2009 Brock International Prize Laureate Announced
Jury members convening on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman announced Lawrence W. Lezotte, Ph.D., as this year’s recipients of the Brock International Prize in Education. The award is given annually to recognize an individual for innovative and effective ideas in education resulting in a significant impact on the practice or understanding of the field of education.
Lezotte has devoted his career to helping schools educate all students. He is the chief executive officer and national education consultant for Effective Schools Products, Ltd. Lezotte is known as the preeminent spokesperson for continuous school improvement based on effective schools research.
Clifton L. Taulbert, President and Founder of the Building Community Institute, served on the jury that selected Lezotte as this year’s prize recipient. He is a Pulitzer-nominated author of 10 books including the internationally acclaimed, “Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored.”
“Time Magazine” recognized Taulbert as one of the nation’s Outstanding Entrepreneurs. He is also a former banker and advisory board member for Bank One, now J.P. Morgan Chase and currently serves as a board member for ONB Bank and Trust in Tulsa.
As a consultant, Lezotte touches the lives of thousands of educators and tens of thousands of students each year through workshops and conferences around the country, making the connection between federal and state mandates for school reform and the new mission of “learning for all.” Lezotte’s training programs not only inspire schools and districts to adopt the “learning for all” mission, but give them the information and tools they need to plan and implement continuous school improvement and raise student achievement. In recognition of his efforts, Lezotte received the 2003 Council of Chief State School Officers’ Distinguished Service Award presented each year to outstanding Americans who have made a difference in education.
The recipient was chosen by a nine-member jury, which is comprised of public school officials, university officers, meritorious professors and education program administrators, all of whom are committed to excellence in education. Each member of the jury nominates one potential laureate. Then the jury meets on the OU campus to discuss the merits of each nominee and select the laureate for the following year.
The Brock Laureate receives a $40,000 cash award, a certificate and a bust of Sequoyah during the Brock Symposium for Excellence in Education, where the laureate serves as the keynote speaker. The 2009 symposium will be conducted at the University of Tulsa April 16. The symposium, hosted by Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa, seeks to shine a light on notable accomplishments in the field of education and then to use those accomplishments as a springboard for communicating educational excellence to practitioners, parents, researchers, administrators and political leaders.
The Brock International Prize in Education is made possible from a gift by John A. Brock and family of Tulsa, and is administered by Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa.
For more information visit the Web site at www.ou.edu/cls/brock.
Updated 11-24-2008
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