William Penn University appreciates the dedication and service of our many alumni and community supporters. It is representative of the values we aim to instill in all of our students. Each year at Homecoming, individuals or groups of people are selected to be recipients of the awards listed below. They are honored at the Recognition Banquet with the awards and inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Distinguished Career Award is given to an individual based on esteemed and meritorious achievement in career and life. Candidates for this award are alumni of William Penn University or Nebraska Central College.
William Penn University is proud to recognize Tracy Dill as the 2025 recipient of the Distinguished Career Award. A member of the Class of 1981, Dill has dedicated more than 40 years to collegiate athletics as a coach, administrator, athletic director, and conference commissioner. His leadership at institutions including St. Cloud State University, Bemidji State University, and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has left a lasting impact on student-athletes and athletic programs across the nation.
The Distinguished Service Award is bestowed upon an individual whose life of service has been exemplary. This honor extends beyond the circle of Penn alumni to those who embody the William Penn commitment to community and humanitarian service.
William Penn University is proud to recognize Rev. Michael Westbrook and Rev. Maria Ellis-Westbrook as the 2025 recipients of the Distinguished Service Award. Through nearly four decades of ministry and community outreach in Newark, New Jersey, they have impacted more than 45,000 youth and families through Greater Life Inc. Community Outreach Center. Their commitment to serving underserved populations and developing future leaders reflects the values of compassion, service, and community that define William Penn University.
The Torch Award was initiated during the 1972 Parents’ Weekend as a way of acknowledging and honoring alumni and non-alumni parents who have shown exceptional commitment to William Penn University. Each year the Torch Award is given to an alumni family of at least two generations; or to non-alumni parents, all of whose children have attended William Penn University. Consideration is also given to the interest and loyalty shown by the recipient family in the programs and ideals of the University.
William Penn University is proud to honor the Milton and Shonni Rule Family with the 2025 Torch Award. Through their unwavering support of their children, Nik ’10, Mayci ’12, and Alexi ’17, the Rule family developed a lasting connection to William Penn that spans generations. Their dedication to family, education, and the Statesmen community exemplifies the spirit of the Torch Award and the lifelong relationships fostered at William Penn University.
This award was designed to recognize established and future leaders among recent William Penn University alumni. Standards for recognition include one or more of the following: demonstrated leadership capability, substantial indication of a commitment to the service of others, demonstration of potential for leadership/distinction in the long term, and a substantial commitment to William Penn University and its mission. The award is open to all alumni who are within their first 10 years of graduating from William Penn University.
William Penn University is proud to recognize Zachary Johnson as the 2025 Emerging Young Leader Award recipient. A 2019 graduate, Johnson built a strong foundation in engineering and research while at William Penn before earning his Ph.D. at Iowa State University. His groundbreaking work in nanomaterials and biosensor technology, combined with his current role as a mechanical engineer with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, demonstrates exceptional leadership, innovation, and promise for the future.
Those that are successful in coaching young students in the world of athletics have a special gift of shaping and changing the lives of those they come in contact with. The late and great Ed Thomas, whom this award was named after, had a great impact on his athletes. He passionately believed that his job as a coach was not to prepare kids to be college athletes, but to make their involvement in football or other sports a learning experience. Faith, family, and excellence is what Thomas believed in and those core values are also present in the recipients of the Ed Thomas Award.
William Penn University is proud to honor Michael Morrison as the 2025 recipient of the Ed Thomas Award. A 1989 graduate, Morrison spent more than three decades shaping the lives of student-athletes as a coach, athletic director, and educational leader. His successful coaching career, highlighted by state championships and Hall of Fame recognition, reflects the values of faith, family, and excellence that defined Coach Ed Thomas and continue to inspire future generations.
This first-time and perhaps one-time award is given to recognize support and service to William Penn University that is transformational in nature and at the same time foundational to Penn’s historical mission.
Joe Crookham and Jeanie Bieri
In 2016, Joe Crookham and Jeanie Bieri received the Lifetime Statesmen Award—a distinction awarded for the first, and possibly last, time in William Penn’s history. This rare honor was conferred in recognition of their enduring generosity and unwavering commitment to the University’s core mission. Through philanthropic support, leadership, and active engagement with the campus community, they have played an instrumental role in shaping and advancing William Penn’s legacy. Their contributions continue to inspire students, faculty, and staff alike, and we remain deeply grateful for their lasting impact on our institution.
