The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has awarded Institutional Advancement three 2008 Circle of Excellence awards for communications efforts. Institutional Advancement received one gold and two silver medals in the national competition.

CASE is the largest international association of educational institutions, serving more than 3,300 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 54 countries. The organization is the leading resource for professional development, information and standards in the fields of education fundraising, communications and alumni relations.

“I am pleased to be recognized by CASE for the success of our communications efforts. The awards confirm what we already knew — that the Temple message has never been conveyed more effectively or clearly for all of our audiences: the university community, potential students, external media, alumni, Philadelphia and the world,” said Stuart Sullivan, senior vice president for Institutional Advancement.

A gold medal was awarded to Temple in the Publications Program Improvement category. A panel of judges selected Temple’s entry for outstanding improvement made over a two-year period to its overall publication program.

Over the last two years, the Publications Office was moved under Institutional Advancement and transformed into Creative Services, which today offers expertise in visual branding through design and photography, print production and marketing communications and copywriting.

During this period, traditional university admissions viewbooks became vibrant photo albums, course guides went from ordinary to dramatic, publications processes were streamlined and printing costs were cut.

One of the silver medals was awarded to Temple’s entry in the Fundraising Programs: Technology Applications and Creative Use of New Media category for the university’s “Year-End Giving E-mail with Flash movie.” The flash movie built on the successful “T” words campaign to generate excitement around the university’s comprehensive campaign.

Sent via e-mail to alumni, parents and friends, the movie used music, messaging and images along with the “T” words to reinforce emotional and intellectual ties to the university and directed donors to the online giving page.

A second silver was awarded to Temple’s submission in the Print Internal Audience Tabloids and Newsletters category for the Temple Times. The Temple Times is a weekly newspaper that works to build a strong sense of community among students, faculty and staff by making well-written and well-designed stories about Temple easily available.

The paper was selected for its upbeat, informative, timely and reliable stories and engaging designs using full-color photography. In recent surveys, readers have referred to the Temple Times as “informative” and “a source of pride.”