Pam Russell
Director of Communications
CASE
+1-202-478-5680
russell@case.org

For Immediate Release
June 17, 2008

CASE Announces Recipients of 2008 Research Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. -The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is presenting its 2008 Research Awards to six authors for their work on current trends and issues in higher education alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing. The authors will be recognized during the CASE Summit for Advancement Leaders, July 13-15, in New York.

This year's winning works focus on individual online giving, the affects of presidential leadership on capital campaigns, alumni appeals and giving patterns, crisis communications plans and online and offline integrated marketing communications techniques in higher education.

The annual awards recognize published books, master's theses and doctoral dissertations in alumni relations, communications and marketing, and fundraising. The 2008 CASE Research Award winners are:

Kimberly Nehls, adjunct professor of educational leadership, University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Nehls is the recipient of the John Grenzebach Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation for "Presidential Transitions During Capital Campaigns: Perspectives of Chief Development Officers," completed at UNLV. Nehls' research examines how chief development officers navigate changes in presidential leadership while overseeing ongoing capital campaigns. The research identifies how personal traits and the level of support received from groups and individuals on campus influence how presidential transitions affect campaigns.

Patrick Rooney, principal investigator and director of research at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, with Melissa S. Brown, associate director for research, and Reema T. Bhakta, Heidi K. Frederick, Cynthia Hyatte and Shaun Miller. The team received the John Grenzebach Research Award for Outstanding Published Scholarship for its "American Express Charitable Gift Survey," published by the Center on Philanthropy. The center's groundbreaking, comprehensive analysis of individual gift giving reveals why only one in 10 donors chooses to give online.

Dawn Edmiston, an assistant professor of management and marketing at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. Edmiston is the recipient of the Alice L. Beeman Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation for "An Examination of Integrated Marketing Communication in U.S. Public Institutions of Higher Education," completed at the University of Maryland University College. Her research examines how colleges and universities are using online and offline integrated marketing communications techniques to build and reinforce brand identity in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Christopher Simpson, late partner and CEO of SimpsonScarborough. Simpson is the recipient of the Alice L. Beeman Award for Outstanding Published Scholarship for "Weathering the Storm: Protecting Your Brand in the Worst of Times," published by CASE. His book explains how higher education institutions can take a step-by-step approach to creating strong crisis communications plans.

Wendy Levine, director of development of First Graduate, a San Francisco nonprofit. Levine is the recipient of the H.S. Warwick Research Award for Outstanding Master's Thesis for "Communications and Alumni Relations: What is the Correlation Between an Institution's Communications Vehicles and Alumni Annual Giving?", completed at the University of San Francisco. Her research examines the correlation between types of communication vehicles and alumni annual giving behavior.

Michael A. Gottfried and Erica L. Johnson, doctoral students at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Gottfried and Johnson are the recipients of the H.S. Warwick Research Award for Outstanding Published Scholarship for "Solicitation and Donation: An Econometric Evaluation of Alumni Generosity in Higher Education," published in the International Journal of Educational Advancement. The research on 12 years of data covering nearly 3,000 U.S. colleges and universities examines how a variety of integrated communications strategies have influenced alumni donations.

About CASE

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London, Singapore and Mexico City, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the professional organization for advancement professionals who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas.

CASE is one of the largest nonprofit education associations in terms of institutional membership. Its membership includes more than 3,400 colleges, universities, independent elementary and secondary schools, and educational associates in 74 countries around the world. It serves nearly 65,000 advancement professionals on the staffs of its member institutions.

CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with their alumni and donors, raise funds for campus projects, produce recruitment materials, market their institutions to prospective students, diversify the profession and foster public support of education. CASE also offers a variety of advancement products and services, provides standards and an ethical framework for the profession, and works with other organizations to respond to public issues of concern while promoting the importance of education worldwide.

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