York University media relations staff Janice Walls and Melissa Hughes, frequent contributors to York Research News, have been recognized by the annual Council for the Advancement & Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence awards. The pair received a top-level gold award in a worldwide competition for a series of five York news releases that won a gold medal in the News writing category.
The releases won York and its researchers recognition in media outlets across Canada and around the world, including publications such as The New York Times, the Washington Post and news organizations in the United Kingdom and Asia.
The winning entry featured these releases:
- Songbirds fly three times faster than expected
- York U-designed space elevator would reach 20 km above Earth
- Perfectionism pointless, potentially harmful for most elementary students: York U study
- Reactions to racism not as strong as we think: York study
- Toronto teens need more sexual health education and clinics, new surveys finds
Left: Backpack-toting birds were featured in one of five award-winning news releases
The CASE competition covers institutions from the international organization’s North American, European and Asia-Pacific regions. Overall, staff of the University Relations Division and the York University Foundation have won 10 medals in 2010 competitions: four from CASE and six from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (see YFile, May 26).
“These latest awards confirm the respect that York has earned for its expertise in communicating to the world information about our research and our values,” said Jennifer Sloan, vice-president university relations. “I am very proud of the team and the work they have done in partnership with faculty and other University departments.”
Walls' and Hughes' work on York’s media releases can be seen daily on this site, on the University’s main home page and are carried in YFile.
Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, with files courtesy of YFile– York University’s daily e-bulletin.