Preconference Workshops
Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
CASE Simulcasts

Day 1, Wednesday, March 23

1:45-2:00 PM
Welcome and Introductions
Conference Co-Chairs: Betsy Robertson, Editor, Auburn Magazine, Auburn University; and Maureen Harmon, Editor, Denison Magazine, Denison University

2:00-3:15
Why Storytelling Saves the World, or Why You Have the Greatest Job Ever
Dwindling resources, page cuts, sneering web-monkeys mumbling that magazines are obsolete, the usual seething campus politics, inane lectures from superiors who want the donor's nose on the cover ... these are often tough times editorially, yes? And yet, no one can lift your university's reputation higher than you can. No one has the ear for extraordinary stories that make people gasp and open their wallets. No one has a vehicle like yours for stunning image, astounding tale, wild laughter, incredible reach. The dignity and grace, personality and character, warmth and intimacy, and, most of all, the emotional power of our magazines is potentially the greatest fundraising tool imaginable. Let us spend a few moments remembering that, celebrating that, dreaming of that. Let us have a team meeting of people who sell the coolest product there is: hope and creativity and kids waking up to what they might be.
Speaker: Brian Doyle, Editor, Portland Magazine, University of Portland

3:15-4:00
Networking Break featuring:

• Magazine exchange
• Refreshments

4:00-5:15
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Cyanide and Cocktails
Pulitzer Prize winning author Deborah Blum concludes our first day with tales of terrific science writing as she discusses her latest bestseller The Poisoner's Handbook. Based on the true story of two crusading scientists in Prohibition-era, Jazz Age New York City, this book and talk is about poison, murder and the invention of forensics and the CSI-style scientific era we live in today. But equally important it is the power of science to both protect us and to put us at risk in our modern chemical world.
Speaker: Deborah Blum, Author, Professor of Journalism, University of Wisconsin

5:15-5:45
Book signing with Deborah Blum

6:00-7:30
Networking Reception

Sponsored in part by Lane Press

7:30
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own

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Day 2, Thursday, March 24

7:30-8:45 AM
Roundtable Discussions
Join your colleagues for informal roundtable discussions during breakfast.

• Transforming an Article into a Book
  Facilitator: Christine Hurley Deriso, Editorial Manager, Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly Medical College of Georgia)
• Attracting the Elusive Young Reader
  Facilitators: Rich Byrne, Editor, UMBC Magazine, University of Maryland Baltimore County; and Suki Deen, University Relations Associate, Wilmington University
• No Staff, No Budget, No Problem!
  Facilitator: Sherri Kimmel, Dickinson College
• Keeping Up with the Jones': How to Cover Campus without Getting Overwhelmed
  Facilitator: Jesse Tuel, Editor, Virginia Tech Magazine, Virginia Issues & Answers, VT Newsletter, Virginia Tech
• Getting in the Game: Networking for New Editors
  Facilitator: Sheila Haar Siegel, Script, St. Louis College of Pharmacy
• Using the CASE Reader Survey
  Facilitator: Jeff Lott, Senior Publications Editor, Swarthmore College
• E-Magazines: Taking Your Publication from the Mailbox to the Inbox
  Facilitators: Deb Rieselman, University of Cincinnati; John Bach, University of Cincinnati; and Mark Davis, University of California, Los Angeles
• Writer's Blockade: Overcoming Competing Campus Interests to Create a Must-Read Magazine
  Facilitators: Susan Blystone, Editor, Illinois State Alumni Magazine and Assistant Director, University Marketing and Communications, Illinois State University; Stephanie Epp, Executive Director, Alumni Relations, Illinois State University; and Dave Jorgensen, Assistant Director, Graphic Design, Illinois State University

9:00-10:15
Covers That Don't Suck
What makes a great cover, and why aren't there more of them in the world of alumni magazines? Designer D.J. Stout advises on how to combine art and type to create the right first impression-and drive your readers inside for more.
Speaker: D.J. Stout, Partner, Pentagram

10:30-11:30
Elective Sessions (choose one, repeated at 11:45 AM today)

