Pam Russell
director of communications
CASE
+1-202-478-5680
russell@case.org

For Immediate Release
Jan. 24, 2012

CASE Announces Winners of 2012 Independent Schools Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council for Advancement and Support of Education has announced the recipients of its 2012 Independent Schools Awards. The two individuals and one foundation were selected for their commitment and service to primary and secondary independent school education.

They will be honored during an awards presentation Feb. 6 at the annual CASE-NAIS Independent Schools Conference, which takes place Feb. 5-7 in San Francisco.

The 2012 award winners are:

Curtis Baggett, recipient of the Robert Bell Crow Memorial Award, which recognizes advancement professionals for dedication to the profession, their institutions and CASE. Baggett is director of development at McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn. A graduate of the school, Baggett began his 40-year career with McCallie in 1972 as a teacher and coach. He later moved from the classroom to admissions and then to fundraising, serving as director of annual gifts, director of capital gifts and director of development. During his 30 years in fundraising at the school, Baggett has raised millions of dollars, strengthened its volunteer effort and launched numerous new initiatives. Key accomplishments include:

• Established the school’s first major gifts program
• Directed the 2nd Century Campaign, which raised $175 million in six years, surpassing a 10-year, $125 million goal
• Grew endowment for program support from more than $41 million to more than $64 million
• Helped secure 26 gifts of $1 million or more
• Visited more than 1,000 prospects in 41 states

Beyond his work for McCallie, Baggett has served as a mentor for many educational fundraisers and is a strong supporter of the CASE-NAIS Independent Schools Conference, which he chaired in 1992 and has served as a speaker for many years.

Daniel H. Case, recipient of the Seymour Preston Award, which honors trustees for providing exceptional leadership to an institution. Case is a 1942 graduate of Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. From 1970 to 2000, he served on Punahou’s board of trustees and played an active leadership role in four capital campaigns, which together raised nearly $120 million. He also chaired the steering committee for Punahou’s 150th anniversary and is currently a committee member for the school’s 175th anniversary. Case established an endowed fund in his son’s memory to help integrate entrepreneurial thinking into parts of the school’s curriculum and continues to lead by example by encouraging others to join him in supporting Punahou In addition to his fundraising activities, Case served as president of the Punahou Alumni Association and has been a mentor for many trustees, volunteers and fellow alumni.

The Challenge Foundation, recipient of the John R. Chandler Award, which recognizes the long-term support of a corporation or foundation on independent schools. The Challenge Foundation awards about 10 scholarships each year for low-income students to attend one of its three partner schools: Colorado Academy, St. Anne’s Episcopal School and St. Mary’s Academy. The Challenge Fund has a retention rate of more than 90 percent. The foundation says this is in large part due to the individualized support and guidance its staff members provide to scholarship recipients, which include case management, mentoring and tutoring. To date, the nonprofit has worked with more than 100 students and has 64 scholars in grades 6-12, 25 alumni attending college and 11 college graduates.

About CASE

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

CASE was founded in 1974 and maintains headquarters in Washington, D.C., with offices in London (CASE Europe, 1994), Singapore (CASE Asia-Pacific, 2007) and Mexico City (CASE América Latina, 2011).

Today, CASE’s membership includes more than 3,600 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in 76 countries around the globe. This makes CASE one of the world’s largest nonprofit educational associations in terms of institutional membership. CASE serves more than 70,000 advancement professionals on the staffs of its member institutions and has more than 17,000 professional members on its roster.

To fulfill their missions and to meet both individual and societal needs, colleges, universities and independent schools rely on—and therefore must foster—the good will, active involvement, informed advocacy and enduring support of alumni, donors, prospective students, parents, government officials, community leaders, corporate executives, foundation officers and other external constituencies.

CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with all of these constituencies by providing relevant research, supporting growth in the profession and fostering 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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