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UW-Madison communicators honored with CASE awards

June 11, 2020

University of Wisconsin–Madison communicators have won three 2020 Circle of Excellence awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Each year the awards recognize higher education staff members who advance their institutions through innovative, inspiring and creative ideas. The awards acknowledge superior accomplishments that have lasting impact.

UW-Madison winners were:

  • “13 Demands: The Black Student Strike of 1969” won a gold Circle of Excellence award in the category of digital communications. The special news website created by University Communications and University Marketing commemorated one of the largest protests in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s history, which profoundly changed campus. For this oral history project, University Communications worked with 10 student journalists of color to interview many of the strike’s organizers, as well as participants and bystanders. Judges’ comment: “The university took a pivotal moment in time from its history and found a way to honor the sacrifices made while educating current students on these events. This site features powerfully engaging content that draws you into a more in-depth and immersive web experience.”
  • “Why the Doctor has Green Hair” won a gold Circle of Excellence Award in the category of writing/profile. The On Wisconsin magazine article was written by Preston Schmitt. UW alumnus Dr. David Margolis is both an eminent pediatric oncologist and a zealous fan of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team. With a little green spray paint, he now combines his two passions. Before every home game in the NBA playoffs, Margolis encourages his young cancer patients to paint his hair the team’s colors. Judges’ comment: “ ‘Why the Doctor Has Green Hair’ does a fabulous job of tackling a solemn subject through the lens of humor and grace.”
  • “Voices of the Coast: Mary Lou Schneider” won a silver Circle of Excellence award in the Video/Video on a Shoestring” category. The video, part of a Wisconsin Sea Grant series that profiles people who live and work on or near the Great Lakes, is an interview with an 86-year-old folk artist who creates carved wooden decoys used by people who spear lake sturgeon. Judges’ comment: “A well-crafted, almost documentary-style video on a community adventurer with a quirky and colorful life story.”