The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has recognized Princeton for communications initiatives in development, public affairs and admissions and financial aid, as well as for the University's fundraising efforts.
CASE's 2008 Circle of Excellence Awards included: a gold medal for visual identity systems for the "Aspire: A Plan for Princeton" campaign; a silver medal for creative use of technology and new media for the UChannel public affairs website; and a bronze medal for individual sub-websites for Princeton's undergraduate admission and aid site. In addition, the organization selected Princeton as a winner of its 2008 award for educational fundraising.
The gold medal honors the visual identity system for the University's comprehensive fundraising campaign, "Aspire: A Plan for Princeton," which was launched in November. The system uses "Aspire" to create a unifying theme for the various elements of the campaign. It is incorporated in campaign-related materials such as printed and electronic announcements and publications, the redesigned Giving to Princeton website, and banners and other paraphernalia for events. The evolution of the campaign theme and graphic identity system was led by development staff members Judith Friedman and J.T. Miller, director and senior associate director, respectively, of the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Planning, working together with the Office of Development Communications and the New York-based design firm Pentagram.
The silver medal was awarded to the UChannel, an online archive of audio and video recordings of academic public affairs lectures from a consortium of universities led by Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In April alone, the UChannel -- which launched in 2005 -- registered 2 million hits from all over the world and more than 150,000 downloads of full-length audio and video recordings. The project is overseen by UChannel executive director Donna Liu.
The bronze medal recognized the Princeton undergraduate admission and financial aid website, which launched this past fall. The project continued a longstanding partnership between the Office of Communications and the Admission Office to create a range of informative materials for prospective Princeton students. Features of the new site include: integrated admission and financial aid information with an emphasis on the strengths of Princeton's financial aid program; faculty, student and recent alumni profiles; and dedicated pages addressing concerns of parents, guidance counselors, international applicants and home-schooled students. To develop the new website, the admission, undergraduate financial aid and communications offices worked closely with the Office of Information Technology and the independent communications firm mStoner of Chicago.
In addition to these three awards, CASE has recognized Princeton with its award for educational fundraising, which honors superior fundraising programs across the country. The University was selected to be a recipient of this prestigious award for best overall performance based on an analysis of three years of fundraising data and a multitude of factors, ranging from growth in total support to breadth of development programs. Princeton previously received this award in 2003 and 2004.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London and Singapore, CASE is the professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas. CASE's membership includes nearly 3,400 colleges, universities, and independent elementary and secondary schools in the United States and other countries.
