GAA Programs, Review and UNC Win Awards in CASE District
The UNC General Alumni Association has received three awards for its programs and publications for 2015-16 from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for the Southeastern district of the U.S.
The Carolina Alumni Review, which is published by the GAA, received:
- An Award of Excellence in the overall magazine category for magazines at institutions with more than 15,000 full-time students. The issues judged from 2015 were January/February (cover story, “UNC Offers Itself to the Great War”), March/April (cover story, “Dean Smith 1931-2015”) and July/August (the Review’s second food issue).
- A Special Merit Award in feature writing for “They Carry a Heavy Burden,” the May/June 2015 cover story about the effort to rename Saunders Hall.
The GAA received:
- A Special Merit Award in best practices in alumni relations for its “Together in Service for UNC” program, which involved approximately 100 members of the classes of 2015 and 1965 who jointly built a Habitat for Humanity home for a family, both through raising about $25,000 to sponsor the home and through participating in construction.
The University also won three CASE awards:
- An Award of Excellence in individual print advertising for an ad titled “Flip the Classroom.” The print advertisement, which ran in the official 2015 Carolina football yearbook, highlighted one of Carolina’s classroom innovations, active learning, also known as “flipped classroom.” Active learning can be better at engaging students academically and helping to close the achievement gap for first-generation and minority students. Departments across Carolina – from chemistry to economics – are now using active-learning techniques
- A Special Merit Award for graphic design in photography-series for the Ranger Challenge program, described as the “varsity sport” of UNC’s Army ROTC program. This photography series by former longtime University photographer Dan Sears ’74 documented the journey of 11 UNC Army ROTC cadets as they trained 40 times over 53 days to participate in the Ranger Challenge, from pre-dawn ruck runs to first aid training sessions. Sears’ work documenting the cadets’ journey is available online.
- A Special Merit Award for a special event, “HIV Cure Center and Qura Therapeutics Launch,” which marked the announcement in May 2015 of the University and GlaxoSmithKline agreeing to work together to search for a cure for HIV. This first-of-its-kind public-private partnership with GSK is creating a research center on campus and a jointly owned company, Qura Therapeutics, dedicated to discovering a cure for HIV/AIDS. The University’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs partnered with University Events to develop a special event to formally launch the partnership.
In a separate competition, the GAA-sponsored Order of the Bell Tower won Outstanding Student Advancement Program from CASE’s Affiliated Student Advancement Programs in regional competition among student advancement groups in the Southeast. OBT was recognized for the group’s True Blue Trek, a 7-year-old event that has evolved into an Amazing Race-style competition highlighting historical landmarks on campus and engaging students to celebrate UNC traditions and spirit during Homecoming week.
The GAA has been recognized with national or district CASE awards for 20 years in a row, earning 107 such awards in all — 55 for Alumni Programs, which includes 26 ASAP awards, and 52 for Alumni Communications.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CASE is a worldwide professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas. The CASE ASAP awards recognize outstanding student and adviser leadership and achievements as well as outstanding student educational advancement programming by member organizations.
