University at Buffalo Alumni Web Site Wins Gold Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo's Office of Alumni Relations has won a Gold award for its new Web site from CASE, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which represents more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and 42 other countries.

The site is the only alumni-driven Web site of the three to receive gold in the trade association's international awards program known as the Circle of Excellence. There were 153 entries in the competition's Web site category.

The site is located at .

UB's alumni site was redesigned over several months and launched in late February. The strategy for the new site was not only to improve its design, but for it to align with and support the alumni association's strategic plan to most effectively engage alumni in the university and the association.

"We're already seeing an overwhelmingly positive response to our new site, particularly in the number of hits we're seeing, which have virtually doubled," said Robert O. Davies, UB associate vice president for alumni relations. "The Web site is a key component in our strategy to communicate and involve alumni, especially our more recent graduates and our international alumni.

"We are very proud of the site and to have been honored with the CASE award. This is a very prestigious award as many universities and alumni associations compete for this honor and recognition."

UB's alumni Web site, according to the judges' report, "...is excellent in every respect. It organizes a huge amount of information well, making navigation effortless. The site looks good, integrates university and alumni content on its many pages, and features nice attention to detail...And the designers managed to provide a large amount of information in one screen and still offer links to university news and content."

According to CASE, the Circle of Excellence awards are for model programs and projects that encourage sound strategies, concrete planning and innovative ideas. Winners are recognized by the advancement profession as models of excellence and used to inspire and motivate others.