Congratulations 2021 Platinum Award Winners and Finalists
BEST ARTICLE OF THE YEAR
“The Past as a Present”
When Todd Moye and Andrew Torget, professors in UNT’s Department of History, launched their public history research seminar in spring 2018, they had no idea that it would lead to not only 49 individual biographies and more than 650 artifacts about St. John’s—a disappeared freedmen’s community near Pilot Point, Texas—but also inspire one of their graduate students, Micah Crittenden, to use her research expertise to help save what was once a one-room African American schoolhouse known as the Lincoln Academy in the disappeared freedmen’s community of Oakdale.
BEST PRACTICES IN ALUMNI RELATIONS
Share the Light Jobs Challenge: A Unified Platform for Alumni Engagement, Volunteerism, and Philanthropy
In early March, the Class of 2020 was poised to enter one of the strongest job markets in history. More than half of Rollins College’s 627 soon-to-be graduates were actively seeking their first job. With the advent of COVID-19, everything changed.
EXCELLENCE IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography Portfolio
University of Maryland, College Park
The office of strategic communications' photography unit creates imagery for a vast number of projects, including the university magazine, Terp; daily news site, Maryland Today; university website; and many digital and print publications spanning admissions to the alumni association
BEST PRACTICES IN COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
Puzzling Our Way to Better Engagement
Johns Hopkins University communicators were challenged to increase engagement with the university president's annual end-of-year thank you message. To do it, we created a multimedia campaign focused on a Hopkins-centric, hard-to-solve crossword puzzle worthy of the Sunday edition of The New York Times.
BEST PRACTICES IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
National Outreach Programme: Changing Destinies
Lahore University of Management Sciences
The National Outreach Programme is LUMS’ signature initiative to make quality education accessible to all, and is underpinned by a philosophy of “Learning Without Borders.” The programme exemplifies the university’s values of merit, diversity, inclusion, and equity.
BEST PRACTICES IN FUNDRAISING
Memorial to Enslaved Laborers
As the University of Virginia approached its bicentennial celebration, it brought together historians, architects, alumni, and descendants of enslaved individuals to tell a more inclusive story of its founding.
BEST PRACTICES IN DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
AR You Ready for HEY!
Nanyang Technological University
HEY! is Nanyang Technological University’s award-winning magazine that is conceptualised as a publication for the young with its bold use of photos (all taken using smartphones), a breezy editorial style, catchy headlines, and engaging augmented reality features.
BEST PRACTICES IN ADVANCEMENT SERVICES
Gift Processing, Proofing, and Reporting: Process Improvement Leads to an Enhanced Donor Experience
Industry best practice dictates that gift acknowledgements should be sent within 24-72 hours of receiving a gift. Due to the University of Texas at Austin’s size and complexity, this target had remained difficult to obtain consistently. However, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gift Operations team developed and implemented a successful solution to an unexpected challenge.