After earning six golds a year ago, UC Davis came away with nearly three times as many in the 2018 CASE regional competition for development, marketing and communication projects.
UC Davis earned 16 gold, 13 silver and nine bronze Awards of Excellence from District VII of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE — for a total of 38, nine more than a year ago, and giving UC Davis the distinction of receiving the most awards two years in a row in the district that takes in universities in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii, as well as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
UC Davis received four of its awards in platinum categories, in which winners automatically advance to the next round of competition, CASE’s international round.
Here are the award winners:
Gold
The Annual Fund Toolkit at UC Davis: The Appeal of a “Fewer, Many, More” Approach to Applications Programming
- By the Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- In the category Advancement Services
Advancement Services staff built this web application to help with creating mailers that include personalized information based on recipients’ giving histories.
Joint Parent and Student Membership Campaign
- By the Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- In the category Alumni Relations: Marketing and Branding
You need not be an alum to join the Cal Aggie Alumni Association! This campaign encouraged parents and students to enrich their UC Davis experience through membership in the CAAA’s offshoot organizations, the Aggie Parent and Family Association, and the Student Alumni Association.
Alumni Wine Program Collection
- By the Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- In the category Alumni Relations: Marketing and Branding
To celebrate the milestone of having 250,000 living alumni, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association paid homage to the university’s standing in the world of viticulture and enology by releasing two wines: Heringer Estates Vineyards 2016 chardonnay and Ceja Vineyards 2012 Vino de Casa red blend, chosen in a blind taste test of wines from CAAA’s alumni partners.
Latino Trends in Higher Education
- By the Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- In the category Alumni Relations: Programming for Special Constituencies
This event brought together alumni and community members to hear from UC Davis leaders, others in higher education and the Mexican government's Sacramento-based consul general. Its goal was to help attendees develop a greater understanding of the needs, challenges and avenues available to assist Chicanx and Latinx youth in gaining access to higher education, as well as to solidify the connection between UC Davis’ new chancellor and the local Chicanx and Latinx community.
Volunteer Leadership Summit
- By the Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- In the category Alumni Relations: Volunteer Engagement and Leadership
Inaugural event bringing together volunteer philanthropic leaders from across campus, for a half-day of learning, sharing and networking. The summit included a keynote by Chancellor Gary S. May, an overview of development at UC Davis, and multiple interactive breakout sessions featuring topics such as capital projects in the next campaign, leveraging social networks, and cancer breakthroughs spanning veterinary and human health.
UC Davis Magazine, Fall/Winter 2016-17
- By the Office of Strategic Communications
- In the category Design and Photography: Periodicals
Winning issue featured rising comedian Hasan Minhaj ’07 on the cover, photographed before a performance in San Francisco. The issue included an infographic about the arts on campus; and a photo spanning two pages, showing students on a rafting field trip along the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
A Heartfelt Valentine From UC Davis
- By the Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- In the category Digital Communications: Innovative Use of Technology
Development and Alumni Relations sent this “ThankView” video Valentine to everyone who gave more than $1,000 to UC Davis. It included student thank-you’s, Valentine’s Day-themed stunts by the gymnastics team, and a group thank-you from the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees.
MBA Student Instagram Takeovers
- By the Graduate School of Management
- In the category Digital Communications: Social Media
In the summers of 2016 and 2017, Master’s of Business Administration students took the reins of the school’s Instagram account to share their experiences at internships at Tesla, Microsoft, Shutterfly, Dolby Laboratories and more. The Graduate School of Management marketing and communications team had been looking for creative ways to share authentically about the student experience, and the concept of students’ “taking over” the account to chronicle their summer internship experiences drove social engagement to the next level. The first-person student storytelling also allowed the school to spur greater interest in its MBA programs during what is traditionally the slowest time of the recruitment cycle (summer).
Science and Climate Website
- By the Office of Strategic Communications
- In the category Digital Communications: Website: Individual Sub-Websites
When key stakeholders think about expertise in climate science, they should think about UC Davis — that’s a key goal of staff in the Office of Strategic Communications, and it’s why they undertook a sponsored content program with The Washington Post. In addition, they built a dedicated web presence as an anchor to the sponsored content. The site features news articles and a glossary of terms and subjects related to climate science.
Removing Barriers: UC Davis Women in STEM
- By the Office of Strategic Communications
- In the category Diversity: Diversity (Platinum)
The Office of Strategic Communications wanted to raise awareness of UC Davis ADVANCE and build on the momentum of Forbes Magazine’s having ranked UC Davis as the top university for women in STEM. Through the process of planning the promotion, the office learned there was no central UC Davis online resource for women in STEM fields, and took it as an opportunity to create the UC Davis Women in STEM website.
Guardian Professions Program
- By the Department of Graduate Studies
- In the category Diversity: Diversity (Platinum)
Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, this program helps former foster youths reach new heights academically and professionally. The program provides students with the support and mentorship to achieve their dreams of obtaining graduate and professional degrees from UC Davis.
