From the Nominator

Iowa Magazine builds on the University of Iowa’s reputation as "the writing university," using the art of storytelling to keep alumni invested in the life of the university. Through exceptional writing and design, the magazine honors the university’s literary heritage, while making each issue accessible and fun. We want readers to feel like members of the Hawkeye family, and we think of them first as we translate even the most institutional messaging into innovative and creative stories. Never satisfied with the status quo, our magazine staff always seeks new challenges. We recently launched our first annual summer theme issue; for the food theme, we did a cover shoot featuring alumni’s favorite foods and a table of contents and section openers that imitate a menu. For fall, we commissioned an Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumnus to write and paint our fall cover story about the creative process. Produced by the UI Center for Advancement (UICA), Iowa Magazine sends quarterly to 65,000 households. The content also reaches 135,000 recipients of the monthly Iowa Newsletter and 52,000 subscribers to the newly rebranded UI Alumni Facebook channel. Beyond attracting readers and social traffic, Iowa Magazine supports UICA's engagement and philanthropy efforts. One donor recently cited the magazine as the reason for their interest in leaving a bequest to the university. As one of our development officers writes, “Our alumni really love the publication! Because of you, our alumni feel better connected and have a closer affinity to their alma mater.”

From the Judges

This is an excellent magazine with exceptional design, story selection, and storytelling. Judges particularly liked its food issue, which included articles on everything from favorite Iowa City haunts to what a football player eats on game day to food safety to an alum who was a food critic, and a lot more. The photography is outstanding, and we loved the wraparound cover.