Nomination Window Opens for The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education

NEW YORK – Oct. 1, 2015 – The nomination window opened today for the 2016 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, which honors innovation and has become one of the most prestigious educational awards since its founding in 1988. The Prize will undergo significant changes for next year as part of a new alliance between McGraw-Hill and Arizona State University (ASU).

For the first time, the public will have the opportunity to submit nominations by visiting McGrawPrize.com until December 1, 2015. The Prize dinner and ceremony will be held at the ASU+GSV Innovation Summit in San Diego on April 19, 2016.

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education annually recognizes outstanding individuals who have dedicated themselves to improving education through new approaches and whose accomplishments are making a difference today. Previously, the Prize had been overseen by the McGraw-Hill Financial Research Foundation. The Prize will include three categories: U.S. K-12, higher education and international. Honorees receive an award of $50,000.

Past Prize winners include:

• Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc.
• Sal Khan, Founder of the Khan Academy
• Wendy Kopp, President and Founder of Teach For America, and
• Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 

“Since the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education was founded in 1988 to honor my late father, we have recognized some of the most important education leaders of the past generation,” said Harold (Terry) McGraw III, former CEO and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of McGraw-Hill Financial. “My family and I are excited to see the new direction of the Prize and the alliance with Arizona State University.”

“We are delighted, humbled and honored to take on the responsibility for the Prize,” said David Levin, president and CEO of McGraw-Hill. “The rich legacy of the past 27 years is the heritage McGraw-Hill and ASU proudly inherit. We see the Prize as part of the world of learning throughout the year and as a means to celebrate those individuals who have made a particularly notable impact on peoples’ lives across the globe.”

“This Prize will be an important way to recognize and nurture innovation around the world,” added Dr. Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University. “The ASU+GSV Innovation Summit is the perfect forum at which to honor those who are dedicated to our common mission to affect change through learning.”

ASU is committed to excellence, access and impact, and is the most innovative university in the nation according to US News & World Report.

For updates on the Prize and news from past winners, follow the conversation at #McGrawPrize.