UW-Platteville associate AD named Dr. Carol Sue Butts Award winner

UW-Platteville's associate athletic director has been named the 2026 Dr. Carol Sue Butts Award winner after leading her department through a challenging leadership transition this winter and continuing to serve as a role model for female athletes and staff. 

Kara McCarville will accept the honor at an awards reception preceding the annual faculty and staff convocation Aug. 25. She'll be among a group of 10 UW-Platteville employees receiving annual university awards at the event.

McCarville is entering her 20th year with the university's Department of Athletics and Recreation. She currently serves as associate AD and chief of staff, supervising events, facilities and daily operations as well as assisting with the budget, game management and intramurals. She's been the host tournament director for NCAA men's basketball and soccer tournaments held at UW-Platteville. She's also the university's NCAA-appointed senior woman administrator.

She stepped in as interim AD after former AD Michael Knipe was terminated in December 2025 and guided the athletic department until Sam Koenig was named permanent AD in April. McCarville took over in the middle of the winter sports season, guiding men's and women's basketball, wrestling, indoor and outdoor track and field, baseball and softball for months until Koenig took over.

"Performing these extra tasks with a smile on her face, Kara bent over backwards to make sure that the students and the staff felt supported," Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Lindsey Dietmeier wrote in a May letter nominating McCarville for the award. "However, this was nothing new. Even before this year, it was normal for Kara to work an eight-hour day in the office and then drive three hours one way to cheer on a team such as the volleyball team in the NCAA tournament or women’s basketball in a big conference tournament game, all to drive three hours back and be in the office at 7:30 the next morning."

The award is named in honor of Dr. Carol Sue Butts, who served as provost at UW-Platteville from 1998 to 2010 and became the university's first female interim chancellor. The award recognizes university employees who have an outstanding record of making a difference for women in the campus community. 

"Kara’s example is one that over 200 female student-athletes see as a source of leadership and influence every single day," Dietmeier wrote. "While Kara is a sounding board for all the women in the athletic department, it is the female student-athlete on the receiving end of so much joy, enthusiasm and energy which she brings to the department every day."

Other university employees earning recognition at the reception include:

• Markee Pioneer Student Center Assistant Director Kelly Jo Hadfield, Academic Staff Award for Excellence.
• Dr. Christina Curras in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, Outstanding Faculty/Instructional Academic Staff Academic Advisor Award.
• Academic Advisor Becky Savoy, Outstanding Professional Academic Advisor Award.
• Dr. Blair Braun in the College of Liberal Arts and Education, Early Career Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.
• Dr. Gokul Gopalakrishnan in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, Nimocks Family Faculty Appreciation Award.
• Dr. Austin Polebitski in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, UW System Alliant Energy James R. Underkoffer Excellence in Teaching Award.
• Dr. Miyeon Kwon in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, UW System Alliant Energy James R. Underkoffer Excellence in Teaching Award.
• Dr. Xinghui Chen in the College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture, Wisconsin Teaching Fellow.
• Dr. Edina Haslauer in the College of Liberal Arts and Education, Wisconsin Teaching Scholar. 

Recipients of grants of more than $25,000 also will be recognized, including Drs. Amanda Tucker and Evan Larson in the College of Liberal Arts and Education; Drs. Danny Xiao, Jessica Meulbroek Fick, John Obielodan, Joshua Yue, Mohammad Rabbini and Timothy Deis in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science; Dr. Joseph Sanford in the College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture; Early Childhood Education Director Julie Soja; and Executive Director of Student Affairs and Chief of Staff Kari Hill.

Grant sponsors included the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, the Universities of Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation and the WiSys Technology Foundation.