Advancement, Communications and Marketing Honored for Excellence

A student in graduation regalia points to photos on a wall while standing with a woman.

Photos of campus events were posted in the SEFCU concourse as part of the Great Dane Graduation Experience. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 30, 2022) – University at Albany staff in Advancement and Communications and Marketing have again won international recognition for excellence in marketing, special events, design, donor relations, digital media and writing.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) honored UAlbany’s efforts with four 2022 Circle of Excellence Awards. The awards are the premier recognition program for educational advancement and are peer-selected and adjudicated, honoring institutions worldwide for resourcefulness and ingenuity in advancement. 

UAlbany received silver and bronze awards in the categories of Microsites and Annual Giving Campaigns for the UAlbany Fund’s March Matchness; a silver award in the category of Fundraising Videos (Donor Relations) for a thank you video to first-time donors; and a silver award in the category of Student Recruitment Publications for the University’s Instagram booklet and custom envelope to improve enrollment yield.

CASE received more than 4,500 entries from 636 institutions in nearly 30 countries.

Seven smiling people hold framed awards. — Members of the Advancement team received awards at the SUNYCUAD meeting earlier this month.

Earlier this month, UAlbany also won 11 awards as part of the SUNY Council for University Advancement (SUNYCUAD) Awards for Excellence program, which recognizes best practices in New York public higher education advancement. These awards spanned specialties from alumni relations, special events, fundraising and donor relations to media relations and digital media.

The work honored by SUNYCUAD included best-of recognition for the Great Dane Graduation Experience for the classes of 2020 and 2021; publications and web design for UAlbany Magazine; social media for March Matchness, design for the UAlbany logo and brand architecture refresh; diversity and inclusion for homecoming programming, and feature writing, photography and videography for a story about UAlbany researchers working on Whiteface Mountain.

UAlbany was awarded additional judge’s citations for design for international admissions marketing materials, fundraising for March Matchness, excellence on a budget for a video thanking donors and feature writing in UAlbany Magazine.

“To be recognized by these organizations and know that our peers appreciate the work we do is always very special,” said Vice President for University Advancement Fardin Sanai. “We could not be more proud of the innovation and creativity of our talented team.”

Interim Director of Marketing Ashley DelSignore said the awards are representative of the work that happens daily to tell the story of UAlbany in a compelling way.

“Good stories told well move people,” DelSignore said. “UAlbany is lucky to have such skilled artists, designers, photographers, videographers and writers who are committed to finding the best stories and telling them with impact.”