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Press Release - September 8, 2005
Penn State captures six awards for outreach programs and marketing campaigns
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Penn State outreach programs and marketing campaigns have been honored with six awards by the Mid-Atlantic Region of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), the principle organization for continuing higher education in the United States. The awards will be presented during UCEA's Mid-Atlantic Region Conference, Oct. 5 to 7, at Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies in Malvern, Pa.
Award of Excellence winners are:
» Celebrating the African American Novel: Critical Visions and Revisions of its Past and Present, a conference that brought together nearly 100 scholars of American and African American literary studies, cultural studies, rhetoric and ethnic studies from around the nation, won in the Conferences category. The conference commemorated Penn State Professor of English Dr. Bernard W. Bell's contributions to the field of African American literature. Sponsors included Penn State's Center for American Literary Studies, Equal Opportunity Planning Committee and Africana Research Center. Papers presented at the conference will be published in a book. Conference organizers included Department of English faculty members Dr. Keith Gilyard, Dr. Lovalerie King and Dr. Linda Selzer and Conferences and Institutes conference planner John Farris. Outreach Marketing and Communications staff members Lisa Clapper, Ritu Jayakar and Phyllis Harbst contributed marketing promotion and creative design to the project.
» Creating a Rural "Hometown" University, Penn State Continuing Education's endeavor to establish the Juniata Valley Center in Lewistown, Pa., won in the Programs for Special Populations category. The center is an important educational resource for residents of this largely rural area. It offers students the opportunity to begin their academic career or enhance their job and life skills close to home. They can complete one of five associate degree programs or begin a nursing degree program. The center also provides training to area businesses and industries, either on site or at the center. Project contributors included Dr. Rebecca Beatty and Thomas Walker.
» Ending the Girl Wars: The Club Ophelia Training Program won two awards in the Noncredit Programming and Marketing Campaign categories. The workshop for middle and junior high school superintendents, teachers, school nurses, school psychologists and guidance counselors was approved for Act 48 in-service credit in Pennsylvania. It focused on a team approach to help end relational aggression (girl-on-girl bullying) among adolescent girls. The program provided educators with the tools to create a Club Ophelia program in their schools. Dr. Cheryl Dellasega, professor of humanities, Penn State College of Medicine, originated the Club Ophelia concept and conducted the program for 191 educators in the Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Scranton and central Pennsylvania regions. Workshops were filled to capacity as a result of the strategically focused marketing campaign developed by Outreach Marketing and Communications. Staff members executed a campaign that included a multifunctional brochure/poster, Web site, announcement for education-related listservs, news releases and press kits for newspaper and broadcast media in each region. Program contributors included Dellasega and Penn State Outreach staff members Ed Donovan, Andy Petkac, Marie Young, Phyllis Harbst, Ritu Jayakar, Ryan Badowski, Ginny Pearson and Melissa Kaye.
» Penn State Outreach Market Research Portal, an innovative interactive Web site designed to increase access to data to improve decision-making and program development across the Penn State Outreach organization, won in the Administrative Support Services category. The portal uses current knowledge management technology to store market research knowledge in a relational database. The portal includes original research reports from the Outreach Market Research Group, articles from published sources and trends and snapshots of industries and other organizations. Information is organized thematically, by areas of interest to the audiences Penn State Outreach serves, and can be searched using keywords. Project contributors included Market Research Group staff members Laura Bernhard and Kimberly Erickson and Outreach Marketing and Communications staff member Martin Lopong.
» Penn State World Campus: "Penn State Online" Brand Strategy, designed to effectively communicate the University's "brand promise" ‹ a visual identity that represents the quality of the student experience Penn State provides adult learners ‹ and increase enrollments (now at 22,000 annually), won in the Marketing Campaign category. The campaign's objectives focused on demonstrating the University's leadership in online education, communicating that the online experience is part of "the real Penn State," emphasizing the University's world-renowned academic reputation, highlighting student advising and support services and stressing that programs are designed for motivated adult learners (25 to 45 years old). The campaign included print publications (a World Campus catalog and program brochures), electronic media (re-engineered Penn State Online Web site and Internet banner advertisements), print ads in national and Penn State media and tradeshow booth display graphics. The campaign increased both Web traffic and program enrollments. Project contributors included Outreach Marketing and Communications staff members Chris Walsh, John Carfagno, Leigh Ryan, Joe Sanders, Jesse Trahan, Tut Bailey, Marie Young, Rich Johnston, Brian Mizikar, Cole Hons, Kay Shirk, Mary Ellen Martin, Bill Minor, Matt Swayne, Bob Selfridge and Gail Strock.
Editor contact: Deborah A. Benedetti, 814-238-4895; dab12@outreach.psu.edu
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
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