System Seminar 2010 - February 21-23, 2010
Chancellor’s Excellence Awards 2012
Congratulations to this year's Chancellor's Excellence Award Winners!
The Chancellor’s Excellence Awards recognize exceptional performance and best practices in key areas of External Relations functions.
Development
Excellence in Overall Fundraising Performance
Recognizes institutions that show solid program growth and breadth in the base of support and other marks of a mature program. No submissions necessary. Data gathered from CAE reports.
Winner: TIE - UT Austin & UT MD Anderson
Measurements used in making this award include
1. Overall Giving (includes cash in, pledges and new testamentary gifts) 25% 2. Donor Count 20% 3. Top 12 gifts as a significant portion of total support 10% 4. Average alumni giving for academics/average gift from individuals for health 10% 5. Balanced Fund Raising and staffing – annual, major, planned giving, corp/fdt 10% 6. Board giving as % of individual giving 10% 7. Total number of realized bequests 10% 8. Giving back to the profession 5%
UT MD Anderson
UT MD Anderson is known worldwide. In the past two years overall giving has averaged nearly $300M. Last year, cash received accounted for 18% of all funds received within the UT System, and philanthropy represented an impressive 11.6% of the institution's education and general budget. In each of the past two years 87,000 donors have made gifts to our award winner. It has received large gifts from the Middle East (that's not Lufkin), and, recently finished a billion dollar campaign early and over goal.
UT Austin
For the 2nd year in a row, one of this year's recipients for the Chancellor's excellence award for overall fundraising goes to UT Austin.UT Austin received the most points when tallying all categories. 2011 was truly a remarkable year.
• It marked the first time overall giving exceeded $400M
• It ranked third in the nation among all public higher education for cash received
• and third for the number of donors (94,032)Cash received by UT Austin accounted for 41% of all gifts to UT institutions. Philanthropy represented a whopping 18.1% of its educational and general budget.
It has a reputation for quality, is involved in the Center for Enhancing Philanthropy program, and its staff members are sought for presentations and consultations.
Excellence in Fundraising Improvement
Recognizes growth of philanthropic support from previous year as well as significant program growth over multiple years. Institutions are evaluated within appropriate peer groups. No submissions necessary. Data gathered from CAE reports.
Winner: UT San Antonio
The winner for the chancellor's excellence award for fundraising improvement is UT San Antonio.
This award recognizes improvement over the past three years. The categories measured include percent change in giving since FY2009, philanthropy's impact on the institution, percent increase in donor count, a balance in the source of gifts, and the average gift from individuals based on their classification. The focus here is who is getting better. This year we have one winner.
The recipient is an emerging Tier One institution. It found success by building a balanced fundraising program coupled with a focused institutional message. As a result cash received was up 236% over the past three years and the number of donors increased 88%. The average gift from individuals was nearly $3,000 ($2,937) four times the median for its classification. The lesson here is build it right and stay the course. Plus it doesn't hurt to start a football program in the 7th largest city in America.
Excellence in Endowment Administration and Compliance
Recognizes efforts to implement improvements and maintain established Systemwide standards of a comprehensive endowment program. No submissions necessary. Data gathered from Annual Endowment Compliance Report.
Winner: UT Pan American
The winner for the chancellor’s excellence award in endowment administration and compliance for demonstrating continued excellence in its overall endowment program is UT Pan American.
Each UT institution is charged with stewarding public trust and maximizing endowment resources, which currently exceed 9,700 with a value of $5.4 billion. Endowment administration and compliance is a tremendous undertaking and one of primary importance as we continue to cultivate and engage our donors. One of the key indicators of an effective endowment program is improvement to monitoring processes and the resulting increase in the numbers of endowments brought into compliance each year.
UTPA has consistently improved its compliance processes and findings each year. While this institution has historically struggled with unfilled academic positions, during FY11 they have implemented stronger monitoring and internal reporting procedures to reach an ambitious goal of filling all or most of their positions by September 1, 2012.
Excellence in Advancement Services
Recognizes excellence in advancement services including overall operations, gift/bio administration, information systems and prospect research. Please submit a brief description of innovative processes or systems used to identify new constituents, maintain detailed constituent records and improve the cultivation of donors.
Winner: UT San Antonio for Overall Operations
The winner for the chancellor’s excellence award in advancement services, for the collaborative efforts and effective overall operations is UT San Antonio.
This award recognizes excellence in the work that goes on behind the scenes - gift administration, information systems, prospect research, reporting and overall operations. UTSA is all about the team. The advancement services group, which includes data services, gift services, prospect management and research and endowment services, meets regularly to provide each team member the opportunity to share information and updates. The team frequently schedule guest speakers to share campus community information enabling staff to stay well informed of campus news. They have put together an extensive notebook that outlines operational processes and procedures and highlights the expertise of staff. While reviewing the notebook, several members of the committee commented they would like to “borrow” their good ideas and processes and were careful not to drool while reviewing.
Communications/Public Affairs
Outstanding Publications
Recognizes outstanding work in the production of both print and online publications (institutional, recruitment and alumni magazines, e-newsletters, and other specialty communications) that advance the university’s mission with excellence in writing, design and creativity. Please submit two to five issues representative of the past year's publishing cycle.
