W&L Announces 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Winners This year's honorees will be recognized during Alumni Weekend from May 1-4.

Office of Alumni Engagement
April 10, 2025

Washington and Lee University is proud to announce this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award winners. We will celebrate the recipients during Alumni Weekend, May 1-4, 2025.

Mr. William “Burr” Datz ’75

William Datz, better known as “Burr,” earned his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, cum laude, from Washington and Lee University in 1975. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

After graduating, Datz spent two years as an elementary school teacher on Long Island, New York, before returning to Rockbridge County, where he has lived since 1977. Upon his return to Lexington, he served W&L in several roles — first as assistant food services manager, then as assistant director of security for nine years. From 1988 to 2001 and again from 2010 to 2017, he served as campus minister at both Washington and Lee and Virginia Military Institute. In 1990, he earned a Master of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University. 

Between his two tenures in campus ministry, Datz served as W&L’s director of leadership development and coordinator of religious life, where he helped students grow through service and reflection. A constant presence at campus events, Datz also delighted the community by portraying Santa Claus at W&L’s Winter Wonderland celebration from 2012 to 2021. 

Outside of his professional roles, Datz has led transformational experiences through “Datz Us Adventure & Music,” an experiential education initiative offering retreats and adventure-based programs for young adults since 1988. He performs about 30 local gigs a year with bluegrass and Americana bands. 

Datz has received several honors for his impact on the W&L community, including the R.E. “Chub” Yeakel Memorial Service Award from the Athletic Department in 1989 and 2007, the James G. Leyburn Service Award in 1999 and the William W. Pusey III Award from the Executive Committee in 2010, recognizing his lifetime contributions to the university. 

His service extends into the broader community, where he was named Volunteer of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce Serving Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County in 2016. VMI also honored him in 2016 with its Christian Service Award. He has served on boards of directors for Main Street Lexington, the Rockbridge Community Unit of the American Cancer Society, Fine Arts in Rockbridge, the United Way and Habitat for Humanity and currently volunteers as a hospice chaplain. He is also a volunteer coach for W&L’s men’s and women’s golf teams. 

A dedicated alumnus, Datz has served as an undergraduate class agent for the Annual Fund since 2015 and has participated in five reunion class committees. 

Datz and his wife, Lisa, reside in Rockbridge County. 

Mr. Guy Kerr ’75

Guy Kerr earned a Bachelor of Science in business and accounting, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Washington and Lee University in 1975. As a student, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Beta Gamma Sigma and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. A standout on the basketball team, Kerr holds the single-game school record for seven steals — achieved on two separate occasions — and set a then-school record with 199 career steals. 

Following W&L, Kerr earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1978, graduating Order of the Coif and serving as a law review editor. He began his legal career at Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely PC (now Troutman Pepper Locke LLP), where he was a partner from 1984 to 2000, later returning as of counsel from 2015 to 2018. His practice focused on corporate and securities matters, mergers and acquisitions, finance, governance, compliance and regulatory issues. In 2004, Kerr received the Robert H. Dedman Award for Ethics and Law from the Texas General Counsel Forum and the SMU Dedman School of Law. 

From 2000 to 2014, Kerr was an executive officer and chief legal officer of Belo Corp., a NYSE-listed media company that was sold in 2013. Since 2018, Kerr has served as general counsel and board secretary for the George W. Bush Presidential Center.  

Beyond his professional career, Kerr has dedicated significant time to nonprofit and educational causes. He has held leadership roles with the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and Momentous Institute, Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy, ScholarShot and Highland Park Presbyterian Church. From 1995 to 2001, Kerr was elected to the Highland Park Independent School District Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Cindy, have been deeply involved with the Highland Park Education Foundation, which recognized them with the 2016 Highlander Award for their community volunteer efforts. Currently, they are leading the foundation’s $40 million Lead for Tomorrow endowment campaign. 

Kerr has remained an engaged alumnus of W&L, serving as a director of the Alumni Board from 2012 to 2014, vice president from 2014 to 2015 and president from 2015 to 2017. He was an Alumni Career Mentor for 15 years and has volunteered extensively on reunion committees, including as co-chair of his 50th Reunion Committee. 

Kerr and Cindy reside in Texas and have two children, Preston and Audrey ’13, and four grandchildren. 

Mr. Eugene “E” Perry Jr. ’75, ’78L

Eugene Perry, known as “E,” earned his Bachelor of Arts in history in 1975 and his Juris Doctor in 1978, both from Washington and Lee University. 

