From the Nominator

"On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey with devastating force, upending lives and leaving a $30 billion trail of destruction. Its aftermath revealed the vulnerability and challenged the viability of coastal communities. But in Sandy’s wake, Rutgers has led the search for long-term and sustainable solutions.   

Rutgers’ Office of Communications and Marketing (R-Comm) created a digital campaign to commemorate the impact of Sandy on New Jersey and showcase how the university supported post-storm recovery, mitigation and adaptation. The campaign ran from October 24 to November 4 and lived on a micro-site.    

The package’s stories, videos, and research resources were redistributed widely by university departments, schools, and alumni networks, and were used for fundraising. They were published on Rutgers Today, the university’s daily news portal; shared in Rutgers’ government affairs newsletter, which is read by policymakers at the state and federal levels; and the School of Engineering.   

The primary audience was the New Jersey public. As the state university of New Jersey, taxpayers expect their public university to do public good and conduct research that changes lives for the better. "In Sandy’s Wake" demonstrated these qualities.   

R-Comm sits at the top of the university’s communications funnel, and our content is designed to stand alone, be used by other university departments for their own communications planning, and generate external media coverage."

From the Judges

Clear demonstration of work and impact in the community through well-constructed pieces. Judges noted that the authors and coverage of the subject matter made it relevant some time after the actual event—and interesting!