ECS to Honor Ron Wolk for National Influence on Education

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May 14, 2008

DENVER, May 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Ron Wolk, co-founder of The Chronicle of Higher Education and founder of Education Week, will be awarded the James Bryant Conant Award for his notable contributions to education. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) will present the award in Austin, Texas during the organization’s annual National Forum on Education Policy June 30 - July 2.Named for Harvard University president and co-founder of ECS, the Conant Award has been labeled one of the most prestigious in the national education community. The honor recognizes individuals of outstanding and enduring influence in the classroom, touting the careers of notables such as former governors James Hunt, Lamar Alexander, Roy Romer, John H. Stelle, former U.S. Department of Education Secretary Richard Riley, celebrity activist Fred Rogers, early learning policy leader Sharon Lynn Kagan, former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Maryland State School Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, ECS co-founder Terry Sanford and others.On learning of his selection, Wolk responded, “I have known many of the past recipients of this award and have admired them. Being in such company is a very gratifying and humbling experience.”Wolk’s scope of influence reaches across all 50 states. Aside from The Chronicle of Higher Education and Education Week, he launched Quality Counts and Teacher Magazine, resources enabling policymakers and teachers to improve schools. He and Clark Kerr were instrumental in setting up the Carnegie Commission on the Future of Higher Education and published a series of volumes on education policy and research. He also worked as founding chairman of What Kids Can Do, an organization promoting the accomplishments of young people and as director of the Public Education Network. Currently, Wolk serves as chairman of the board of Editorial Projects in Education, a non-profit organization, publisher of Education Week, and of The Big Picture Company, a non-profit organization dedicated to a fundamental redesign of schools and schooling in the United States.Rounding out his remarkable career in media and education leadership, Wolk also served as vice president of Brown University and as special assistant to Milton S. Eisenhower, president of the Johns Hopkins University and chairman of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence.”It is a privilege to honor Ron Wolk for his indelible and positive influence on education policy and practice in classrooms across the 50 states. He continues to leave his mark as an education thought leader and innovator,” notes ECS President Roger Sampson.Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, 2006-2008 ECS Chair, will present the award to Wolk during the National Forum, to be held June 30 - July 2, in Austin, Texas. The forum will feature sessions and leading education experts on topics ranging from early learning transitions to post-secondary workforce development strategies. In attendance at the forum will be U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Vickie Phillips, Director of the Gates Foundation’s division of education strategy, governors, legislators, chief states school officers, higher education officials, business leaders and others.The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is the only nationwide, nonpartisan interstate compact devoted to education. ECS helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonprofit organization, ECS () was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado. Education Commission of the States

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