The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education annually recognizes outstanding individuals who have dedicated themselves to improving education in this country and whose accomplishments are making a difference today. Honorees are chosen by a distinguished panel of judges made up of thoughtful and influential members of the education community. Each winner receives a gift of $25,000 and a bronze sculpture. The Prize was established in 1988 to honor Mr. McGraw's lifelong commitment to education, and to mark the Corporation's 100th anniversary.

Past honorees include: former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley; the former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige; the Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr., former Governor of North Carolina; James P. Comer, M.D., Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale University Child Study Center; Yvonne Chan, Ed.D., Principal, Vaughn Next Century Learning Center; Mary E. Diaz, Ph.D., Dean of Education, Alverno College; Carl Cohn, former Superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District; Barbara Bush, founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy; and Dennis Littky, Co-Director of The Met, and Director of the Principal Residency Network.