Senior Honor Awards 1900-Present

The Senior Awards are generously endowed by Eric W. Johnson, W’57, and his wife Paulette A. Johnson, with initial funding from Eric’s parents, James William and Helen Wheatley Johnson.

Please note that, beginning in 2024, the senior honor awards will no longer be gender specific.

Among the oldest traditions at the University of Pennsylvania are the senior class leadership awards. The oldest of them, the Spoon, is documented as early as 1865, when Penn still occupied a campus on 9th street, in Center City, Philadelphia. Today, no fewer than 8 of these distinguished awards are presented on Ivy Day. Elected by their fellow students in recognition of outstanding service to the University community, the recipients of these awards have always included the best and brightest of each graduating class.

Senior honor men, 1939

Spoon Award

The tradition of awarding the “wooden spoon,” as it was known in the 19th century, is so old that its origins apparently predate all student publications, including the class yearbook and student newspaper. Despite the aura of mystery about its first year s, the spoon’s significance has always been the same: the spoon is symbolic of first honors among the senior men.

Cane Award

Another of the class rivalries, but shorter-lived than the Bowl Fights, was the “Cane Fight.” The use of a walking cane in the 19th century was a cultural symbol of high status. The cane fights were attempts by the sophomore class to prevent any freshman from carrying a cane on campus. The canes, of course, were utilized as weapons, and the senior class moved quickly to convert the violent ritual into a student award. In 1891, the senior class added the award of the cane to those of the spoon and the bowl. Awarded annually since that year, the cane is considered the 3rd most prestigious award given to the senior men.

Spade Award

The Ivy Day ceremonies, in which the parting seniors plant a sprig of ivy to signify the growth and spreading of the senior class, are at least as old as the West Philadelphia campus, which was first occupied in 1872. The spade award is derived from Ivy Day, and seniors have elected and honored a spade man since 1896. The spade was symbolic of 4th honors among men in the senior class.

Bowl Award

This award grew out of a mid and late 19th century of class rivalry at Penn. Perhaps the best known of these rituals were the “Bowl Fights” between the freshmen and sophomore classes. If the sophomore class could fend off the freshmen’s assault on the bowl, then it was preserved by the class officers and in some years was presented to a member of the class on the same occasion as the spoon. The bowl was included in the class day presentations as early as 1879, among other gifts and prizes. The class of 1884, however, may have been the first to present it as a senior award, when it was reported, “The bowl, saved from the fight with the freshmen, was given to Reath as an evidence of his vieing with Sergeant [the winner of the Spoon Award] in the esteem of the class.”

2023 Senior Honor Award Recipients

2022 Senior Honor Award Recipients

2021 Senior Honor Award Recipients

Senior Award Winners 1900-Present

 

