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.

Image of three people: two women on either side of Friday Medal recipient Tom Williams. Tom is a man in a suit and tie holding a medal in a black frame. The women on either side are both wearing blazers and are standing in front of a red background

Past Recipients

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