GSM Dean’s Big 3 E-Newsletter Series
- By the Graduate School of Management
- In the category Publications: External Audience - Digital
This monthly e-newsletter was launched with the goal of generating interest and buzz about Dean Rao Unnava, his new initiatives, and interesting faculty and/or student activities. The concept behind the Big 3 series is simple: Focus on the three most interesting, highest-profile stories each month. The main feature of each issue is a high-tempo, two-minute video in which Unnava discusses the issue’s three stories.
Aggie Tip Sheet
- By the Office of Strategic Communications
- In the category Publications: General Publications
This monthly publication goes to UC Davis leaders, external relations professionals, lead communicators and other members of the UC Davis community, providing them with a quick-reference resource for presentations, conversations, correspondence and other communications that involve UC Davis news and distinctions. The first page gives an overview of recent top stories, trending social media content and institutional news, while the second page provides a roundup of the university’s rankings and distinctions.
2016 Annual Report: Transforming Your World
- By the Office of Strategic Communications
- In the category Publications: President's Reports and Annual Reports
The annual report is used by administrators and the Office of Government and Community Relations as a starting point for a conversation about UC Davis’ unique strengths, impact and need for continued support. The 2016 report included an innovation spread that served as a sort of “highlight reel” for the year's innovations and UC Davis’ unique strengths across food and agriculture, the environment, veterinary medicine, health, the arts, social sciences and education.
Art Wide Open: Manetti Shrem Museum of Art Grand Opening Weekend
- By the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art
- In the category Special Events: Multi-Day Special Events
The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art’s opening weekend in November 2016 drew thousands of people to a series of activities that included an all-night party for students, events for faculty, alumni, donors and the general public, and a grand opening that featured a street fair. The public had been invited to paint dozens of rings in the weeks leading up to the grand opening, and the museum assembled those rings into a chain that served as the “ribbon” for the ribbon-cutting.
Making Science Accessible to All
- By the Office of Strategic Communications
- In the category Writing: News Writing
This entry comprised five articles by public information representatives — articles that received coverage from traditional media outlets like International Business Times, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle and Daily Mail, to such niche publications as Gizmodo, Science and Space.com.
The five articles — “Beneath the Ice in Antarctica,” “Nutrition Proposal Has ‘Transformative Potential’ for Haiti,” “Program Distributes 10,000 Pounds of Produce to Students,” “Synestia, a New Type of Planetary Object” and “Mystery Solved!” — reached more than 329 million viewers on those sites, and nearly 23,000 views on the UC Davis News and Information page.
The impact went beyond just traditional media coverage. As a result of the proposal outlined in “Nutrition Proposal Has Transformative Potential in Haiti,” the Haitian government has since begun implementing the recommendations of the UC Davis researchers; while the produce program shined an important light on the issue of food insecurity on college campuses, helped ease the stigma for students the issue can cause and highlighted what is being done to help.
Silver
- Cal Aggie Alumni Association Alumni Awards, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: Annual Alumni Programs
- Active Aggies, Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: New Program Initiatives
- Picnic Day Around the World, Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: Volunteer Engagement and Leadership
- “Hasan Minhaj: A Headliner’s ‘Homecoming,’” UC Davis Magazine cover, Fall/Winter 2016-17, Office of Strategic Communications, category Design and Photography: Covers
- UC Davis Olive Oil and Flavored Balsamic 2017 Gift Set, Strategic Communications, category Design and Photography: Specialty Pieces
- What Can I Do With My Major? Blog, Strategic Communications, category Digital Communications (platinum)
- School of Veterinary Medicine: Leading the Way, School of Veterinary Medicine, category Digital Communications: Social Media
- Reigniting the Spirit of Caring: Leveraging Nurse Philanthropy at UC Davis Health, UC Davis Health Sciences Development, category Fundraising: Fundraising Campaigns
- UC Davis Magazine, Fall/Winter 2016-17 and Spring/Summer 2017, Strategic Communications, category Magazines: General Interest Magazines, 30,000-75,000 circulation
- Quality of Life for All: A National Awareness Campaign, Strategic Communications, category Marketing: Advertising: Campaigns
- You Shine, Strategic Communications, category Marketing: Advertising: Individual Ads (see the ad, above right)
- Campus Recreation Come As You Are Branding Campaign, Division of Student Affairs, category Marketing: Branding Programs
- Treating Horses on Native American Reservations, Strategic Communications, category Videos: General Information Videos
Bronze
- Annual and Special Gifts Stewardship Program, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, category Advancement Services: Stewardship/Donor Relations
- Aggie Parent Traditions, Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: Annual Alumni Programs
- “Like” Our Status: Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s Social Strategy, Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: Best Use of Social Media/Technology
- Career and Young Alumni Initiative, Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: New Program Initiatives
- Aggie Parent Traditions, Development and Alumni Relations, category Alumni Relations: Programming for Special Constituencies
- UC Davis Science and Climate Website, Strategic Communications, category Digital Communications: Digital Communications (Platinum)
- Facebook Live Q&A with Chancellor May, Strategic Communications, category Digital Communications: Social Media
- Saving Lives and Inspiring Donors at UC Davis Health, UC Davis Health Sciences Development, category Fundraising: Targeted Campaigns
- AggieXtra, Spring 2017 and Fall 2017, Development and Alumni Relations, category Magazines: Digital Magazines