Year

Spoon

Bowl

Cane

Spade
1900 William Thackera Read Jason W. Riddle, Jr. William McClellan Charles A. Upson
1901 T. Truxton Hare Thaddeus B. McClain Frank Flavell Thomas F. Cadwalader
1902 John C. Boltz George M. Piersol Haniel S. Howard, Jr. Jason P.W. Crawford
1903 Albert R. Brunker George S. Keller William W. Whitmore Frank Van Hart Slack
1904 Ralph R. Zane Marshall S. Morgan William O. Miller Warren H. Porter
1905 John Arthur Brown Rollin Cantwell Bortle Harry C. Weeks Frederick W. Marchall
1906 Jason D. Taylor / Russell Thayer, Jr. Alden R. Ludlow John G. Hendrie Louis J. Shoemaker
1907 Hunter W. Scarlett Lloyd P. Jones John W. Townsend, Jr. Edw. Hopkinson, Jr.
1908 Robert C. Flowell, Jr. Dudley Shoemaker Howard A. Emig Richard M. Philler
1909 Sewell H. Corkran Warren Sheble Edw. B. Robinette Stockton Townsend
1910 Henry P. Braddock Allen I. Smith Eugene A. Wood Duncan A. Worrell
1911 Ernest B. Cozens Allton Bennitt Raymond L. Smith Helmuth M. Kiesewetter
1912 Emanuel H. Shoemaker Thomas Heath, Jr. Horatio H. Morris Edmund Thayer
1913 Theo F. Dillon Lon W. Joundet Frank McM. Breniser Lemuel B. Schofield
1914 Louis A. Young Louis C. Madeira, III Chester A. Minds Jason F. Van Vechten
1915 Albert Journeay Jason C. Patterson Jason V. Merrick, III Horace Butler
1916 Gordon A. Hardwick William E. Chickering Arthur Littleton James Edwin Meredith
1917 John M. Clark Joseph A. Russell Walter Yust Spencer S. Shannon
1918 No Awards No Awards No Awards No Awards
1919 No Awards No Awards No Awards No Awards
1920 Marvin R. Gustafson H. Donaldson Leopold, Jr. William L. Tandy John McC. Titzel
1921 John C. Telmosse Daniel J. McNichol Elisha J. Bingham Walter E. L. Irwin
1922 William C. Grave Francis Q. Thorp Walter H. Huntzinger Lawrence A. Brown
1923 George H. Sullivan John C. Thurman Thomas B. K. Ringe David F. Cavers
1924 John Dern, II Patrick E. Malin Clifford B. Reeves W. Thornton Martin
1925 Rea B. McFraw William E. Lingelbach, Jr. Edward F. McGinley, Jr. Robert A. Streeter
1926 Walter F. O’Malley Karl E. Robinson Robert A. Eichelberger Edwin R. Morine
1927 John F. Wolf Jason D. Marks Paul P. Davenport Robert A. McClean
1928 Jack J. McDowell J. Folwell Scull, Jr. Edw. W. Hake Eugene J. Connell
1929 Robert L. Zullinger Paul T. Scull E. Mahlen Corson Joseph G. Schaaf
1930 Morton H. Wilner Robert H. Barnes Duncan S. Briggs Lemuel A. Geyer
1931 Bernard E. Berlinger Franklin H. Wolf Jason N. Peterson W. Wodman Derr
1932 John A. Mayer Jeremiah Ford, II Arthur H. Barnett William S. Graupner
1933 Wililam A. Carr Joseph M. Case George A. Munger George H. Martens, Jr.
1934 Robert L. Tescher Donald S. Kellett Edwin D. Lewis Roy W. Engle
1935 Robert L. Freeman Kenneth A. Hashagen Henry Kozloff Charles M. Swift
1936 John Scott Neill Joseph Escherick, Jr. Josiah C. McCracken, Jr. Arthur Darnbrough
1937 Guy G. Della-Cioppa E. Craig Sweeten Francis T. Murray Gene D. Gisburne
1938 Roy A. Manzel Robert E. Dougherty John Y. Burgess, Jr. John J. Dautrich
1939 Charles W. Diven, Jr. Frederick B. Bamber John P. Wiedemer Robert G. Allman
1940 Robert MacDonald Max H. Leister, Jr. Robert M. Edmiston Warren B. Smith
1941 John T. Cumbler Franxis X. Reagan Robert W. Troup Rix N. Yard
1942 Richard W. Havens George H. Dixon Eugene H. Davis, Jr. Jason Stretch
1943 Edw. F. Ryan John M. Welsh, Jr. Mark Townsend, III Robert E. Walton
1944 No Awards No Awards No Awards No Awards
1945 No Awards No Awards No Awards No Awards
1946 No Awards No Awards No Awards No Awards
1947 Michael J. O’Neill Francis P. Crossin Edw. S. Hoffman Frank K. Mayers
1948 Rex S. Morgan Jerome F. McCarthy Erwin J. Antoni Frederick J. Durkin
1949 Robert H. Carlson Charles P. Melley Charles J. Bednarik Irving H. Peak
1950 Harry L. Wettlaufer John C. Hackney L. Edison Mathis, Jr. Edwin R. Igler
1951 Francis J. Bagnell Philip J. Moloney Bernard E. Lemonick Bruce H. McLoud
1952 Donald P. Scanlon Alexander J. Jaffurs Charles K. Russell Dante N. Piccone
1953 Ernest J. Beck George A. Rieder Peter M. Yurchak Monroe E. Trout
1954 Paul E. Ravdenbush Roger P. Craton Edward A. Gramigna Robert W. Denney
1955 Barton B. Leach Karl K. Hoagland, Jr. John M. Guest Martin I. J. Griffin, Jr.
1956 David G. Kline Frank A. Weidknecht John R. Haines John C. T. Alexander
1957 Richard G. Tyrell Charles M. Meredith, III Edward G. Ware Eric W. Johnson
1958 Walter G. Schroth Francis J. Riepl Gary B. Marcus Joseph E. Trimble, Jr.
1959 Jon M. Huntsman Robert W. McCafferty, Jr. M. Carl Shine George A. Katterman
1960 Bernard E. Berlinger, Jr. John T. Jerbasi Raymond N. Schroth Alvin V. Shoemaker
1961 Jon Greenawalt McBee Butcher Charles Kalme Albert Donzanti
1962 Michael Natale Conrad DeSantis Francis Carmone Steven Eisen
1963 John E. Wideman Luther J. Clark Peter R. McCarthy Louis P. Buck
1964 Ramon J. Carazo Bourne Ruthrauff John DePasquale John S. Packard
1965 Edward T. Anderson John R. Rsses Norman P. Hetrick Peter M Vantine
1966 Thomas F. Lang Bruce E. Molloy Jeffrey L. Neuman Richard R. Ragan
1967 Albert H. Turkus Milton J. Block, Jr. Jeremy R. Rifkin Marc J. Turtletaub
1968 William N. Scott Alexius C. Conroy Ben J. Mortensen Donald M. Morrison
1969 Robert B. Anyon George R. Burrell Patrick M. Norton Marvin J. Israelow
1970 James A. Hively Ira R. Harkavy Stephen A. Talesnick Bernard E. Zbrzeznj
1971 Seteven Borenstein David Wohl Steven Bilsky Stuart Madden
1972 Robert D. Morse David L. Calhoun Stanley E. Startzell James H. Greene, Jr.
1973 William Keller Philip Hankinson Ralph Easely Arnold Eisen
1974 Paul Masson Benjamin Ginsberg Donald Clune Barry Ross
1975 Peter Christ Stephen Greeley Rodd Wieseneck Judson Stein
1976 Ronald Kellogg Jerry Marcus David Levine Mitchell Berger
1977 Michael Kitsis John Auerbach Thaddeus Maciag Warren Feldman
1978 Mitchell Blutt Steven Glasgow James Ramseur Ethan Goldman
1979 Anthony Price Steven Roth Steven Glaetta David Lieber
1980 Mark Lerner Richard O’Neil Mitchell Portney James Reardon
1981 Richard Kaplan Kenneth Hall Russell Brooks Myles Berkowitz
1982 David Sherman Charles Rich Phillip Cuffey Scott Boden
1983 Paul Little Paul Miller Paul Lebovitz Marc Rodriguez
1984 A. David Smith David Perl Alan Bowser Robert Wilson
1985 Karl Racine Joseph Killackey Richard Katz Robert Kramer
1986 Mark Sherman Mark Fraga Steve Adkins Glen Schuster
1987 Michael Gordon Barry Bear Bruce Lefkowitz Sam Elias
1988

