Nominations sought for McAuliffe Prize

The Christa McAuliffe Prize committee at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln seeks applicants for the Christa McAuliffe Prize for Courage and Excellence in Education. Community members are encouraged to submit nominations for the award by Dec. 1.

Gregg Wright, research associate professor at the Center on Children, Family and the Law, established the award in the former UNL Teachers College (now part of the College of Education and Human Sciences) after Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to go into space, died in the Challenger space shuttle accident in 1986.

"The explosion had a big impact on my family and on me," Wright said. "After the accident I wanted to do something for teachers."

With the help of the University of Nebraska Foundation the prize to award courageous teachers in Nebraska began to take shape.

"Rewarding courage," Wright said, "automatically selects out a slightly different kind of teacher."

This prize, Wright said, is much different than other "teacher-of-the-year" awards. The teachers who are recognized are all excellent educators, but they go beyond excellence by showing courage. Courage can be displayed in may different ways, Wright said, but the common denominator among all of the prize winners is the lasting and positive effect they have had on their students.

The winner of the 2007 prize will receive a cash award of $1,000 and will be honored at a banquet in January. The winner, along with the past winners, will receive recognition in a special publication commemorating the 20th anniversary of the prize.

Nomination packets are available at any Nebraska school or on the Christa McAuliffe Prize Web site (http://courage.unl.edu).

CONTACTS: Gregg Wright, Research Assoc. Professor, Center on Children, Family & the Law, (402) 472-8881; and
Jenny Patrick, Event Coordinator, Education & Human Sciences, (402) 472-5400