Pocket-Size Portfolio
CURRENTS Article Griffith University's experimentation with business cards containing integrated USB flash drives has promoted portability of documents and presentations and increased the usage of electronic communications, saving printing and production costs in the process. While not in wide use across the Australian university, administrators and personnel who travel frequently and for extended periods of time have migrated to them. Some departments have adopted them for other uses as well, including the film school and the advancement office, which gave special 40th anniversary versions to alumni who returned to campus celebrations.

Honesty Is the Best Policy
CURRENTS Article In this article, Tina Hay, editor of The Penn Stater, discusses the editorial decisions the magazine made in covering the child molestation scandal that erupted at Penn State in November 2011.

Going for Gold
CURRENTS Article The story profiles eight of the 2012 CASE Circle of Excellence Award grand gold and gold award winners.

Office Space: How Heaven Has Changed
CURRENTS Article Jeffrey Lott, longtime editor of the Swarthmore College Bulletin, offers some parting advice, remembrances, and a few things he'll be glad to be rid of in this essay that looks back at his experiences over the past 20-plus years.

Tiempo en pantalla
CURRENTS Article Con el lanzamiento y popularidad the iPad y otras tablets así como el Kindle, una gran cantidad de revistas de exalumnos de Universidades han dado un giro experimentando con nuevos formatos electrónicos.

Screen Time
CURRENTS Article With the release and growing popularity of the iPad and other tablets as well as the Kindle and other e-readers among alumni, a handful of college and university alumni magazines have taken the leap into experimenting with these new electronic formats.

The Power of Two
CURRENTS Article BI Norwegian School of Management publishes two alumni magazine, one in Norwegian and the other in English. The English-language magazine has helped keep international alumni engaged.

Advance Work: Viva la Vida
CURRENTS Article Mexico's Universidad Anáhuac produces a monthly magazine aimed at prospective students. The magazine features photos of secondary students at their own schools as well as at university events and helps the teenagers feel connected to the university before they have even applied.

Main Squeeze
CURRENTS Article The CASE Member Magazine Readership Survey reveals interesting findings on actions readers take after reading the alumni magazine as well as on credibility and engagement.

Paper Trails
CURRENTS Article In this changing digital age, do printed magazines still have a place? Readers say yes, and editors who think otherwise may find themselves saving costs, but losing alumni.

Odds and Ends: Internet Innovator
CURRENTS Article CURRENTS interviews Guy Kawasaki, co-founder of Alltop, an "online magazine rack," and previous Apple Fellow at Apple Computer Inc., about the future of print magazines.

Advance Work: All for One
CURRENTS Article The Foundation for California Community Colleges and the Network of California Community College Foundations have teamed up to produce a statewide community college alumni magazine and companion Web site.

Career Path: In the Know
CURRENTS Article The author discusses what he's learned about alumni magazines in his 18-plus years as editor. The article offers five steps to achieving success.

Making Magazine Magic
CURRENTS Article Alumni magazines need to tell compelling stories to engage the reader ... but how? The author gives 10 tips on how to find creative content that will leave your readers wanting more.

Sweet Smell of Success
CURRENTS Article The 2007 CASE Circle of Excellence grand gold and gold medal winners profiled in this article have taken their advancement publications, events, and programs to a higher level. These featured winners, however, are a small sample of the 319 winners from 195 institutions.

Cream of the Crop
CURRENTS Article This article profiles a few of CASE's 2005 Circle of Excellence award winners in the fields of fund-rasing, special events, campaigns, marketing, alumni programs, stewardship, and advancement services operations.

Come Together
CURRENTS Article Communications professionals increasingly discuss what stays in print and what goes on the Web--often with budget-cutting in mind. In this article, the authors point out that Web and print are two very different mediums and content for one can't just be retrofitted or repurposed for the other. They outline strategies for making the two mediums work together more effectively.

AdvanceWork: Periodicals' Progress
CURRENTS Article In the publishing world, student and alumni magazines are a hot commodity, according to an Oxbridge Communications study. The number of titles in the segment grew 43 percent over a 10-year period.

Get Real
CURRENTS Article Alumni magazines face stiff competition for readers' attention, primarily because many readers don't take them seriously. A seasoned alumni magazine editor offers 10 ways to help make them into publications that readers respect and want to read.

Mining for Gold
CURRENTS Article Profiles of 12 CASE Circle of Excellence 2003 winners. Member institution nominees were judged on the creativity of their alumni relations, communications, and development initiatives, including alumni publications, reunions, constituency giving, stewardship, and alumni relations programs. Profiled winners include Brigham Young University/University of Utah; Columbia College Chicago; Georgia Tech Alumni Association; Goucher College; Imperial College London; the Institute for Shipboard Education; Lehigh University Alumni Association; Monroe Community College Foundation; Pennsylvania State University; the University of Chicago; the University of Iowa Alumni Association; and the University of Miami.

Measuring Up
CURRENTS Article Alumni magazine editors are increasingly accumulating data to demonstrate their periodicals’ influence in alumni cultivation and to justify their costs. Editors have used statistical evidence to show, for example, that alumni use the magazine as their primary information source and that a magazine can foster feelings of pride and connection with the institution. Data may take the form of formal reader survey results or informal anecdotes.

Got Personality?
CURRENTS Article Alumni magazines should have identities that are as unique as the institutions and communities they serve. To infuse personality into a publication: 1) Make a statement with the cover design. 2) Choose feature topics and approaches that reflect the magazine's personality. 3) Make class notes as unique as your institution's alumni. 4) Use the editor's note to start a conversation with readers. 5) Spend time interacting with members of the institutional community. 6) Use good writing to figuratively bring alumni back to campus. 7) For influences, reach beyond alumni periodicals and look at magazines from all fields. 8) Use humor, in the form of witty headlines, cartoons, or oddball features.

After Class Notes
CURRENTS Article Former Dartmouth Alumni Magazine editor Heinrichs describes his move to founding editor of US Airways Attache magazine. His advice for campus editors includes 1) focusing on the magazine, rather than all types of related chores and issues; 2) limiting the number of meetings you attend; 3) remembering that campus editors are custom publishers, not journalists; 4) playing up the strengths of the institution; and 5) remembering every magazine needs a mission.

Let's Get Fictional
CURRENTS Article Keiger, a senior writer for the Johns Hopkins Magazine discusses the need to develop the essential elements of strong characterization and strong narrative when writing nonfiction. When characterizing something or someone, focus on what is striking or curious. Try to catch subjects in different settings. What do the surroundings say about the individual? Listen to their speech patterns. Remember that photographs are often included in articles and this reduces the need to use traditional descriptions of people or things. It is important not just to write stories, but to tell them. Consider the place of narrative. Some stories may lend themselves to narrative, some may require that you use a hook. The key for the writer is to pay attention.