Michael Jaffee

 Gus Castillo Quintus Jeff David Yao
1989 Michael Karz Seth Berger Eric Lerner Robert Tintner
1990 Alan Axelrod Franklin Ferguson Vincent Cousineau Garrett Reisman
1991 Bart Barre Samuel (Buzz) Thomas III Eric W. Apple Brent Mitchell
1992 Harold E. Ford Jr. Kirk P. Marcolina John F. Gamba Ira James Hillman
1993 Lincoln Singleton Allison Rouse Jeffrey Lichtman Michael Rosenband
1994 Kaplan Mobray Sandor Hau Bill Roberts Morris Massel
1995 Hayden Horowitz Manny Citron Wayne Wilson Michael Turner
1996 Leonard Chang Gil Beverly, Jr. Eric Claudius Tienou Adam Matta
1997 Neil Sheth Jamil Smith George Holt Josh Gottheimer
1998 Andy Kline Tal Golomb Jean-Pierre Lespinasse Jason Judd
1999 Joshua S. Brogadir Joshua M. Styne Rasool A. Berry Joshua A. Zeichner
2000 Tariq Remtulla Charles (Chaz) Howard Andrew Exum Aaron Fidler
2001 Raymond G. Valerio Theodore E. LeCompte Malhar N. Saraiya Jared S. Susco
2002 Joshua D. Klein Kisimbi K. Thomas Dimitri Dube Michael K.Krouse
2003 Adam F. Zimbler Arshad Hasan Aaron M. Short Lincoln W. Ellis
2004 Jason M. Levy Owusu A. Akoto Anthony D. Cotton Ravi S. Bellur
2005 Matthew B. Klapper Paul M. Farber Darryl B. Wooten Jason A. Levine
2006 Pierre A. Gooding James J. Fanelly David B. Diesenhouse Spencer G. Scharff
2007 Andrew T. Kaplan Zachary W. Coopersmith Stefon Q. Burns Ezra L. Billinkoff
2008 Puneet Singh Jason A. Karsh David P. Helfenbein Matthew R. Levin
2009 Brett A. Perlmutter P. Jamie McCarthy Noah L. Aptekar Wilson K. Tong
2010 Arthur G Smith Zachary W. Byer Matthew S. Feczko Sam S. Adelsberg
2011 Matthew W. Amalfitano G.J. Melendez-Torres Adam J. Behrens Mark P. Pan
2012 Zachary S. Rosen Jibran N. Khan Triston J. Francis Luis Ernesto Del Valle
2013 Jonathon Youshaei Angel A. Contrera Alec G. Miller Jacob M. Shuster
2014 Marcus M. Mundy Ethan R. Jones Pulak Mittal Jonathan E. Rosenbaum
2015 Denzel Cummings Gabriel Jimenez Taylor Culliver

Rishi Simha
2016 Robert C. Lundquist Jesus O. Perez Chad R. Payne Sebastian E. Negron-Reichard
2017 Darren R. Tomasso Michael E. Karam Jonathan C. Muruako Ian E. Jeong
2018 Kayvon Asemani Jerome B. Allen Dawit L. Gebresellassie Nicholas D. Silverio
2019 Calvary M. Rogers Ryan M. Leone Michael B. Krone Aren M. Raisinghani
2020 Karim El Sewedy Jordan Williams Daniel Gonzalez Arman Ramezani
2021 Anthony Scarpone-Lambert Jude Dartey Moksh Jawa

Camilo Duran
2022 Sam Strickberger Nikhil Gupta Miles Meline

Regan Mizrahi
2023 Yaaseen Mahomed Carson Sheumaker Justin Acheampong

Derek Nhieu