CAPT John W "Swede" Peterson Memorial Award
The 2025 Peterson Award recipient has been seledcted, and will be announced by the University of Wisconsin–Madison NROTC unit at the Spring Ball in the Great Hall in Memorial Union on Saturday, April 26, 2025!
Every year, the Peterson Award recognizes a deserving future Navy or Marine Corps Officer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Naval ROTC Unit who exemplifies the ethics and character John so valued.
The CAPT John W “Swede” Peterson Memorial Award was established in honor of CAPT John W Peterson, USN, who had a distinguished 30-year career in the United States Navy as an aviator, commanding officer, commodore, and finally commanding officer of the UW-Madison Naval ROTC unit.
After his Navy career, he then became an Assistant Dean at the UW-Madison Law School, and later moved to the UW-Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT) as Director of Systems Engineering and Operations (SEO), in addition to his broad civic and community service. More information about John.
The award is a permanent endowment managed by the University of Wisconsin Foundation that stands as a lasting legacy in memory of John. This endowment ensures that future generations of Officers continue to be recognized for exemplary ethics and character in John’s name. More information about the award.
