Colonel Goethals received unstinted praise from visiting engineers and from the technical press of the world. In 1913 the degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by the University of Pennsylvania, and in the spring of 1914 he was awarded medals by the National Geographic Society, the Civic Forum (New York), and the National Institute of Social Sciences. In 1914, Goethals and William Crawford Gorgas were awarded the inaugural Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. Also, Congress awarded Goethals their thanks and a promotion to Major General. President Wilson appointed Goethals as the first Civil Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.