2023 Award Recipient 
 

Linda Darling-Hammond
Learning Policy Institute

The recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Public Service Award is Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute and one of the most influential education researchers of our time. Whether leading the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future or as a teacher and professor, she has been a tireless advocate for equity across all levels of our education system. As advisor to the Obama and Biden transition teams and President of the California Board of Education, she has directly shaped federal and state policy. Dr. Darling-Hammond’s unique ability to bridge the worlds of policy, practice, and research has led to more effective pathways for teachers, empowering classroom learning environments, and equitable educational policies around the world.

The Distinguished Public Service Award is granted annually in recognition of an individual who has worked to enact or implement policies that are well grounded in education research, or who has been at the forefront of efforts to increase recognition and support for education research. The recipient will be invited either to deliver an address or to participate in a panel discussion during the following Annual Meeting on a topic relevant to their contribution and expertise. The AERA Government Relations Committee is charged by AERA Council with serving as the selection committee for this award.

Past Recipients

2022 - Peggy G. Carr
2021 - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott
2020 - Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
2019 - George Miller
2018 - Donna E. Shalala
2017 - Michael W. Kirst
2016 - Shirley Malcom
2015 - Joseph Conaty
2014 - Ruby Takanishi
2013 - Freeman A. Hrabowski III
2012 - Jerry D. Weast
2011 - Emerson J. Elliott
2010 - Beverly L. Hall
2008 - Bruce Alberts
2007 - Jack Jennings
2005 - Ronald A. Wolk
2004 - Richard C. Atkinson
2003 - James B. Hunt