Top CASE honors for USC Dornsife Communication

The USC Dornsife Office of Communication, led by Associate Dean for Communication Emily Cavalcanti, won seven regional 2016 Awards of Excellence from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The accolades include a Grand Gold award.

The office was honored for excellence in its work across design, writing and video.

“The Bridge@USC Brochure” was recognized with a gold in the individual fundraising publications category. The oversized, spiral-bound publication was a collaboration by Cavalcanti, Director of Production and Art Director Dan Knapp, and the design firm of Pentagram. The brochure also earned the prestigious Grand Gold award in the overall publications category, designating it as the best-of-the-best for 2016.

The “Frontline Scholars: The USC Dornsife Initiative Brochure” was awarded a silver in the case statements/general cultivation (print) publications. Written by Cavalcanti, art directed by Knapp and designed by in-house Senior Graphic Designer Letty Avila, the brochure made use of several innovative design techniques including holographic foils and nonstandard paper folds.

USC Dornsife Magazine received a silver for editorial design for the “Wild for Movies” feature that appeared in the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of the magazine. Written by Senior Communication Specialist Michelle Boston, the article was art directed by Knapp, designed by Avila and included original artwork by freelance illustrator Justin Renteria.

The editorial team — led by Director of Strategic and Scientific Communications Darrin Joy — won two gold awards.

In the news-writing category, the team was recognized for the stories “Star Soldier” and “The Smell of Suspicion” written by Senior Writer Susan Bell, “8 Reasons Psycho Taps into the Psyche” by Communications Specialist Lizzie Hedrick, “Teaching to Learn” by Senior Web Content Specialist and Writer Laura Paisley, and “Moment of Truth” by Boston.

In the periodical staff writing category, the team won for articles that appeared in USC Dornsife Magazine in 2015. The articles securing the win were Boston’s “Wild for Movies” and “Within Reach,” “Addressing Perception” by Bell, “The Universe as We Know It” by Joy, and “As Seen on TV?,” a collaborative feature on five USC Dornsife alumni who appeared on reality television programs, written by Bell, Boston, Paisley and Knapp.

Director of Video Production Mira Zimet garnered a gold in general information videos for “At USC Dornsife, We Experience Peppermint Differently.” The video also received a gold in the CASE Circle of Excellence national competition in 2015.

USC Dornsife competed in CASE’s District VII, which includes institutions in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. CASE is a professional association founded in 1974 that serves more than 3,670 educational institutions and their advancement professionals, who work in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

Since 2009, the USC Dornsife Office of Communication has earned a total of 40 CASE Awards of Excellence at the district level and four awards from the national CASE organization. The team has also received 12 accolades from the University and College Designers Association in the past four years.