Penn’s Graduate School of Education joined the McGraw Foundation in awarding their annual prize to four educational professionals.
The 2025 Harold McGraw Jr. Prize, named after the late CEO of McGraw-Hill, was awarded to Rapelang Rabana and Joe Wolf for the Pre-K-12 sector, Cathy N. Davidson for the higher education sector, and Frederic Bertley for lifelong learning. Each awardee will recieve $50,000 and be presented with a prize sculpture at the ceremony on Nov. 13.
The McGraw Foundation selected Penn’s Graduate School of Education as the home for the McGraw Prize in 2020. Since then, Penn has awarded the prize to 20 leaders in the educational field, including this new class.
“This year’s class of McGraw Prize winners combines highly innovative approaches to learning with results that transform lives,” Harold McGraw III, 1976 Wharton MBA graduate and son of the prize’s namesake, said. “They meet the highest standards of educational excellence and are a tribute to my father’s dedication to literacy and educational opportunity.”
The prize is awarded through a nomination system. Awardees are submitted for consideration by peers and go through three rounds of judging before being selected.
Rapelang Rabana and Joe Wolf, co-CEOs of Imagine Worldwide — a non-governmental organization working in Sub-Saharan Africa to increase literacy rates — have partnered with local communities and national governments to provide students with solar-powered and offline tablets that deliver personalized help in order to improve educational outcomes.
Cathy N. Davidson, a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, founded the Futures Initiative, which aims to ensure “student-centered learning at every level of the university.” Davidson also serves as senior advisor on transformation to the CUNY Chancellor, working to foster educational innovation across its 26 campuses.
Frederic Bertley, president and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry, has expanded COSI to reach more than one million people with a variety of science exhibits and Emmy-winning educational media programs.
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According to The McGraw Foundation, each recipient was chosen for their contribution to the educational sphere and passion to “unleash human potential through technology, methodology, and leadership.”
“The McGraw Prize honors those who push the boundaries of what’s possible in education,” Penn GSE’s Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships L. Michael Golden said. “This year’s winners are true innovators — leaders who are rethinking how learning happens, redefining who gets to learn, and creating solutions that will shape the future for generations to come.”
