Education isn’t waiting for tomorrow—it’s being reinvented today. That was the message at the 2025 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education celebration, where four trailblazers were honored for transforming how people learn at every stage of life.
Held at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, the Nov. 13 ceremony honored Cathy N. Davidson, Frederic Bertley, and Joe Wolf and Rapelang Rabana, recipients of this year’s McGraw Prizes in Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Pre-K–12 Education, respectively. Their work spans classrooms, communities, and continents—proving that bold ideas can change lives.
“Since 1988, the McGraw Prize has been a singular recognition for the world’s most innovative, inspiring, and impactful changemakers in education,” said Penn GSE Dean Katharine Strunk. “Tonight’s honorees have shaped the future of education in extraordinary ways — expanding opportunity, inspiring learners, and lifting lives all over the world. We are grateful and we are inspired.”
Awarded annually by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, the McGraw Prize is one of the most prestigious honors in education. Winners receive a Prize sculpture and a $50,000 award, and join a network of more than 100 innovators—teachers, scholars, nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and public servants—who are reimagining education across the globe.
Harold “Terry” McGraw III, former chairman, CEO, and president of The McGraw-Hill Companies, praised the honorees as visionaries who represent what’s best in the field.
“Tonight’s winners, like the more than 100 individuals before them, honor my father’s commitment to education and literacy by their passion and achievements,” McGraw said. “Please raise a glass to this newest class of McGraw Prize winners, who bring creativity, passion, and impact to the lives of countless students, their families and our society.”
Michael Golden, Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships at Penn GSE, offered a reflection on the Prize’s impact.
“These winners remind us what education can do when it’s driven by purpose, equity and imagination,” Golden said. “They aren’t just reacting to the future — they’re creating it.”
Winners are nominated by peers and selected through a rigorous, three-round judging process, culminating in a review by a distinguished panel of education leaders. Nominations for the 2026 McGraw Prize in Pre-K–12 Learning, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning are now open.
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