CASE recently announced the winners of its 2021 Platinum Awards, which recognize best programs and practices in educational advancement around the globe.  

University of North Texas, U.S., won Best Article of the Year for “The Past as a Present,” an online extra from the Summer 2020 issue of North Texan. The article highlighted a project that was started in a public history seminar where two UNT history professors and their students used research to shine a light on disappeared local communities.   

“This article took us on a surprising journey that demonstrated this program’s commitment to a timely and important topic—a history of racial violence and intimidation in Denton County that had long been ignored,” the judges say. “The narrative was immersive, challenging, and made us want to learn more.”

Rollins College in Florida, U.S., won Best Practices in Alumni Relations for its Share the Light Jobs Challenge that called on the Rollins’ alumni network to help 2020 graduates secure a job opportunity within three months of graduation.

The judges called this “an innovative idea to help their students find jobs amid a terrible jobs market, creating a strong link to the mission of the college.”

University of Maryland, College Park, U.S., won Excellence in Photography for its Photography Portfolio that includes imagery for the university magazine, Terp; daily news site, Maryland Today; university website; and many digital and print publications spanning admissions to the Alumni Association. 

John Hopkins University won Best Practices in Communications and Marketing for its multimedia campaign titled Puzzling Our Way to Better Engagement featuring a Hopkins-centric, hard-to-solve crossword puzzle that doubled as President Ronald J. Daniels’ end-of-year message. This creative and innovate project from the Maryland, U.S., university earned national media coverage and led to increased donor engagement.

Lahore University of Management Sciences won Best Practices in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for National Outreach Programme: Changing Destinies. The National Outreach Programme brings students from remote locations across Pakistan to LUMS and offers them full tuition and a living stipend for their entire undergraduate studies.

“This program's ability—through disciplined outreach and coordination—to identify talent from all parts of Pakistan is impressive,” the judges say. “This entry displayed sustainability and growth and could be a model for organizations and universities globally.”

University of Virginia, U.S., won Best Practices in Fundraising for its Memorial to Enslaved Laborers. Starting with a single lead donor, fundraising for the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers quickly grew into a large-scale effort to reach a broader audience. 

The nominator says “the completed memorial has served as a powerful space of healing and contemplation for the UVA and Charlottesville communities this year and has paved the way for future fundraising priorities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, won Best Practices in Digital Communications for AR You Ready for HEY!. HEY!, Nanyang Technological University’s magazine, was re-launched in 2018 as a “smart magazine” using augmented reality to engage and entertain younger readers.

The judges describe this entry as “engaging and incredibly creative, with thoughtful and intentional execution.”

University of Texas at Austin, U.S., won Best Practices in Advancement Services for Gift Processing, Proofing, and Reporting: Process Improvement Leads to an Enhanced Donor Experience, a solution to sending gift acknowledgements in a timely manner.

The nominator says the “the improved process has resulted in an enhanced donor experience and has increased the team’s transparency and efficiency.”

For more information on the judging process, visit the CASE Platinum Awards section of the CASE website.