University Advancement Recognized for Design

Cal State East Bay has earned a silver Circle of Excellence award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for a poster and advertisement designed to draw attention to the university’s bi-annual science festival. This is the first international CASE award for the university, which has also been recognized regionally by the organization with three silver awards and one bronze in 2015 and another bronze in 2014.

CSUEB Director of Creative Services Jesse Cantley said he wanted to create a poster that was a little out-of-the-box, and drove interest in the event.

“The Cal State East Bay Science Festival is such a great event for the region’s kids and teens,” Cantley said. “We wanted to design a poster that took some creative risks and was visually surprising — with the hopes to inspire the community to attend.”

Tanya Hauck, vice president of university advancement, added that the poster, designed by freelance illustrator Adhemas Batista, pushed the bounds of creativity and highlighted Cal State East Bay’s communications team at an international level.

“This eye-catching, magical poster has inspired young visitors to our campus to imagine themselves, perhaps for the first time, but hopefully not the last, as scientists,” she said.

This year, CASE received more than 3,500 entries in nearly 100 categories from 700-plus higher education institutions, schools and nonprofits from around the world. A total of 322 awards were given, and winners were selected based on overall quality, innovation, use of resources and the impact on the institution or its external and internal communities.

Brian Flahaven, senior director for advocacy at CASE, said the organization has seen the number of entries continue to grow each year, but also increase in quality and creativity.

“Our Circle of Excellence judges tell us that they are impressed with the outstanding work happening at institutions across the globe,” he said in a statement. “The value of these winning entries to the advancement profession overall is significant."

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education supports alumni relations, communications, development and marketing professionals at educational institutions worldwide. The association provides networking, recognition and continuing education for approximately 64,000 advancement professionals at more than 3,400 colleges, universities, and independent elementary and secondary schools in more than 70 countries.