University Website Wins Gold
June 13, 2008 - Campus Bulletin
U of G has the best university website in Canada, according to the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE), the national association for advancement professionals. At an awards ceremony this week in Kelowna, B.C., U of G captured gold in the best website category.
Redesigned last year, Guelph’s website was lauded for its creative design, strong code, ease of navigation, well-presented content and consistency in applying the University’s brand across pages, says Stuart Robertson, U of G’s website manager.
This is the second time in recent years that CCAE has judged U of G’s website to be the best in the country. The website also captured gold after its last redesign in 2001.
In addition, excellence in sharing news and information with audiences outside the University also garnered U of G a number of honours from CCAE.
In the news writing category, Deirdre Healey, news service officer in Communications and Public Affairs, earned a bronze award for a news release explaining how scientists at the University’s Animal Health Lab solved the mystery surrounding the pet food-related deaths of thousands of dogs and cats in early 2007.
CONduit, the official publication of the Canadian Obesity Network, earned a bronze in the under $100,000 (budget) magazine category. The magazine is produced in partnership with the University’s Students Promoting Awareness and Research Knowledge (SPARK) program.
“This is a real coup, considering it was CONduit’s first foray into a national competition, and we were up against extremely established institutions,” says Owen Roberts, SPARK creator and director of research communications. “CONduit is a model of interuniversity co-operation, student-writing excellence and administrative commitment to popular communications.”
The University also received its first TD Meloche Monnex Fellowship in Advancement, which is given annually to three CCAE member universities. The award was presented to 2008 B.Comm. graduate Lauren Moore and will allow her to be trained in university advancement in Alumni Affairs and Development over the next year.
