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U of G Website Wins CCAE Gold
Two bronze medals awarded to campus communicators
Excellence in sharing news and information with audiences outside the University has garnered U of G a number of honours from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE), the national association for advancement professionals.
At an awards ceremony last week in Kelowna, B.C., U of G captured gold in the best website category. Redesigned last year, Guelph's website was lauded for its creative design, strong code, ease of navigation, well-presented content and consistency in applying the University's brand across pages, says Stuart Robertson, U of G's website manager.
This is the second time in recent years that CCAE has judged U of G's website to be the best in the country. It also captured gold after its last redesign in 2001.
In the news-writing category, Deirdre Healey, news service officer in Communications and Public Affairs, earned a bronze award for a news release explaining how scientists at the University's Animal Health Lab solved the mystery surrounding the pet food-related deaths of thousands of dogs and cats in early 2007.
CONduit, the official publication of the Canadian Obesity Network, earned a bronze in the under $100,000 (budget) magazine category. The magazine is produced in partnership with the University's Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge (SPARK) program.
“This is a real coup, considering it was CONduit's first foray into a national competition, and we were up against extremely established institutions,” says Owen Roberts, SPARK creator and director of research communications. “CONduit is a model of interuniversity co-operation, student-writing excellence and administrative commitment to popular communications.”
The University also received its first TD Meloche Monnex Fellowship in Advancement, which is given annually to three CCAE member universities. The award was presented to 2008 B.Comm. graduate Lauren Moore and will allow her to be trained in university advancement in Alumni Affairs and Development over the next year.
Earlier this year, U of G was recognized for its ad campaign in an annual international competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The campaign, which ran in the Globe and Mail, profiled U of G's strengths in leadership, research, academics and student achievement.
“The national and international accolades the University has recently received are gratifying because they show that our message is being heard and because they speak to the outstanding work of our staff and students,” says Chuck Cunningham, director of communications and public affairs.
“The gold award for the website is particularly satisfying because it reflects the efforts of staff from across campus, as well as our work over the last year in strengthening the U of G brand.”