Winner: TIE - UT Tyler and UT Arlington
UT Tyler for Be a Patriot
UT Tyler’s “Be a Patriot” student recruiting campaign materials are visually appealing, coherent and even a little fun. This entirely in-house produced packet sent to prospective students is an extremely engaging way of introducing the university. The bold colors as well as the image and picture-heavy layout help this material standout from the usual college materials prospective students see.UT Arlington for UTArlington Magazine
UT Arlington's primary print publication is an excellent example of how a university can remain connected to its alumni, faculty and friends. With an online version featuring a blog format integrated with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, UT Arlington is certainly embracing the digital world we live in today. Published three times per year, UTArlington is a professional quality publication.
Excellence in Development Communications
Recognizes excellence in development communications that incorporate at least two forms of delivery (print, Web, social media, broadcast, video, etc.) to drive awareness/support of a campaign or program. Please submit examples of supporting materials.
Winner: UT MD Anderson Cancer Center for Making Cancer History
UT MD Anderson implemented a truly comprehensive and diverse outreach program which has included a significant Facebook and Twitter presence, press releases announcing campaign highlights, distinctive stationery, thank-you letters and folders tailored for their various campaigns, thank-you videos, and a website featuring donor stories and videos that received visitors from 95 countries totaling 36,000 page views. The breadth and scope of its stewardship and outreach is remarkable.
Excellence in Media Relations
Recognizes overall excellence in strategic communications efforts that educate and inform the public about a specific program, initiative or situation. Such efforts may include crisis communications, op-eds, press releases, as well as prepared video and broadcast remarks. Please submit a one-page summary outlining strategies and achieved outcomes. Please include collateral material used to represent your efforts.
Winner: UT Dallas for The UT Dallas Media Effort: Fiscal Year Comparison of 09/01/2010 to 08/31/2011
UT Dallas realigned media outreach efforts last year in hopes of increasing public awareness of the institution, institutional goals and their expertise in a wide range of academic fields. The result was a more than 100% increase in the number of media placements and a 70% increase in publicity value. With a push toward tier one status and higher ed funding declining nationwide, garnering increased recognition for the university is paramount. UT Dallas’ strategic initiatives have certainly furthered the university’s presence through earned media success.
Events
Excellence in Special Events
Recognizes excellence in the planning and execution of official events and special activities for UT institutions. Please submit a one-page summary that outlines the strategies used to achieve defined goals, the target audience and how the event advanced the institution’s mission. Please also include any supplemental materials such as invitations, programs and photos.
Winner: TIE - UT Arlington and UT Medical Branch - Galveston
UT Arlington for Celebrate College Park - College Park Center Grand Opening
The grand opening of College Park Center at UT Arlington on February 1, 2012 was one of the most anticipated events in the school's history. The event was branded with a webpage, video, digital billboards, pole banners around College Park Center, ads in the campus newspaper and local newspapers and a postcard mailed to campus neighbors.A record crowd of over 6,000 people packed the College Center to celebrate the grand opening with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, UTA Spirit Groups and a men's and women's basketball game. T-shirts and rally flags were given away during the evening. The event drew major media coverage from local newspapers and television stations.
The $78 million College Park Center not only provides a state-of-the-art athletics venue but also a venue for commencements, lectures, concerts and other high-profile University and community events.
The excitement and pride that UTA has put into the College Park Center was obvious in the branding and planning of the event from the conception to the final buzzer!UTMB for Jennie Sealy Hospital Demolition Day
On October 8, 2011 UT Medical Branch Galveston hosted the Jennie Sealy Demolition Day in preparation and anticipation of the new Jennie Sealy Hospital with a projected completion in 2016. This signified a step into the future for UTMB after the devastation of Hurricane Ike on the campus and community in Galveston.The day consisted of three main events: the Demolition Ceremony, a campus-wide block party and a VIP Luncheon. Each guest was given a commemorative lapel pin and a confetti popper. As the ceremonial plunger was activated, an explosion of confetti from two confetti cannons and a Jennie Sealy Hospital banner was revealed. A "construction" theme was carried throughout the day with volunteers and catering staff dressed as a construction crew and table decorations also depicting the construction theme with vintage black metal lunch boxes filled with flowers for centerpieces and yellow construction tape on tables.
Over 2,000 members of the UTMB community came to take part in the festivities and support UTMB. The event had a continuous look and feel of celebration throughout the day and conveyed the importance of the legislative, community and UT System support of the UTMB and its importance to the health of the region and the state.
Constituent Relations
Excellence in Constituent Relations
Recognizes programs which best strengthen relationships with various constituencies (alumni, students, patients, community, parents, donors, etc.). Please submit a one-page summary outlining strategies and achieved outcomes. Please also include any supplemental materials.
Winner: UT Medical Branch - Galveston for 2012: A UTMB Video Odyssey
This year’s award winner, UTMB, utilized video messages to communicate with employees, friends and supporters. In 2011, UTMB’s Office of Public Affairs produced over 100 videos which were deployed through the school’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and Twitter account; embedded in their electronic employee newsletter; and broadcast through the UTMB website.
The videos showcase student volunteer work, offer health tips or highlight the success of researchers in a concise and focused manner. Though the topics may vary, each video is unique, engaging and informative.