There are many ways to tell the story of UC Davis and celebrate the people who help make those stories possible, and projects focused on everything from whales to burgers to grand opening events have earned recent accolades.

The honors are from Signal Awards and the arm of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE, that encompasses five western U.S. states and two territories.

Best of CASE District VII

UC Davis brought home 20 Best of District VII awards from CASE last week. The organization highlighted UC Davis’ event planning, donor stewardship, writing and more. 

“Your creative and innovative ideas will serve as inspiration for countless others in the months and years ahead,” CASE officials said in an email congratulating winners.

The winning projects were:

• Aggie Accord: An App for Gift Agreements at UC Davis, in the category Advancement Services (Advancement Services Initiatives - More Than 25 Staff)
• IDEA$ at Work: Engaging Employees to Help Solve Budget Challenges, in the category Communications (Communications Initiatives - More Than 25 Staff)
• Pod of Orcas, in the category Communications (Podcasts - Occasional)
• Are Burgers Really Destroying the Environment?, in the category Communications (Storytelling)
• Annual Giving Donor Stewardship Wrapping Paper Mailer, in the category Design (Specialty Pieces)
• Aggie Thank U: Great Alumni are not born, they are made!, in the category Engagement (Student Engagement)
• Annual Stewardship — You're the gift that keeps on giving, in the category Fundraising (Donor Relations & Stewardship Initiatives)
• Accessibility and Inclusivity Guide for UC Davis Communicators, in the category Leadership (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives)
• The Learning DO - Development Officer Boot Camp, in the category Leadership (Talent Management Initiatives)
• Davis Day of Reflection – Healing Together, in the category Special Events (In-Person Single-Day)
• Grand Opening Celebration: UCD Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, in the category Special Events (In-Person Single-Day)
• Parent & Family Weekend 2023, in the category Special Events (In-Person Multi-Day)
• A Day in the Life of Marine Science Student Researchers, in the category Video (Videos: Student Audience - Long)
• Last Chance to Give Video: Cori and UC Davis, in the category Video (Videos: Fundraising - Flash Campaign/Giving Day)
• The Art of UC Davis: Donor Stewardship Video, in the category Video (Videos: Fundraising and Stewardship - Long)
• Sustainable Mexican Beef Production Passed Down Through Generations, in the category Video (Videos: News and Research)
• Failing Your College Classes? Try Changing Majors, in the category Writing (Column or Opinion Piece)
• Walking the Free Speech Tightrope, in the category Writing (Column or Opinion Piece)
• Veterinary ER expansion brings expert care to more patients, in the category Writing (Writing: News/Feature - 1,000+ Words)
• Restoring Speech After Paralysis, In Greater Focus magazine story in the category Writing (Writing: News/Feature - 1,000+ Words)

Signal Award

Unfold, a podcast exploring UC Davis research, earned a silver Signal Award for its episode “Close Encounters of the Whale Kind,” the award organizers announced today (Oct. 29). The episode focused on efforts to communicate with humpback whales and how the work could teach researchers to communicate with extraterrestrials.

The episode was hosted by Amy Quinton and Kat Kerlin of the Office of Strategic Communications and edited by Marianne Russ Sharp of UC Davis Health Public Affairs and Marketing.