The Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education is awarded annually by the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation to recognize outstanding individuals who have dedicated themselves to improving education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Prize was established in 1988 to honor the company's founder, James H. McGraw's

James H. McGraw

James Herbert McGraw , born in Harmony, New York, USA, was co-founder of what is now The McGraw-Hill Companies. He was the president of McGraw-Hill from 1917 to 1928...

 lifelong commitment to education and to mark the corporation's 100th anniversary.

It has been called the equivalent of a Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

 in Education. There are, however, several important differences between the two Prizes. First, it is not based on a single research discovery but rather on the importance of an individual's career-long impact on the field of education. It is also, apparently, restricted to US citizens. A large, distinguished panel determines three annual winners covering pre-k and elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Each recipient receives a statue and US$50,000. Like the Nobel Prize, it is only awarded to living recipients.

Past honorees include:
former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley

Richard Riley

Richard Wilson Riley , American politician, was United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th Governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

;
former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige

Rod Paige

Roderick Raynor "Rod" Paige served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, built a career on a belief that education equalizes opportunity, moving from classroom teacher to college dean and school superintendent to be the first African...

;
the Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr., former Governor of North Carolina

Governor of North Carolina

The Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...

;
Ellen Moir

Ellen Moir

Ellen Moir is the founder and CEO of The New Teacher Center. Established in 1998, the Center is devoted to the development, induction, and mentoring of beginning teachers.- Professional career :...

, co-founder and executive director, New Teacher Center

New Teacher Center

The New Teacher Center is a national non-profit organization in the U.S. dedicated to strengthening the practice of beginning teachers. The NTC conducts research, develops and administers induction and mentoring programs for new teachers and school administrators, and consults with organizations,...

 at the University of California, Santa Cruz

University of California, Santa Cruz

The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...

;
James P. Comer, M.D., Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 Child Study Center;
Mary E. Diaz, Ph.D., Dean of Education, Alverno College

Alverno College

Alverno College is a Roman Catholic, four-year, independent, liberal arts college, historically and still primarily a women's college located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....

;
Christopher Cerf

Christopher Cerf

Christopher Cerf is a U.S. author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer. He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous...

, a key creative force behind Sesame Street

Sesame Street

Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...

;
and Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush

Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...

, founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and former First Lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

.