Awards & Accolades
Members of the Faculty Diversity Advisory Committee at the College of Medicine – Tucson
The University won Gold in the communications/media relations category for its work around the unveiling of the first image ever captured of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences won four Telly Awards for videos produced by the Landmark Stories team.
Members of the Trellis team held a virtual watch party and celebrated upon learning they had won an award.
COM-T Faculty Diversity Advisory Committee is recognized for inclusion efforts
The College of Medicine – Tucson Faculty Diversity Advisory Committee has been recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine for its efforts to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for employees.
The committee was among 38 employee resource, or affinity, groups selected to receive the inaugural Inspiring Affinity Group Award for making "a significant impact on their members, campuses, and communities," according to the publication, which featured the winners in the July/August issue.
The committee, which was assembled by the college's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, supports culturally relevant activities to create a respectful and inclusive community within the college. A recent example is the creation of a "hiring toolkit," which identifies best practices for promoting diversity in the faculty search and hiring process.
INSIGHT Into Diversity is "the oldest and largest diversity magazine and website in higher education," according to the publication's website.
"As we are in the middle of this unprecedented period of uncertainty, we know underrepresented faculty will play an even bigger role in making your institution the go-to campus where others know they can feel respected and welcome and their careers can flourish," Lenore Pearlstein, INSIGHT Into Diversity's publisher, wrote in a letter to award winners.
University and Foundation win national CASE awards
The University of Arizona and the University of Arizona Foundation have won Circle of Excellence awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
The peer-selected awards "acknowledge superior accomplishments that have lasting impact" and "demonstrate the highest level of professionalism while delivering exceptional results in the fields of advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing at colleges, universities, independent schools, and affiliated nonprofits," according to a CASE news release.
The University won Gold in the communications/media relations category for its work around the unveiling of the first image ever captured of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.
"The team conducted interviews five months in advance, conveyed the technical and scientific content so that audiences understood, while also maintaining the essence of the story," according to judges. "Additionally, the use of visual aids, such as animations and virtual reality, is compelling. The campaign also garnered national media coverage. This stands as a great model for other institutions, as there was even an on-campus tie in with Admitted Students Day – brilliant!"
The University of Arizona Foundation won Bronze in the publications/fundraising publications/case statements and general cultivation publications category. The award recognized the "Fuel Wonder" case statement, which the Foundation created for donors and prospective donors "to inform and inspire support of the first public fundraising priority to emerge from the university's comprehensive strategic planning process."
"Strong use of color and sense of place – the sections felt grounded both to the institution and evoked a connection to the state of Arizona as well," according to judges. "Overall we found this piece both inspirational and practical."
The awards were announced June 10.
CALS wins four national Telly Awards
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has won four 2020 Telly Awards, which honor excellence in video and television.
The award-winning videos were produced by Landmark Stories, a documentary team housed within the college. The winning videos are:
- Tackling Big Environmental Challenges, Silver Telly in the online/general/movie trailer category.
- Next Hopi Scientist, Silver Telly in the online/craft/videography-cinematography category.
- The Making of a Metalhead Scientist, Bronze Telly in the online/general/motivational category.
- Taking on the Challenges of the Global Community, Bronze Telly in the branded content/general/corporate image category.
The first three videos were produced in partnership with the Department of Environmental Science as part of a series showing the people behind the science tackling today's big environmental challenges.
The Telly Awards were announced in late May.
Trellis team wins 'Excellence in Student Success' award
The Trellis student success/advising team won an Excellence in Student Success award during the Salesforce Higher Ed Summit, held virtually on June 16.
The team beat out two other finalists for the award, which was given in recognition of efforts to use Salesforce "to impact student success in a positive way."
Salesforce is the technology platform for Trellis, the University's constituent relationship management program.
Among the tools that Trellis has created is Trellis Progress, which is aimed at giving students timely information about how they're doing in their classes. Another tool, called Trellis Advise, was designed to give students a more efficient and more personalized advising experience.
"This is a significant milestone – a testament to what we can do when we collaborate and are motivated by our mission to serve our students," said Darcy Van Patten, executive director of digital transformation and student academic technologies. "This is a moment for us all to feel great about the work we've done, and the great achievements ahead."
We want to know about your good news. If you, your team or a colleague has won any major awards, been honored nationally or internationally, or accomplished some other major feat that deserves recognition, let us know about it.
To submit your news, please send us an email with the following information:
- Name of the person, team or unit receiving the honor with full University titles.
- Information about the award/honor and the organization that granted it. Please include a link to the official announcement of the award/honor.
- When the honor was announced and when it will be presented (or was presented).
- A photo of the honoree. If others appear in the photo, please provide their names and identifying information, such as their University title or other affiliation.
Questions? Contact Lo Que Pasa at uaatwork@email.arizona.edu.