Missouri S&T recently earned a national award for excellence in fundraising from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as well as nine district awards for excellence in marketing, communications, and alumni and donor relations during the virtual CASE All Districts Conference held in mid-February.

S&T’s University Advancement division received the 2021 CASE Educational Fundraising Award, which is awarded based on results published in the “Voluntary Support of Education” (VSE) survey that CASE conducts. CASE member institutions that have participated in the VSE for the past three years are automatically considered. This award is based on overall performance of colleges and universities that show solid program growth, breadth in the base of support and other indications of a mature, well-maintained program.

When reviewing the data from the survey, CASE looks for “institutions that ‘punch above their weight’ – institutions that rank lower in their categories like budgets and enrollment, but higher in terms of funds raised in various categories,” including funds raised per full-time enrollment.

CASE is the international organization for educational advancement. Members include college, university and independent school staff members in the areas of alumni relations, communications and marketing, and philanthropy.

In addition to the national recognition, Missouri S&T won one gold award, five silver awards and three bronze awards in the annual CASE District VI competition. CASE District VI includes colleges, universities and independent schools in Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Missouri S&T District VI awards

Gold award

Digital Communications – Websites (Micro-sites) – for Missouri S&T’s COVID-19 hub. This website was created and published as a central information location to respond to the immediate threat of COVID-19 as it emerged in the United States in the spring of 2020. S&T’s marketing and communications department developed the site, along with input from the university’s Incident Command Team and leaders.

Silver awards

Alumni Relations – Alumni Engagement on a Shoestring – for Inside the Miner’s Studio. The Miner Alumni Association and S&T’s career opportunities and employer relations department, and student involvement partnered to create “Inside the Miner’s Studio.” This livestreamed event allows Miners from around the globe to tune in to watch a live conversation and network with successful alumni.

Magazines – Targeted Constituency Magazines – for Missouri S&T Research Magazine: the Pandemic Edition. S&T’s marketing and communications department partnered with research and sponsored programs to produce its annual magazine about university research. The magazine is shared with various audiences, including academic peers and legislators. 

Publications – Student Recruitment – Viewbooks and Prospectuses – for Missouri S&T Viewbook: Discover the Miner in You. This publication is shared with prospective students after they have requested additional information about Missouri S&T from the website and during recruiting events. It guides readers through the Missouri S&T story and how they can become a part of it — from degree selection, research, and student organizations, to social events and success in their career after graduation. S&T’s enrollment management and marketing and communications departments partnered to produce the viewbook.

Video – General Information, Long – for “Build It and They Will Win.” S&T’s marketing and communications department created the video that followed our Human Powered Vehicle Student Design Team as it attempted to retain its national champion title.

Writing – Column or Opinion Piece – for “Innovation, the Rolla Way” (op-ed). Dr. Mo Dehghani, chancellor, wrote an opinion piece that was published in several Missouri newspapers, including the Springfield News-Leader and The Missouri Times. The article, which discussed the university’s 150-year heritage of innovation and was distributed during National Engineers Week last February, promoted the benefits of public research universities, which he believes serve to advance future leaders and the nation itself.

Bronze awards

Advancement Services – Advancement Services Pivot (COVID-19) – for thanking scholarship donors with a postmark gratitude pivot. Every semester, Missouri S&T students who hold endowed scholarships hand-write thank-you notes to their donors. More than 1,000 students participate in the letter-writing marathon during the first week of classes.

Magazines – Alumni/General Interest – for Missouri S&T Magazine. This alumni magazine, currently on hiatus, was published three times a year and sent to more than 65,000 graduates and former students. View the latest edition of S&T’s alumni magazine online at magazine.mst.edu.  

Video – Video on a Shoestring – for “A Campus Landmark Vanishes.” Two chimney stacks, which had been a part of the S&T campus scenery since 1895, were taken down in a brick-by-brick demolition process that took steeplejacks six weeks to perform. This time-lapse video shows their removal in a few seconds.