Clark Kerr Award

{{short description|American annual higher education prize}}

{{Infobox award

| name = Clark Kerr Award

| image =

| caption = Photo of American professor Clark Kerr

| awarded_for = Outstanding contributions to the advancement of higher education

| presenter = University of California, Berkeley

| country = United States

| year = {{start date and age|1968}}

| year2 = 2022

}}

The Clark Kerr Award, fully the Clark Kerr Award for Distinguished Leadership in Higher Education or the Clark Kerr Medal is an award given to a person who has made "an extraordinary and distinguished contribution to the advancement of higher education."{{cite web |url=http://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/awards/Clark%20Kerr%20Award/clark_kerr_award_history.pdf |title=History of the Clark Kerr Award |accessdate=March 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819000214/http://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/awards/Clark%20Kerr%20Award/clark_kerr_award_history.pdf |archivedate=August 19, 2016 }} The award is given annually by the Academic Senate of the University of California, Berkeley. The award was established in 1968 as a tribute to the leadership and legacy of Clark Kerr.{{Cite news|last=Hechinger|first=Grace|date=2003-12-02|title=Clark Kerr, Leading Public Educator and Former Head of California's Universities, Dies at 92 (Published 2003)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/02/us/clark-kerr-leading-public-educator-former-head-california-s-universities-dies-92.html|access-date=2021-02-13|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite book|last=Johnson|first=Dean C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPueAAAAMAAJ|title=The University of California: History and Achievements|date=1996|publisher=Regents of the University of California|language=en}} He was an American professor of economics and academic administrator. He was the first chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and twelfth president of the University of California from 1958 to 1967. He played a key role in shaping the University of California system.

Recipients of the award have included scholars, academic administrators, Nobel Prize winners, businesspersons, and public officials who have had a transformative impact on higher education and on society more broadly. The award is considered one of the most prestigious honors in higher education.