Gardner Named 2015 Brock International Prize in Education Laureate
Monday, October 13, 2014
Dr. Howard E. Gardner, a Professor of Education at Harvard University, was named the 2015 Brock International Prize in Education Laureate for his groundbreaking work in the field of psychology, which has profoundly and positively impacted the field of education around the world. Oklahoma State University, along with the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa, serves as one of the university partners for the Brock Prize. Ed Harris, Williams Chair of Educational Leadership in the OSU College of Education, serves as Chair of the Executive Committee and Administrator of the Brock Prize.
Gardner is best known in the educational world for his theory of “multiple intelligences,” which is based on original research in neuroscience and was first published more than 30 years ago. Gardner’s conception of intelligence as multi-dimensional rather than a singular quality has since become mainstream in the curriculum of schools of education, is the basis for hundreds of books on intelligence and education, and is the foundation for the pedagogy for hundreds of new schools around the world.
“Gardner’s research and thinking have profoundly changed the way we understand the nature of intelligence and subsequently changed the field of education,” said Dr. Richard K. Miller, who nominated Gardner for the prize. Miller is the President of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and was on the jury of educators and education advocates who selected Gardner for the honor.
“Howard Garner’s theory of multiple intelligences was literally a game changer, and the effects of this game-changing insight and research have been global and profound,” said Miller.
The Brock International Prize in Education is awarded annually and recognizes individuals who have made a specific innovation or contribution resulting in a significant impact on the practice or understanding of the field of education. The Prize is about big ideas that make meaningful change in the way people think and act.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Gardner as our 14th Laureate for the Brock International Prize in Education,” said Brock Prize founder, John A. Brock. “Howard Gardner’s contribution to education is one of the most important of the past 100 years. It is being used worldwide to improve the education of the world’s students and precisely meets the objective of the Brock Prize.”
Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He also holds positions as Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero. Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981 and the University of Louisville’s Grawemeyer Award in Education in 2000. In 2005 and again in 2008, he was selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. In 2011, Gardner received the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences.
Gardner will be formally honored at the annual Brock Prize Symposium, at which he will be the featured speaker. The Symposium will be held on the campus of the University of Tulsa in March of 2015.
In addition to the cash award of $40,000, Gardner will receive a certificate denoting the honor and a bust of legendary Native American educator Sequoyah. The Prize is endowed through the Brock Family Community Foundation.
For more information about the Brock International Prize in Education or registering for the 2015 Brock Prize Symposium, go to http://brockinternationalprize.org/, or contact Brock Prize Executive Director, Dr. Ed Harris, at ed.harris@okstate.edu.