Cat Phan Honored with the Outstanding Women of Color Award
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries proudly announces Cat Phan, Digital and Media Archivist with the University Archives and Records Management Department, as a recipient of the prestigious UW-Madison Outstanding Women of Color Award. This honor recognizes Cat’s exceptional contributions to inclusiveness, social justice, and work towards organizational change within the Libraries and beyond.
Awardees were recently announced at the Diversity Forum by Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence & Chief Diversity Officer, LaVar J. Charleston. A reception honoring this year’s recipients is planned for the evening of Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Please keep an eye out for more information about the celebration in the new year and plan to attend to support Cat and the other winners.
Since joining UW-Madison Libraries, Cat has demonstrated unwavering dedication to fostering equity and inclusion through some of her groundbreaking initiatives. A cornerstone of her work is the establishment of the Student Historian in Residence (SHiR) Program in 2018. This initiative provides undergraduates with opportunities to conduct archival research on underrepresented communities, resulting in impactful projects such as “The Black Student Strike and Student Activism on Campus,” “The Chicano Civil Rights Movement in Madison,” “The Asian Theater Program at UW-Madison,” and “Queer Spacemaking at UW.” Under Cat’s mentorship, SHiR participants have gained hands-on archival experience, strengthened campus collaborations, and showcased their findings to wide acclaim.
Cat’s commitment to community-building is also reflected in key campus partnerships such as the Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History. As part of this partnership, Cat was a featured actor in Season 1 of PBS’s The Look Back this past year. As stated on the website, “The Look Back is a series made for learners in grades 4-6 that explores eras from Wisconsin’s history through artifacts. The collection is hosted by historians who model an inquiry process: sharing artifacts, asking questions, visiting archives and museums to learn more, telling the story of their findings as they go, and making connections to our lives today.”
In her role as Digital and Media Archivist, Cat has championed projects that preserve vital cultural histories, including spearheading the digitization project of Nothing to Hide, one of the first public access television programs for LGBTQ+ communities. Her efforts ensure that these narratives are accessible for future research and education.
“Cat is someone who lives her values and works to inspire those around her to do the same. She has been involved in our workplace’s Shared Values strategic engagement team to help our organization to become a more inclusive environment.”, said Jennifer Patiño [Data and Digital Scholarship Librarian].
In addition to her role with the Libraries’ Shared Values team, Cat is the co-chair of the Libraries’ Equity and Diversity Committee’s Diversity Resident Librarian Program Subcommittee, where she works diligently to create meaningful opportunities for professional growth within the library and archives professions. Patiño states, “Cat served as my mentor throughout the residency and I really don’t know where I’d be without her. Her support was an important part of me choosing to stay in the profession and I am now the Data and Digital Scholarship Librarian at Memorial Library. I’ve seen her support several other resident librarians and work to continually improve the program over time in her role as co-chair of the Diversity Resident Subcommittee.”
Please join us in celebrating Cat Phan’s achievements and contributions to the Libraries, campus, and beyond. Her commitment to inclusivity, education, and social justice truly embodies the spirit of the Outstanding Women of Color Award.