment, exile and home. Her work is held in collections including the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, Chazen Museum of Art and Saint Louis Art Museum. Her research into the engraving techniques used to publish John James Audubon’s The Birds of America examines the work through the lenses of imperialism, manifest destiny and the mythology of artistic genius.
The 2026 Fellows will be inducted at a gala on Sunday, Oct. 4, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison.
