Friday Medal
The Friday Medal honors significant, distinguished and enduring contributions to education and beyond through advocating innovation, advancing education and imparting inspiration.
In recognition of the commitment of Bill and Ida Friday to educational excellence, the College of Education’s William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation created The Friday Medal. This award is given annually to those who embody the mission and spirit of the Friday Institute.
Past Recipients
2023 Tom Williams; President of Strategic Educational Alliances, Inc.
2022 Dr. James A. Banks, Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies Emeritus at the University of Washington College of Education and founding director of the Banks Center for Educational Justice; Joann Blumenfeld, founder and program director for Catalyst at The Science House
2021 Mebane Rash; CEO and editor-in-chief at EducationNC (EdNC)
2020 Dr. Dudley E. Flood; educator and former administrator at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) who was instrumental in desegregating North Carolina’s schools
2018 Dr. Shelley Goldman; Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education
2017 Innovative Superintendents from North Carolina’s Rural Districts; Patrick Miller, Lynn Moody, Robert Taylor, Jeff McDaris, Janet Mason, Anthony Jackson and Darrin Hartness
2016 Judge Howard E. Manning, Jr.; Former Superior Court Judge who oversaw enforcement of Leandro v. State of North Carolina
2015 Hon. Bob Wise; President of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia
2014 Muriel Thomas Summers; Principal of A.B. Combs Leadership Elementary School and co-author of The Leader in Me
2013 Dr. Robert Tinker; President Emeritus and Founder of the Concord Consortium
2012 Dr. David H. Rose; faculty member at Harvard University and co-founder and chief education officer for the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
2011 Dr. Bill McNeal; Transformation School Coach in Durham and the 2004 National Superintendent of the Year
2010 Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond; Charles E. Ducommon Professor of Education at Stanford University
2009 Dr. Chris Dede; Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education
2008 Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.; former Governor of North Carolina
2008 Dr. Don Leu, the Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology at the University of Connecticut
2007 Bette Manchester, Director of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative
2006 Dr. Ken Branch, Founding Principal of Centennial Campus Middle School