Around the Pier: Best CASE Scenario

Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s explorations e-magazine and the 2005-06 annual report have both won top prizes from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Announced as winners in the Outstanding Communications categories of Annual Reports and Honor Rolls, and E-mail Newsletters, the awards recognize design, writing, creativity, and overall effectiveness in conveying the story of the science done at Scripps.

Gold, silver, or bronze level distinctions will be revealed at a Dec. 4 ceremony at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, Nev., as part of the 2007 CASE District VII Conference.

Competing for awards this year were several hundred other CASE District VII member universities and other schools in five western states and Guam. This includes all major public and private universities in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah, Nevada, and Guam.

Last year, Scripps discontinued the print version of its quarterly Explorations magazine and launched the new explorations e-magazine in its place. The multimedia e-magazine, which began as a few ideas scrawled on a blackboard, is now subscribed to by more than 14,000 people, and enjoyed by readers in 129 different countries.

The online magazine contains feature stories about current Scripps research in multimedia formats including slideshows, videos, podcasts, and a science photo of the week, as well as a complete archive of articles printed during the last 13 years.

“This is a magazine created from scratch by an all-volunteer army of Scripps staff wit a variety of other responsibilities to fulfill every month,” said explorations editor, Robert Monroe, “so I am especially proud of the award, and the team that creates this top-quality Scripps magazine.”

Scripps has produced an annual report off and on since 1903, but this recognition from CASE for Scripps’s 2005-06 Annual Report is the publication’s first design award. The full-color, 40-page report with a focus on California received several rave reviews around campus and among friends of Scripps for its eye-catching look. The report details institutional facts, figures, and financial statements from the previous fiscal year. It was edited by Monroe, and created by designers Blaize Mekinna of Scripps Oceanography, contract designer Gail Look-Yan, and artist Tracy Sabin.

-Shannon Casey