Barry C. Cosgrove, a Brockton native and first-generation college graduate, is set to receive the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council for Opportunity in Education.
Cosgrove will be honored at the COE’s Educational Opportunity Dinner on Sept. 9 in Chicago, according to a community announcement.
Cosgrove, a 1975 graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School, enrolled in Marquette University through the Educational Opportunity Program. He later earned a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a law degree from Suffolk University Law School and graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Cosgrove has been a vocal advocate for federal higher education programs designed to increase college access for disadvantaged students. He has supported scholarships and institutional endowments and has served on boards and advisory councils for universities and charitable organizations.
Barry C. Cosgrove
“Barry Cosgrove is the embodiment of what TRIO seeks to accomplish: he transformed opportunity into leadership and then turned that leadership into opportunity for others,” Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, said in the announcement. “Through his long-standing advocacy, generous philanthropy, and hands-on mentorship, Barry has expanded the reach of TRIO programs and invested in the futures of countless students. We are honored to celebrate his enduring impact.”
COE President Emeritus Arnold Mitchem said Cosgrove’s life is a roadmap for how one person’s success can be multiplied into a community legacy.
“He understands that access without support is insufficient, and he has used his influence to build the support that helps students persist, graduate, and lead,” Mitchem said in the announcement. “This award recognizes his lifetime of leadership on behalf of educational opportunity.”
The 2025 Educational Opportunity Dinner will bring together leaders from higher education, government, philanthropy and the TRIO community to honor Cosgrove alongside the 2025 National TRIO Achievers and celebrate the success stories that TRIO programs help produce.
Interested guests may visit coenet.org for more information about the Federal TRIO Programs or to purchase tickets to the 2025 Educational Opportunity Dinner.
This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Barry Cosgrove to receive 2025 COE lifetime achievement award