As an undergraduate, Perry was a member of the basketball team and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served as president of the Student Association for Black Unity. During law school, he was active in the National Black Law Students Association. 

After earning his law degree, Perry joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, beginning his career in Norfolk before transferring to New York City, where he worked in counterintelligence on the bureau’s Russian squad. In 1983, Perry fulfilled a lifelong dream of working in sports by joining a Philadelphia-based agency, eventually becoming president of Wilkinson & Perry and later founding Perry Group International, focusing on athlete representation and sports marketing. 

In the late 1990s, Perry served as vice president for institutional advancement at Barber-Scotia College. He went on to serve as headmaster of Rowan Academy in East Spencer, North Carolina. Since 2006, Perry has served as a legal investigator with the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Charlottesville, Virginia. He also founded a mentoring group called Grooming and Educating Males for Success. 

Perry has remained closely connected to the W&L community. He currently volunteers as co-chair of his 50th class reunion and is a member of the W&L Fund Council. He previously served on the Alumni Board and the George Washington Society Board as an undergraduate class agent. He has also been a speaker for the DeLaney Center and helped coordinate the 50th anniversary of the Black Ball. A dedicated advocate for inclusion, Perry led fundraising efforts for the Poindexter Endowment Fund and presented oral history on the integration of athletics at W&L. 

Beyond W&L, Perry is active in civic and community life. He is a life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and serves on the board of directors for the YMCA in Waynesboro, Virginia. 

Perry lives in Waynesboro and has three children: Eugene III, Shannon and William. 

Mr. Charles ‘Charlie’ Antrim ’00

Charlie Antrim earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Washington and Lee University in 2000. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Antrim was a key player on the men’s lacrosse team, which he captained for two years. A standout on the field and in the classroom, he was a two-time USILA All-American and was named a USILA Scholar All-American in 2000. 

After graduating from W&L, Antrim built a career at the intersection of finance, agriculture and global supply chains. He spent 12 years at SAC Capital/Point72, where he served as an analyst and portfolio manager focused on the agricultural and material sectors. There, he developed deep expertise in global commodities markets and investment strategy. 

In 2020, Antrim founded Walnut Level Capital, an investment management firm based in Denver that provides fundamental supply chain analysis of the global agriculture and material sectors. He is also the co-founder and managing partner of Agroforestry Partners, which focuses on land conversion that leverages sustainable and regenerative solutions. Through both ventures, Antrim brings a long-term, systems-oriented approach to investment and resource management. 

Antrim has remained an engaged alumnus and dedicated volunteer for W&L. He has served as a member of four reunion class committees — including his 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th reunions — and co-chaired the 15th Reunion Committee in 2014–15. From 2008 to 2011, he served as an associate class agent for the W&L Fund, helping to encourage philanthropic support among his classmates. 

Charlie and his wife, Lucy, reside in Colorado with their three children. 

Mrs. Brook Hartzell ’00

Brook Hartzell earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration and accounting from Washington and Lee University in 2000. A standout scholar-athlete, she was a four-time All-American in tennis, earning honors in both singles and doubles, and served as co-captain of the women’s tennis team. Beyond athletics, she was actively involved in campus leadership, serving on the Senior Gift Committee, as a Mock Convention state chair and on the 250th Anniversary Student Planning Committee. 

Hartzell was the first graduate of Washington and Lee to receive the Ernest L. Ransome III Scholarship in 2000, paving the way for other Ransome scholars to pursue graduate studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She earned a multidisciplinary master’s degree in management, economics and international relations. 

Hartzell’s career has focused on the technology space, including leading cross-functional teams through transformation initiatives, acquisition integrations and global risk mitigation strategies.  For over two decades, she built her operating capabilities in functional and corporate roles across North America and Asia Pacific for Seagate Technology and Workday. She is currently an operating principal at Crosspoint Capital and spends her time based in both Menlo Park, California, and Boston. 

A committed alumna, Hartzell currently serves as a member of the Williams School Board of Advisors. She has volunteered with the Alumni Admissions Program since graduation, joining as a committee member in 2000 and as an interview volunteer in 2012. She has served on her 20th and 25th Reunion Class Committees and has supported the W&L Fund every year since graduation. 

Hartzell and her husband, Tad Freese, reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they are active supporters of the visual arts community and institutions. 

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