York University stole the show in Steeltown in February, garnering 10 awards at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District II Accolades Awards ceremony, held in Pittsburgh during the annual regional conference in February.
The Marketing & Communications Division won nine of the awards, ranging from advertising and media relations to recruitment publications and magazine and newsletter honours. In addition, Guy Burry, Chair of the York University Alumni Association, was awarded the Robert L. Payton Award, one of the highest honours CASE accords to volunteers (see the Feb. 21 issue of YFile.) The grand total of 10 gave York the best showing of all members in CASE District II, which is comprised of educational institutions in the US northeast and Ontario.
York collected three Gold and six Silver awards for its marketing & communications work. “These awards are a testament not only to the professionalism of our team but to the partners who work with us across the University,” said Richard Fisher, York University’s chief marketing & communications officer. “This is the third consecutive year of good performance in these awards. It’s always good to be recognized by one’s peers across the continent.” York won for these initiatives:
Last spring, York launched the first fully-integrated university branding campaign in Canada to target young moviegoers directly in theatres. The movie campaign also involved a VIP movie premiere for top prospective 
students at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Toronto, on May 9, 2005. Nearly 150 future academic stars had the chance to get up close and personal with members of York’s outstanding cast of faculty, staff, students and alumni, prior to a complimentary screening of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Right: The VIP movie premiere launch won Gold and Silver
The event targeted prospective students in an entirely new and creative way by taking York’s message directly to them. The campaign received a Gold award in the Print Advertising: Multimedia Packages category and a Silver award in the Individual Special Public Relations Projects category.
York’s integrated “Enter Here 2005-2006” program aimed at prospective students won top accolades for its consistently professional approach. Initiated by Marketing & Communications on behalf of the Office of Admissions and designed by Toronto’s doug agency, the campaign won Gold in the category Student Recruitment Individual Publications: Viewbooks and Prospectuses.
Left: York’s Enter Here 2005-2006 prospectus book won Gold in the category Student Recruitment Individual Publications: Viewbooks and Prospectuses
Not to be outdone, York’s flagship publication YorkU magazine, won a Gold award for a black and white photograph of Olympic trampolinist Karen Cockburn, which appeared in YorkU’s December 2004 issue. YorkU also received a Silver award in the Colour Photography category for a photo that appeared in the feature article titled, “Visionaries”, in the Summer 2005 issue. The photograph was taken in the Tumbling Room at the Centre for Vision Research on York’s Keele campus.
YorkU writers also received a Silver award for general excellence in the category Periodical Staff Writing, and YFile, York’s daily online newsletter, received a Silver award 
in the Web site News category.
Left: YorkU magazine’s award-winning entries
A Silver award went to Media Relations in the category Specific Media Relations Programs for the June 20 launch of the Milton and Ethel Harris Initiative, an early childhood development study that will put the University at the forefront of worldwide study in the field. The project was made possible by the largest private research donation in York’s history given by the late Milton Harris and his wife Ethel. York’s Media Relations team also received a Silver award in the News Writing category for a variety of press releases produced during 2005.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, CASE is the professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, marketing, and development. More than 3,000 colleges, universities and other schools in the United States and Canada comprise a professional membership of nearly 25,000 individual members. CASE District II covers Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and West Virginia.