UNO Alumni Assoc. Earns Regional Awards

Omaha – Once again, UNO Alumni Association programs, events and communications have proven to be good as gold.

The association received a university-record six gold awards and 11 overall in the annual CASE VI Institutional Awards Program recognizing the best work of advancement professionals. CASE — the Council for Advancement and Support of Education — encompasses eight districts. CASE VI is comprised of nearly 200 institutions from eight Midwest states.

The awards honor work from July 2012 through June 2013 and will be conferred at the annual CASE VI Conference Jan. 12-14 in Kansas City. A record 575 entries were submitted to the peer-judged awards program.

The association has received 27 CASE awards since 2010.

“Credit goes to our dedicated staff members who are never satisfied with the status quo as they work to strengthen the UNO alumni network,” said Alumni Association President Lee Denker. “It is especially meaningful to be recognized by our colleagues as we kick off our second century serving this great university.”

CASE VI Awards: Alumni Relations Programs

Gold Volunteer Engagement and Leadership — UNO Young Alumni Academy

Gold Programming for Special Constituencies — UNO Golden Circle

Gold Collaborative Programs — UNO Young Alumni Academy

Bronze Regular Alumni Programs — UNO Young Alumni Academy

Bronze Programming for Special Constituencies — Mavs on the Move in Arizona

CASE VI Awards: Communications & Marketing, Excellence In Design

Gold Periodicals — UNO Magazine

Gold Covers — UNO Magazine, Fall 2012

Gold Illustrations — UNO Magazine, Fall 2012

Silver Specific Media Relations Programs — Show the O

Silver Traditional video, DVD, CD or film — Jeopardy! video

Bronze Specific Media Relations Programs — Jeopardy! video

The UNO Young Alumni Academy, created and managed by Programs Director Elizabeth Kraemer, facilitates networking and professional growth for alumni 40 and younger. Meetings are held at unique locations on and off campus, and UNO leaders address members on topics such as athletics management, student focus and community engagement. More than 100 young alumni have participated in the academy in its four years.

The UNO Golden Circle is comprised of alumni, retired faculty and staff 65 and older. The group meets monthly for luncheons featuring campus speakers. UNO Mavs on the Move in Arizona was a reception for UNO alumni and friends held January 2013 at the Commemorative Air Force Arizona Wing Aviation Museum in Mesa, Ariz.

The Fall 2012 issue of UNO Magazine features a graphite sketch by illustrator Linda Huber of New York depicting a woman eating a hamburger. Huber’s detailed sketch often is mistaken for a photograph. Director of Communications Anthony Flott is the magazine’s managing editor and Emspace Group of Omaha designs it. The magazine is published as a cooperative effort of UNO, the UNO Alumni Association and the University of Nebraska Foundation.

The “Jeopardy!” video features Alex Trebec introducing graduate Gary Johnson as recipient of the association’s Citation for Alumni Achievement award. Trebec is shown on the “Jeopardy!” set and delivers the news in the show’s answer-question format. The Show the O! campaign includes a website featuring UNO faculty, staff, graduates and friends photographed with “O” flags where they live or travel. Photos with the flag have been taken on six continents and 42 states.

Kraemer, who in 2013 received the first-ever CASE VI Rising Star Award honoring a CASE professional of less than seven years, is a member of the CASE VI Conference Committee as arrangements chair. Alumni President Lee Denker is on the CASE VI Board of Directors as district secretary.

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About the UNO Alumni Association

The UNO Alumni Association celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2013, advancing the University of Nebraska at Omaha through innovative programs, communications and resources that engage the university’s worldwide network of 99,000 alumni.

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The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s metropolitan university. The core values of the institution place students at the center of all that the university does; call for the campus to strive for academic excellence; and promote community engagement that transforms and improves urban, regional, national and global life. UNO, inaugurated in 1968, emerged from the Municipal University of Omaha, established in 1931, which grew out of the University of Omaha founded in 1908.