Dallas, Texas' SMU (Southern Methodist University) Meadows School of the Arts has named Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell the recipient of the 2026 Meadows Award.

Given to artists who have soared to the height of their profession, the award honors the artist's accomplishments at the pinnacle of a distinguished career. As this year's recipient, the Broadway favorite will complete an on-campus artistic residency in Dallas that includes leading master classes for Meadows students and performing alongside the Meadows Choirs and the Meadows Symphony Orchestra at the 33rd annual Meadows at the Meyerson benefit concert March 31, 2026.

Mitchell's career spans more than 40 years in Broadway, television, film, recordings, and concert appearances with the country’s finest conductors and orchestras. He won the 2000 Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk awards for his performance as Fred Graham/Petruchio in Kiss Me, Kate, and his other Broadway credits include Shuffle Along; King Hedley II; Ragtime; Love/Life; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Jelly's Last Jam; Oh, Kay!; Mail; and the City Center Encores! presentations of Do Re Mi, The Band Wagon, Love Life, and Carnival.

The actor also has an extensive history of involvement in charitable work, including a nearly 20-year-long term as the chairman of the board of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), for which he received the 2016 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award. He is also on the Board and Artist Committee of Americans for the Arts, and is a founding member of Black Theatre United. Earlier this year, Mitchell was awarded the inaugural William Wolf Drama Desk Award in recognition of his continued contributions to the entertainment community.

Mitchell's selection coincides with Meadows’ recruiting of the inaugural cohort of students to its newly created Sexton Institute of Musical Theatre, set to commence classes in fall 2026. The Institute will offer intensive conservatory training in acting, singing, and movement, along with a well-rounded liberal arts education. 

“Brian Stokes Mitchell is a leader and iconic figure in the entertainment industry not only due to his incredible talent and dedication to the art form, but also on account of his legacy of supporting and giving back to the community throughout his career,” said Samuel S. Holland, Professor of Music and Algur H. Meadows Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts. “The Meadows School is pleased to honor Brian with the Meadows Award on account of his artistic and charitable contributions to the arts, through his spectacular performances on stage, screen, and film, as well as his support for his fellow artists, modeling for our students the importance of community involvement, especially in an art form as collaborative as the theatre. We’re thrilled to welcome Stokes as our students are performing Ragtime with Dallas Theater Center, giving them the rare opportunity to take a masterclass with the originator of the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr.”

The Meadows Award was first given in 1983 and recognizes innovative artists and creative professionals across disciplines, reflecting the institution’s leadership in performing and visual arts, arts management, and entrepreneurship. Previous winners include Arthur Miller, Angela Lansbury, Martha Graham, Stephen Sondheim, and Wynton Marsalis, among others.

Tickets for the 2026 Meadows at the Meyerson benefit concert are available from the Meadows Box Office or can be purchased here.