A nominee must be age 35 or younger, must be a graduate of the journalism program, and must work in a journalism-related field. A nominee must also have exhibited distinguished professional qualities that warrant recognition. Up to three nominees from different disciplines may receive the award in a given year.
1990 Timothy M. Andrews
1991 Mark A. Kornmann
1992 Vance N. Meyer
1993 Beth Harris
1994 Scott McCarty
1995 Bradley Wilks
1996 Michael Price, Joseph Hernandez
1997 Sonja Popp, Don Yaeger
1998 Julie-Allyson Ieron
1999 Emily A. Holmes
2000 David A. Haugh
2001 Michael Marker
2002 Daniel Swenson
2003 Attila Schillinger
2004 Michael S. Kellams, Rowan Benecke
2005 Tom Gayda, Trish Taylor-Jones
2006 Jennifer George-Palilonis, Steven Patterson
2007 Rachel Allen, Scott Navarro