At the 2020 Council Meeting of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), Alfred Hartemink, professor and chair of soil science, was elected an Honorary Member. The honor is in recognition of his soil science excellence and outstanding service to global soil science. Alfred was (Deputy) Secretary General of the IUSS from 2001–2014, and he currently chairs the Committee on Statutes and Bylaws and the Working Group on Digital Soil Morphometrics.

The IUSS is the global organization of soil science and has about 60,000 members. Since its formation in 1924, the IUSS has elected 17 soil scientists from the U.S., and six from the Netherlands as Honorary Members. Alfred is the second IUSS Honorary Member from the Department of Soil Science at UW–Madison; Emil Truog (a former department chair and soil science legend) was elected in 1954.