• Panel Discussion: Let's Make a Movie! Write a Blog! Create an App! Record a Podcast!
  In light of the multitude of media formats now readily available to convey our institutions' message, many of us are being asked to transfer our communications skills to media other than print. We've assembled a panel of editors whose "extra" projects have included videos, iPad applications, mobile phone apps, blogs and more.
  Panelists: Carole Bass, Senior Writer, Yale Alumni Magazine, Yale University; Christine Hurley Deriso, Editorial Manager, Medical College of Georgia; and Paige Parvin, Editor, Emory Magazine, Emory University
  Moderator: Deb Rieselman, Editor, University of Cincinnati
• The Art of the Essay (and the Crossword Puzzle)
  Published three times a year, the University of Cambridge's CAM magazine reinvigorates the art of the spirited essay, bringing together the best of thought and debate on campus and keeping alumni around the world up to date and on their toes. The alumni communications manager who oversees production of the 2010 CASE Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year explains how staff redesigned the magazine to create a stimulating publication comprising essays, features, alumni news and a fiendishly complex prize crossword.
  Speaker: Morven Knowles, Alumni Relations Communications & Benefits Manager, University of Cambridge
• Remaking Your Book for the Web
  The editor of the 2010 CASE Circle of Excellence Gold Award for web magazines walks us through the joys and tribulations of repackaging Bostonia magazine online, complete with weekly web exclusives.
  Speaker: Art Jahnke, Executive Editor, Bostonia, Boston University
• Mission Possible: Defining, Defending and Delivering on the Alumni Magazine's Purpose
  In order to publish a truly effective magazine, it helps to have a clear understanding of what purpose the publication should serve. But all too often, magazine mission statements are focused on their institutions' interests as opposed to the audience's; they narrow the scope rather than expand the possibilities. This session will focus on how an effective mission statement gets formed; what conversations must take place in order to define the mission; and how that mission translates to exciting, and sometimes surprising content. This session may be of most interest to editors who are either new to their role or considering a redesign but can apply to anyone who has ever had to discuss or defend the purpose of the magazine.
  Speaker: Paul Pegher, Creative Director, University Communications, Denison University
  This CASE Simulcast will be held at 11:45 AM
• Sin and Syntax: Seven Secrets for Making Your Prose Wicked Good
  In this interactive workshop, Constance Hale, whose book Sin and Syntax has been called a guide for "writers who want more spunk than Strunk," leads you through a series of readings, exercises, puzzles and games that will help you stretch new muscles, kick bad habits and duke it out in a war of words. We'll also talk about how to cultivate that most elusive of literary elements: the writer's voice.
  Speaker: Constance Hale, Freelance Writer and Editor
• The Ultimate Guide to Service!
  Service journalism—"33 Tips for Organizing Your Sock Drawer!," "Nine Ways to Tell Your Husband He's a Bad Griller!," "The Ultimate Guide to Bathing Cats!"—is the bread-and-butter of regional and national magazines. Why don't alumni magazines—and their schools filled with experts—get in on the action? Vicki Glembocki, formerly of Philadelphia Magazine, will teach you how to turn the typical alumni magazine story into news your readers can actually use.
  Speaker: Vicki Glembocki, Writer-at-Large, Philadelphia Magazine
• Don't Make Me Shoot Myself
  Are you and your photographer(s) speaking the same language? Are you settling for mediocre images at least 80 percent of the time? Stop relying on luck and start coaching your photographer, whether in-house or freelance, for better results.
  Speaker: Tyler Stableford, Commercial and Editorial Photographer

11:45 AM-12:45 PM
Elective Sessions (repeated from 10:30 AM)

12:45-2:00
Buffet Lunch

2:00-3:00
Elective Sessions (choose one, repeated at 3:15 PM today)

• Do Sweat the Small Stuff
  Do you labor over your story selection, your writing, your editing, only to slap on a headline and deck at the 11th hour? Do your captions tell mini-stories or do they simply label photographs? Are your pull quotes space-fillers or tempting, irresistible editorial morsels that will turn any casual page-flipper into a reader? Let's face it, as much as we'd like to think that the folks who receive our magazines are committed to reading every word, that's not the case. Even our most dedicated readers are most likely "flippers." They'll turn to class notes, and then they'll flip. If something catches their eye, they'll stop; if not, the magazine is headed toward the coffee table, if we're lucky (the recycling bin, if we're not). In this session, we'll look at how to come up with winning headlines and decks, perfect the art of caption writing and the difference between pull quotes that succeed and those that fail.
  Speaker: Matt Jennings, Editor, Middlebury Magazine, Middlebury College
• Hunting and Gathering: Reporting for Story, Character, Meaning
  Thomas French spent 27 years working at the St. Petersburg Times and now teaches at the Poynter Institute and at Indiana University's school of journalism. He won a Pulitzer prize for feature writing in 1998 and is the author of Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives, which chronicles seven years among the elephants, chimps and tigers of Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. His session will cover how to find original stories, how to gather dialogue and scene detail, and how to get to the heart of your subjects' lives.
  Speaker: Thomas French, Riley Endowed Chair in Journalism, Indiana University
• Keeping It Legal
  Is it ever OK to use photos without the subject's permission? What about digital shots pulled from the web? This session will explore current copyright and other legal issues faced by magazines and online publications and examine how the Internet is changing the doctrine of fair use.
  Speaker: Robert Richards, John and Ann Curley Professor of First Amendment Studies, Penn State
• Science is Sexy. Seriously.
  Science pieces should not bring on the yawns, for the editor and especially not the reader. Think about it: The most amazing advancements in our world, both great and terrifying, are rooted in science and technology. They affect the ways we live, think, work and interact. And editors who work at colleges and universities where those advancements occur have an obligation to make sense of the issues, and tell the stories. Still, writing about science is hard. How do you interpret that science-speak? How much space do you give it? What type of art does it get assigned? (Hopefully not another researcher standing with arms crossed, standing in a lab lit by purple gels.) This session will help participants find the answers to those questions, and more, and will help them show their readers that science IS sexy ... seriously. Plus: How I got in trouble for explicit science.
  Speaker: Nicole McKeen, Freelance Editor and Former Editor, The Florida Engineer, University of Florida
• What's Your Take? Getting the Reader's Voice into the Magazine
  We say our magazines belong to the readers, yet often, in reality, the reader is simply the consumer. How can we better invite readers to be part of the publication? As part of a recent redesign, University of Dayton Magazine editors made a conscious effort to increase readers' voices in the publication from cover to cover, particularly with the addition of reader-focused departments and elements designed to increase engagement. Over our first five issues, our class notes, letters-to-the-editor and other standing departments have seen steadily growing submissions. The session will include examples of standing features from a variety of publications, a discussion of UD's successes and conversation about how interactive features can impact reader surveys and audience engagement (and how to share these results to our publications' benefit).
  Speakers: Matthew Dewald, Editor, University of Dayton Magazine; and Michelle Tedford, Director, Communications, University of Dayton
• Panel Discussion: Internal Publications, That Other Beast
  As university magazine editors, we spend a lot of time discussing the alumni audience and precious little talking about another important constituency: faculty and staff. If you've ever wished for an Editor's Forum session dedicated to internal communication, don't miss this panel discussion with the editors of three CASE Circle of Excellence award-winning campus publications.
  Panelists:  Laurel Thomas Gnagey, Director of Internal Communications, University of Michigan; Alicia Lutz, Editor, The Portico, College of Charleston;  and Kim Urquhart, Editor, Emory Report, Emory University
  Facilitator: Susan Allen, College Editor, Manager of Publications, St. Norbert College
• Working with Student Writers
  Short on staff writers and freelance budget? Whether you work for a university or a small liberal arts college, you have able students who are eager to learn the tricks of our trade—and can help keep our publications hip and timely during these crunch times. In this session we'll explore how to mine that talent—from screening and hiring to training and mentoring—without making much more work for yourself.
  Speaker: Sherri Kimmel, Director of Editorial Services, Dickinson College

