AUSTIN, TX-- The Heritage Foundation presented Dr. Robert Jackson with its 2021 Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship during the organization’s annual Resource Bank meeting this week in honor of his significant work to protect and advance American values through education by teaching and promoting the use of classical education in the classroom.
Heritage awards the Salvatori Prize each year to an individual or organization that embodies and advances the virtues of the American founding. It is given in the memory of immigrant, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and dedicated conservative activist Henry Salvatori.
Heritage President Kay C. James released the following statement on Dr. Jackson’s selection for this prestigious award:
“Dr. Robert Jackson’s decades-long career has been devoted to training America’s future teachers in the fundamentals of educational history and philosophy to improve the learning experience for America’s children. Dr. Jackson’s work with the Great Hearts Foundation and the Institute for Classical Education have re-introduced classical education into the mainstream through a unifying approach of developing the minds and hearts of America’s children through the study of languages, the sciences, history, mathematics, literature, and fine arts.
“Dr. Jackson’s devotion to better education for America’s students and teachers could not come at a more critical time in our nation’s history. He continues to champion the benefits of classical education despite the radical indoctrination being embraced in schools across the nation.
“Through his work with Great Hearts and the Institute for Classical Education, Dr. Jackson aims to restore the United States’ public education system to what it once was by fostering children’s personal character and moral imagination. This philosophy is central to ensuring better education and brighter futures for our students.”
Dr. Jackson spent 12 years as a professor of English and education, training teachers in educational history and philosophy at The Kings College in New York. He developed his own academic concentration aimed at reviving the thousands-year-old tradition of liberal arts instruction through the study of classic works. Dr. Jackson has been published in Society, Academic Questions, Mythlore, and Comment. He received a university fellowship at Florida State University and received awards for teaching excellence at Florida State University and The King’s College. He oversaw two university language programs, coordination of a childhood education degree, and served as the associate provost of The King’s College.
Previous Salvatori Prize recipients include Bob Woodson, Mollie Hemingway, Tucker Carlson, The Washington Free Beacon, and The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
