Design work done by Arts and Sciences Communications Services has been recognized with a silver medal by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), headquartered in Washington, D.C., with members around the world. The silver medal is the highest award given this year in a very competitive category, specialty design. The entry, tote bags and 32 buttons created for the annual Student Involvement Fair, received the top award of the two that were given from among the 38 entries in this category. This year, 629 institutions of higher education, independent schools and nonprofits worldwide submitted more than 3,000 entries in 100 categories for consideration in CASE’s Circle of Excellence awards program.

“Originally, I wondered about the buttons as a give-away,” said Executive Dean Manderscheid. “But after five minutes on the Oval I could see that they were a huge hit with students. They are a great icebreaker and engagement tool – not just another give-away. I get compliments regularly from deans at other universities about the high quality of our communications – I’m glad to see ASC Communications getting the recognition it deserves.”

The bags and buttons have been used for nearly three years now with annual design updates; the next Student Involvement Fair is in August, to engage incoming freshman to raise awareness of the college, majors and events. The Involvement Fair is also an opportunity to introduce new students to our Executive Dean and Vice Provost and to some ASC faculty members, who help hand out the bags and buttons. These are very popular with students in the arts and sciences — and in other colleges. With 32 big, shiny candy jars full of buttons for students to sort through, the installation is half the fun.

The icons on the buttons, of which there are 32, illustrate the broad scope of the arts and sciences so that any three together can visually define a major – a companion poster also was created to showcase the top 20 majors and the three icons that could define each major. Students have a great time finding new ways to put them together to depict their majors and then add them to the canvas bags that display all of the icons.

“This is a real honor for our office; my team works very hard to create content and design at the highest level to represent the College of Arts and Sciences favorably and to creatively engage our audiences. We often receive positive feedback from our colleagues on campus and at other institutions – but public recognition from CASE is a high accolade,” said Libby Eckhardt, ASC chief communications officer.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is one of the largest international associations of education institutions, serving more than 3,650 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in more than 80 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information and standards in the fields of alumni relations, communications, educational fundraising and marketing.