Cathy N. Davidson, 2025 Prize Winner
Cathy N. Davidson has spent her career reimagining higher education for a rapidly changing world. A leading voice in digital literacy, learning science, and interdisciplinary innovation, she is known for translating research into action—and for helping institutions evolve to meet the needs of all students. At the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), where she is a Distinguished Professor, she founded the Futures Initiative to promote equity, social mobility, and student-centered learning at every level of the university. She also serves as Senior Advisor on Transformation to the CUNY Chancellor, focusing on student success and inclusive, career-connected learning across CUNY’s 26 campuses.
Davidson’s impact spans decades and disciplines. At Duke University, she was the institution’s first Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies, helping to launch more than 60 cross-departmental programs and introducing the pioneering iPod First-Year Experience—an early model for integrating technology into undergraduate education. She co-founded HASTAC, one of academia’s first academic social networks, to connect educators, technologists, and students around shared innovation. At CUNY, her initiatives empower students to lead peer instruction, shape curricula, and see themselves as agents of change in higher education.
She has published more than 20 books, including The New Education: How To Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux, winner of the Frederick W. Ness Book Award. She has received numerous other honors and awards, including the World Technology Network’s Educator of the Year Award, has twice keynoted the Nobel Prize Committee’s Future of Learning Conference, and was a presidential appointee to the National Council for the Humanities. Her work reflects ideals the McGraw Prize was created to honor: bold thinking, equity-driven practice, and a lifelong commitment to transforming education for the public good.