3:15-4:15
Elective Sessions (repeated from 2:00 PM)

4:30-5:45
Stealing from the Big Dogs
We compete with national magazines for our readers' time. So why do we look to other alumni magazines for inspiration? It's time to raise the bar. Vicki Glembocki shows us what we can steal from regional and national magazines and and how we can steal it. You'll leave her session with at least 10 story ideas you can use this year. (If you don't, we'll be mass e-mailing her home phone after the conference).
Speaker: Vicki Glembocki, Writer-at-Large, Philadelphia Magazine

5:45-6:15
Book Signing with Vicki Glembocki

6:15
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own

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Day 3, Friday, March 25

7:30-8:45 AM
Continental Breakfast

9:00-10:15
Panel Discussion: Politics for the Apolitical
What happens when your university makes headlines for all the wrong reasons? Or when the development director doesn't understand why you're not devoting your feature well to the new capital campaign kick-off? Or when the university president e-mails you with a GREAT! story idea that, well, isn't? Ugh. As editors, we spend more time than we ever imagined navigating situations such as these in an effort to do the best thing for our readers—and for our institutions. This is true no matter who funds the magazine, what your reporting structure is, or how much your president wants to win CASE awards. So how do you make your case? This panel has suffered its share of sticky wickets, and they'll offer advice on how to make a quality magazine without making enemies.
Facilitators: Edie Filice Barry, Vice President, Communications and Marketing, Stanford University Alumni Association; Catherine Pierre, Editor, Johns Hopkins Magazine, Johns Hopkins University; and Becky Morphis, Director, Communications, North Carolina State University
Moderator: Jeff Lott, Senior Publications Editor, Swarthmore College

10:15-10:45

• Magazine exchange
• Three-Minute Design Consultation (Participants must register in advance)
  Is your alumni magazine plagued with uninspired writing, ho-hum artwork and pedestrian design? Are you underwhelmed by feedback from readers? On the other hand, do you think you've got it all going on? We've assembled three art directors for a session in which participants offer the panel three copies of their magazine in exchange for a three-minute instant critique.
  Facilitator: DJ Stout, Partner, Pentagram

10:45-11:45
State of the Union
Dale Keiger has been blogging about university magazines for a year at his website umagazinology.jhu.edu. His talk covers the ever-present print-vs.-digital debate, particularly in light of constrained budgets; trends in story topics, cover subjects, graphic elements, etc.; uncommonly creative ways some magazines have covered stories; the proliferation of divisional publications; the five most heartening things in university magazines this year; five things we could have done without; and, naturally, ideas worth stealing. He also highlights alumni magazines you've probably never read, but should, and takes a humorous-yet-tactful look at some of the strangest things he found during a year of reading alumni magazines voraciously.
Speaker: Dale Keiger, Associate Editor, Johns Hopkins Magazine and the University Magazine Group

11:45 AM-NOON
Conference wrap up

NOON
Conference Adjourns

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