Missouri University of Science and Technology received 13 awards for excellence in alumni relations, media relations, publications, social media, web design and overall marketing, communications and institutional advancement from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) during the CASE District VI conference held Jan. 13-15 in Denver.

Missouri S&T won seven gold, two silver and three bronze awards in the annual competition, as well as the district's Sweepstakes Award for best overall institutional advancement program in its enrollment category of 5,000-7,499 students. This is the second year in a row the university has won the Sweepstakes Award.

CASE received hundreds of entries for the annual awards program from colleges, universities and independent schools in Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. CASE is the international organization for educational advancement. Its membership is made up of college, university and independent school staff members in the areas of alumni relations, communications and marketing, and philanthropy.

The awards were as follows:

• Two gold awards for Excellence in Multimedia: Web Site for the university's online alumni magazine (magazine.mst.edu) and for its Experience This! blog (experiencethis.mst.edu), which promotes Missouri S&T’s student design team activities. The magazine website was developed by communications specialists Mindy Limback (site navigation and architecture) and Joann Stiritz (graphic design) of the communications department. Experience This! is the team effort of communications specialist Lance Feyh of the communications department and Bob Phelan of the Student Design and Experiential Learning Center. Video clips by Tom Shipley, manager of video productions for the communications department, are also featured on both blogs.
• A gold award for Excellence in Institutional Relations: Overall Media Placement Program for the Missouri S&T communications department. The award is shared by Mary Helen Stoltz, manager of public relations, and communications specialists Lance Feyh and Mindy Limback.
• A gold award for Excellence in Graphic Design: Cover - Four or More Colors for the Fall 2007 issue of UMR Magazine, the university’s quarterly alumni magazine (since renamed Missouri S&T Magazine). The cover of that issue, which spotlighted Missouri S&T’s summer camp programs, was designed by Stiritz and the cover photograph was by freelance photographer B.A. Rupert. Assisting in the design were communications specialist Megan Kean and Rebecca Frisbee, former manager of publications and current manager of marketing for Missouri S&T’s School of Extended Learning.
• A gold award for Excellence in Writing - Opinion/Column/Editorial for an op-ed piece about Engineers Week, written by Feyh and published last February in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• A gold award for Excellence in Institutional Relations - Institutional Branding Campaign for the “Make Your Mark” kickoff event for the university’s Advancing Excellence Campaign to raise $200 million in private funds by 2010. The campaign involved the creation of publications, a special website (campaign.mst.edu) and video materials, and alumni relations, donor relations and media relations activities. The award is shared by the entire Division of University Advancement staff, which is headed by Connie Eggert, vice chancellor for university advancement. The Make Your Mark campaign also received a silver award for Excellence in Institutional Relations - Institutional Relations Project.
• A gold award for Excellence in Institutional Relations - Best Solution to an Institutional Communications Challenge for the university’s “Name Change Communications” blog (namechange.mst.edu), a vehicle used to communicate the process of changing the university’s name from University of Missouri-Rolla to Missouri S&T.
• A silver award for Excellence in Institutional Relations - Media Placements on a Single Topic for media coverage of Explosives Camp, a popular summer program that garnered media attention from the New York Times, National Public Radio and other national media outlets last summer. The university also received a bronze award in the same category for attracting national media attention to Missouri S&T’s infrastructure researchers after the Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse last summer. Both awards are shared by Stoltz, Feyh and Limback.
• A bronze award for Excellence in Educational Fundraising - Program Mailing for Annual Fund Support for a personalized coffee mug created by the alumni and constituent relations office and the publications office. The award is shared by Marianne Ward, director of alumni relations; Elaine Russell, manager of alumni relations; and Frisbee, Kean and Stiritz.
• A bronze award for Excellence in Educational Fundraising - Program Mailing for Annual Fund Support for “Drive Our Participation Rate,” a program which offered donors a USB flash drive in the shape of the university’s mascot, Joe Miner. The award is shared by the office of vice chancellor for university advancement, the Miner Alumni Association, the office of alumni and constituent relations, and the office of annual giving.