UNL’s College of Business Administration earned one gold, one silver and two bronze awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VI. The CASE VI Institutional Awards recognize the best work in professional advancement completed for the 2012-13 academic year and were presented Jan. 13 at the annual conference in Kansas City.

Overall, there were 575 peer-judged entries from 42 institutions. The CBA Communications and Marketing Office, led by Sheri Irwin-Gish, executive director of communications and marketing, submitted the entries. CBA staff includes Roger Simonsen, IT director for communications and marketing; Jennifer Snyder, communications and marketing coordinator; and Kim Smith, communications and marketing associate.

The DREAM BIG Academy won a gold for Integrated Advancement Programs - Recruitment and Retention. Plowman had the vision for DREAM BIG, which stands for Develop, Risk, Empower, Achieve, Maximize, Build, Innovate and Grow. The academy began in 2012 as an effort between CBA and the Office of Admissions. Those involved with the development and implementation include D’Vee Buss, assistant dean; Sam Nelson, associate director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and assistant professor of practice in management; Mark Davis, CBA undergraduate adviser; Abby Freeman, assistant director of admissions; Brittany Henry, CBA recruitment coordinator; Charles McClendon, president and senior business solutions development consultant for No Ceilings, LLC; and Irwin-Gish. The academy is a four-day event held on-campus camp for incoming, diverse high school seniors nominated by high school guidance counselors or teachers. ConAgra Foods, Lozier and Union Pacific partnered on the academy last year and students spent the last day at ConAgra learning about career options, social media and personal finances.

The Nebraska Business Newsletter received a silver for Communications and Marketing Programs - External Audience Tabloids and Newsletters. CBA’s Communications and Marketing Office created the new publication to further connect with alumni over 65. The Nebraska Alumni Association and Cornerstone Print and Marketing of Lincoln also assisted with the print project.

Bronzes were awarded for Communications and Marketing Programs to CBA for New Student Enrollment Social Media Engagement for Best Use of Social Media and Start Something Video Series for Video Recruitment Features. The class of 2017 was encouraged to like CBA on Facebook and follow the college and Plowman on Twitter during NSE and post photos with their CBA sunglasses. By engaging students prior to their arrival on campus in the fall, CBA provided up-to-date news and information about the university, college and Lincoln. The UNL admissions office organizes NSE and Buss and her staff implement the CBA efforts. Snyder coordinated the NSE social media effort.

The college executed the Start Something campaign in 2013 to increase enrollment following a year of unprecedented growth. The campaign launched with a video highlighting the CBA community and how it is the place to “start something.” Three student videos followed featuring out-of-state, international and transfer students sharing their CBA story. The videos were produced through collaboration between Irwin-Gish and UNL Broadcast and Video Services led by Dave Fitzgibbon, manager of broadcast and video services at the Office of University Communications.