Grawemeyer Award in Education

The Grawemeyer Award in Education is accompanied by a prize of $100,000, which is presented in full during the awards ceremony.

The competition does not limit the format in which the idea or achievement appears. Consideration will be given to printed books, articles appearing in scholarly journals, technological advances, software, research reports, conference presentations, or other widely and publicly disseminated forms. Please note that edited volumes as well as textbooks are not eligible for this award. Consistent with the intent of H. Charles Grawemeyer, the award is not given posthumously.

The University invites nominations from throughout the world by professional educators, educational institutions and organizations, and editors and publishers of journals, books and software. Self-nominations will not be considered.

To nominate a work, the nominator must submit the following:

•  A one-page letter of nomination identifying the specific work, idea, or achievement being nominated and delineating the reasons why the entry merits the award. Please provide a complete bibliographic reference to the nominated work.
• A completed 2027 nomination form (PDF). The nomination deadline is April 20, 2026.

Once a nomination has been received, the nominee(s) will be notified about the nomination and will be sent a nominee form that explains the award conditions. Each nominee must then submit the following supporting materials:

• A signed copy of the 2027 nominee form (PDF) that indicates agreement with the award conditions,
• Two physical copies or one electronic copy of the published/presented work (additional copies may be required). If the work is in a language other than English, provide a copy of the English translation of the work.

All submitted materials becomes the property of the University of Louisville.

Restrictions
Ideas or achievements must have been presented or published in the recent past. Self-nomination is not allowed. Current University of Louisville faculty, staff, and students are not eligible. Previous winners of the Grawemeyer Award are not eligible. Edited volumes and textbooks are not eligible. Non-English entries must be translated.

Deadline
To be considered for the 2027 award, the signed nominee form and one physical or electronic copy of the published/presented work must reach the University of Louisville by May 8, 2026.

The Review Process
Initial screening of the Grawemeyer Award in Education nominees is conducted by a committee of College of Education and Human Development faculty who select 2-4 finalists for the Grawemeyer Award in Education.

The final selection committee is comprised of the President of the University or designee, the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, and three members of the community who share an interest in the education enterprise. The work of this committee is supported by two expert independent scholarly reviewers. The committee recommends the award winner to the President who forwards the recommendation to the University of Louisville’s Board of Trustees. Final approval of the Grawemeyer Award winner is subject to approval by the University of Louisville’s Board of Trustees and the Trustees of the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary.

Award Requirements

1. The winner of the Award will be announced after December 1. The winner will be expected to come to Louisville during the month of March or April to make a formal presentation based on the winning idea, participate in informal meetings with faculty and students as requested, and to receive the Award. The trip to Louisville is mandatory and failure to fulfill this requirement will result in forfeiture of the Award and the associated cash prize. Any exception to this requirement must be approved by the Grawemeyer Executive Committee.
2. Entrant agrees and accepts that, consistent with the intent of H. Charles Grawemeyer, the Award will not be given posthumously. The Entrant must be living in order to receive the Award and must participate in the Award festivities referenced above in order to receive the Award and the associated cash prize. If the nominated Work was written by multiple authors, one or more of whom is deceased, only the living authors are eligible to receive the Award and the associated cash prize. The cash prize will be presented at the Award festivities.
3. Entrant agrees and accepts that the cash prize associated with the Award will be paid in full at the awards ceremony. Winning the Award does not create any property rights in the cash prize for the recipient’s heirs or estate. In the event that the Award is given to multiple recipients (such as co-authors), there is only one cash prize associated with the Award and said cash prize will be divided evenly among the recipients. If a co-author dies, payment to that co-author will cease and the full amount of the remaining prize will be divided evenly between the still-living co-authors.
4. Entrant shall participate, as appropriate, and cooperate in the production of any documentary film or other public relations or publicity matters related to the Competition, including the execution of any necessary releases and/or authorizations.
5. Entrant hereby grants permanent permission for the University of Louisville to use the title and excerpts from the Work and any media depicting their receipt and acceptance of the Award for library and archival purposes, and for the purpose of promoting the Grawemeyer Awards and their affiliation with the University of Louisville. The term “media” is understood to include, but not be limited to, audio and visual images and/or recordings of any format which depict the Entrant’s visit to the campus[es] of the University of Louisville, the Awards presentation itself and any comments made by the Entrant as part of the campus visit[s] and the Awards festivities.
6. All physical materials submitted become the property of the University of Louisville.

Send letters of nomination and all supporting materials to:
Dr. Jeffrey C. Valentine, Director
Grawemeyer Award in Education
College of Education & Human Development
University of Louisville
Louisville KY 40292
USA

jeff.valentine@louisville.edu

For packages sent by UPS, FedEx, etc.:
Grawemeyer Award in Education
College of Education and Human Development
University of Louisville
1905 S 1st St
Louisville KY 40208
USA

Phone: 502-852-3830

The Grawemeyer Award in Education was the third of the four awards first established in 1988.  The first award winner was announced a year later. The purpose of the award was “to stimulate ideas that have potential to bring about significant improvement in educational practice and attainment.” The first Grawemeyer Education Award was presented in 1989 to Bertrand Schwartz of Paris, France, for his idea, “The Social and Vocational Preparation of Disadvantaged Young People and Experiments in New Qualifications.”

Initial screening of the Grawemeyer Award in Education nominees is conducted by a committee of College of Education and Human Development faculty who select three finalists for the Grawemeyer Award in Education. External reviewers then evaluate the finalists.

For the final selection committee, Charles Grawemeyer insisted that the winner be chosen by a committee comprised of the President of the University or designee, the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, and three members of the community with some involvement in the educational enterprise. Until a year before his death in 1993, Charlie Grawemeyer sat on the final selection committee. The committee recommends the award winner to the President who forwards the recommendation to the Board of Trustees of the University. The Board of Trustees approves the final recommendation.