From the Nominator

"Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and national unrest surrounding Houston native George Floyd’s death, the University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) Office of Communications realized that maintaining alumni engagement would be both more challenging and more urgent than ever before. With social distancing, isolation and fear of disease transmission, traditional printing of alumni materials just wasn’t possible.

The Summer 2020 CLASS Magazine represented a bold pivot, debuting a visually stunning, interactive, and fully online format, while showcasing resilience and social justice stories. CLASS alumnus Jericho Brown, the winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, graces the front cover, inviting readers to explore the range of diverse voices found within the magazine’s pages. Among the highlights: dazzling images from the university’s “Latino Art Now!” billboards campaign, Professor Elena L. Grigorenko’s inside look at how she became the first female editor-in-chief of Psychological Review, and a two-page spread titled “A Remembrance of George Floyd,” which captures thousands of Houstonians coming together to honor their friend and neighbor’s life and make their voices heard at City Hall.

As acclaimed writer and CLASS alumnus Bryan Washington notes on page 28, “Houston is about accepting people for who they are and being open to new experiences.” The Summer 2020 CLASS Magazine embraced this sentiment in its format and its content, finding new ways to tell the stories our community needed to hear."

From the Judges

Kudos for taking on the development of an online magazine for the first time. It was beautifully created, and it represented various ethnic groups in addition to generations. There was something for everyone. The material was very relevant, as reflected by the 100,000 individuals that were added to their readership.