Staff from UC Davis traveled to San Diego last week to pick up their awards from the District VII Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE, and came home with two more than expected.

Also, District VII recognized Pam Pacelli, senior director of development in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, as the district’s Rising Star for 2017.

On top of the 29 Awards of Excellence announced last month, UC Davis earned the nod for two out of four grand golds — top prizes that were not announced until the CASE awards ceremony. Here are details on UC Davis' grand golds:

• Advancement Services, part of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations — Grand gold for creating the centralized gift processing system called GREAT (for Gift Reporting, Entry and Tracking). With GREAT, Advancement Services can more easily and quickly track, receipt and distribute philanthropic gifts while also creating a more positive donor experience. This project has advanced automatically to the national CASE Circle of Excellence competition.
• The Office of Strategic Communications — Grand gold in digital communications for a “grand” website detailing students’ rafting trip through the Grand Canyon for a watershed sciences class. The immersive, mobile-friendly website is full of interactive elements like 360-degree videos and audio clips, as well as text.

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