From the Nominator

The University of Chicago Alumni Association launched Parental Guidance in September 2019 to position itself in front of an audience with less time on their hands and more important priorities in their lives than UChicago: alumni and friends in the midst of raising children. It presents subscribers with quick-to-read content that draws on university research and news related to parenting issues, including health, education, social media use, and even the importance of giving thanks—again, most of it based on evidence-based research from around the university. At the same time, we didn't want reading and clicking through the newsletter to be a chore, so we made sure it had a distinct, lively voice, and that the research was leavened with personality, humor, colorful design, and content that treated readers not just as child-rearing-obsessives but as well-rounded people with wide-ranging interests and a curiosity about life in general. 

This has continued during the year of COVID. While the newsletter gives parents links to the university's wide-ranging expertise on pandemic- and social justice-related topics—remote learning, racial and economic inequities, vaccines—its voice and its broader content acknowledge that there's still room in our lives for simple pleasures, like a new Fiona Apple album or an old Nat King Cole chestnut.

From the Judges

A very different concept, executed well and meeting the needs of the audience. We were impressed with the breadth of university expertise called on in content creation. This is a great entry point for further engagement, and a strong public service mission at a crucial time. This year, COVID newsletters made up many of the entries; this one approached the issues completely differently.