2026 McGraw Prize Winners Honored for Expanding Opportunity and Transforming Learning Worldwide

For nearly four decades, The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education has honored visionary leaders who are using innovation to transform education and expand opportunities for learners around the world. At the 2026 celebration, held Tuesday, November 10, three trailblazers were recognized for demonstrating what is possible when leaders challenge accepted limitations and work to create a better future for education.

Held at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, the ceremony honored Darin Brawley, Shai Reshef, and Michael Webber, recipients of this year’s McGraw Prizes in Pre-K–12 Education, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning, respectively. Their work spans classrooms, communities, and continents—demonstrating how bold ideas can change lives.

“Since 1988, the McGraw Prize has recognized extraordinary leaders who challenge us to imagine what education can be, and then do the difficult work of making that vision real,” said Penn GSE Dean Katharine Strunk, who added, “The future of education isn’t something that simply happens to us. It’s something we have a responsibility, and an opportunity, to shape. Tonight, we celebrate three leaders who are showing us how.”

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, joining a network of more than 100 innovators—teachers, scholars, nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and public servants—whose work has advanced learning around the world.

“For nearly four decades, this prize has honored the most remarkable difference makers in all of education,” said John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., executive director of The McGraw Center for Educational Leadership at Penn GSE. “We extend and enrich the McGraw tradition by celebrating another three leaders who exemplify the highest McGraw ideals.”

Pre-K–12 Education: Darin Brawley

As superintendent of California's Compton Unified School District, Brawley has led one of the nation's most notable examples of sustained district transformation. Since taking the helm in 2012, graduation rates have risen from 58 percent to 94 percent, and college acceptance rates have surpassed 95 percent. Through expanded college and career pathways, strengthened instruction, and innovative partnerships, he has helped position Compton Unified as a national model for student success.

In accepting the McGraw Prize, Brawley said, “We have not simply improved our school district. We have challenged a prevailing narrative about what children from historically underserved communities can achieve. We have demonstrated that educational excellence is not the exclusive province of affluent communities.”

Higher Education: Shai Reshef

Reshef, founder and president of the University of the People, has reimagined access to higher education through the world's first nonprofit, tuition-free, accredited online university. Today, the institution serves more than 270,000 students across more than 220 countries and territories, including refugees, displaced learners, and Afghan women whose educational opportunities have been limited. His vision has demonstrated how technology and innovative design can expand educational opportunity at a global scale.

“I accept this award on behalf of everyone who believes that higher education should be a human right, and every student who has refused to surrender a dream,” said Reshef.

When he founded the university, he said, “I was guided by a simple conviction: where you are born, how much money you have, or the conflicts surrounding you should never determine whether you can pursue an education.”

Lifelong Learning: Michael Webber

A professor, author, entrepreneur, and public communicator, Webber has devoted his career to helping people better understand energy and environmental systems. Through books, television programs, continuing education courses, and educational resources distributed through platforms including PBS LearningMedia and Minecraft, he has brought complex scientific issues to audiences around the world. His lifelong learning initiatives have reached tens of thousands of learners across multiple formats and generations.

“I think that learning is a way to find joy,” said Webber, a professor of engineering and public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. “It's fun to learn, and learning is a way to be human.” He added, “There are not many opportunities to recognize educators, and that makes this prize unique, and so meaningful to me.”

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Winners are nominated by their peers and selected through a rigorous, three-round judging process, culminating in a review by a distinguished panel of education leaders. Nominations for the 2027 McGraw Prize in Pre-K–12 Education, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning are now open.