Cal Poly Public Affairs Wins Two Gold Awards for E-Communications

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly University Advancement Division and its Public Affairs office have received two gold medals for excellence in communications in the annual awards competition sponsored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Western Region.

The successful launch and membership drive of PolyLink, the new online community for Cal Poly alumni, won the top award for Best Social Media Campaign.

PolyLink and Cal Poly Update were judged in competition against entries from public and private universities, colleges and schools in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii and Guam.

The free, private social and career networking site for alumni, faculty and staff was jointly developed by Public Affairs, the Cal Poly Alumni Association, and Advancement Services, with support from Information Technology Services. To view PolyLink, go to http://www.CalPolyLink.com.

The second award was won by Cal Poly Public Affairs for Best E-mail Newsletter – for Update, which is edited by Teresa Hendrix. This is the second CASE award of excellence for Update, which also won a bronze medal in 2005. This year, the Cal Poly e-newsletter topped second place Brigham Young University to take the gold award. The Bronze award for e-newsletters went to both National University and Sacramento State University in a tie.

Alumni receive additional content in Update each month; the e-newsletter has been e-mailed through PolyLink since September, 2007. Everyone can read the web-only version of Update -- no login required -- and back-issues at
http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/update/archives.html.

“We are proud of this recognition for our efforts to focus on using electronic and new media to directly communicate with Cal Poly graduates, donors and other friends of the school,” said Leah Kolt, public affairs director.

During PolyLink’s first year of operation, marketing efforts drew over 10,000 alumni members, she added. And Update reaches some 10,000 readers each month with news about the accomplishments of Cal Poly students, faculty and staff.

The first-place awards mean PolyLink and Cal Poly Update will now be entered in the national CASE competition. CASE is the association for communication and other professionals working in universities, colleges and education.

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