Alfred Mays is usually behind the scenes in North Carolina’s education initiatives. As the strategist and senior program officer at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, he’s the one giving out the awards. But on Nov. 17, 2025, Mays was awarded the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation’s highest honor—the Friday Medal. This award honors significant, distinguished and enduring contributions to education and beyond through advocating innovation, advancing education and imparting inspiration. 

“Most professionals, myself included, spend their time thinking about how to build their career,” said Krista Glazewski, executive director of the Friday Institute and associate dean for translational research in the NC State College of Education, in her opening remarks during the ceremony. “Alfred Mays has spent his time building other people up. He spent his career building the scaffolding beneath others. With these educators, students, communities and emerging leaders, he has shaped policy and practice while also keeping opportunity at the center. We do not often get the chance to honor those who spend their lives lifting other people up. So today, we recognize the quiet generosity that has become the architecture beneath every success story that he has liked to create.” 

The Friday Medal is given annually to selected individuals who embody the mission and spirit of the Friday Institute. It is named after Bill and Ida Friday, who were passionate advocates and leaders in education for more than 50 years. Mays is the 27th recipient to receive this honor. 

In his role at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Mays leads a portfolio of competitive and strategic grant programs that support kindergarten-to-career pathways, STEM career development and STEM enrichment that includes mentorship for student and career success. Prior to joining the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Mays served as an independent consultant for strategic planning, project incubation, design and implementation.  He has worked within several education initiatives including his role as the assistant director of The Collaborative Project, a 21st  century program supported by the North Carolina General Assembly.  In this role, Mays was primarily responsible for the development and management of information resources, which supported the project’s design through program participation tracking, reporting and evaluation of impact.  He also served as the director of information resources affairs and director of special projects at the University of North Carolina System in the office of the president.  His other work experience includes his roles as regional director for the North Carolina Model Teacher Education Consortium and state program director within the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction.  

During the ceremony, Paola Sztajn, the dean of NC State’s College of Education, and Warwick Arden, executive vice chancellor and provost at NC State University, gave welcoming remarks to congratulate this year’s Friday Medal recipient.

Longtime colleague and friend Dudley Flood, a former educator and administrator at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, paid tribute to Mays during the ceremony, focusing his remarks around several words to describe Mays: “benevolent, selflessness, visionary and leader.”

“Alfred doesn’t just see down the road, as most of us,” said Flood. “He sees down the road and around the corner. He sees things that haven’t yet happened and sees the possibility of that and injects whatever there’s a need for to make that turn.” 

Glazewski presented Mays with the signature Friday Medal. After accepting his award, Mays discussed how his interests aligned with the Friday Institute.

“When I think of William and Ida Friday and what this award represents, I can’t help but to think of the vision and the intent of their work and now what is recognized as their legacy,” said Mays. “The genesis of the Friday Institute was clearly stated by Dr. Friday himself: Talk to teachers first and they’re being the heart and soul of our education system. The other was the development of relationships with rural and underserved school systems. The strategy has and continues to be the cornerstone of my interests.”

Mays continued by discussing the goal of addressing achievement gaps in education.

“I firmly believe in the goal of addressing achievement gaps, but I also believe in the need to be proactive and prevent gaps from ever occurring,” said Mays. “Until we create even starts for all students, we’ll be chasing gaps in perpetuity. Lane positions around the racetrack are incrementally placed for this very reason to create equal opportunity to a desired destination. We have to look at half-full glasses with greater action than just optimism alone. There’s no harm and no foul in the work that fills half empty glasses. I have confidence that this is what Dr. Friday envisioned.”

Glazewski also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Friday Institute during the ceremony. The Friday Institute opened its doors Nov. 11, 2005.

“Twenty years of service out of this building feels a little monumental,” said Glazewski. “Since our opening, the Friday Institute has become a leader in K-12 education research, policy and practice, constantly shifting and changing priorities to meet the needs of educators and students. For two decades, we’ve worked side-by-side with schools, educators and communities. We’ve worked in partnership to deliver evidence-based solutions. We are educators’ allies.”

Also during the ceremony, Callie Edwards, Friday Institute director of program evaluation and education research and director of strategic initiatives, announced this year’s Friday Institute graduate student fellow winners. NC State College of Education doctoral students Samantha Duke, Adrian Kuhlman and Briana Trager will receive $2,000 to support their dissertation research. Duke is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences’ literacy and English language arts concentration; Kuhlman is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. in Learning and Teaching in STEM mathematics and statistics education concentration; and Trager is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences’ elementary education in math and sciences concentration.