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System Seminar 2016 Recap

Earlier this month, more than four hundred professionals, representing all fourteen UT institutions, converged on the AT&T Conference Center in Austin for the System Seminar. Hosted every other year by the UT System’s Office of External Relations, the Seminar’s aim is to bring new perspectives and insights to bear on two areas that are critical to every UT institution’s success – philanthropy and communications.

Highlights of the two-day seminar included a Boot Camp for approximately 150 new campus development and communications hires and newly-promoted staff members. Following that were a series of breakout sessions – led by experts from both inside and outside the UT System – on subjects ranging from better engagement of alumni to effective media pitches to gift planning strategies. For some attendees, these breakouts were an opportunity to earn Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) continuing education points. But the more important opportunity, according to Randa Safady, Vice Chancellor of External Relations, was for the attendees to learn from each other and have direct exposure to UT-centric and national best practices.

The two-day seminar covered topics relevant to UT advancement and communication professionals.

“The collective knowledge and expertise of UT professionals in advancement and communications teams is really quite exceptional,” said Safady. “Bringing those teams together in one place, to share new innovations and successful practices – while also giving them the opportunity to hear from outside experts in their field – is one of the very important services we provide at the System. And we do it very inexpensively. To have 400 professionals convene at one site where we bring top experts to them rather than having them go off to expensive national conferences is an important element of the Seminar.”

Breakout sessions provided direct exposure to national best practices.

The UT institutions work closely with the UT System in the planning of the conference to ensure that the subject matter and sessions are most relevant to their issues.

The Seminar also provided an opportunity, at the Chancellor’s Excellence Awards luncheon, to honor and celebrate UT institutions that were deemed best in class in a variety of categories. “We think it’s important to highlight our colleagues whose performance stands out against their peers,” said Safady, “for two reasons. First, so we can all learn from their example. And second, to make it crystal clear to everyone that the work they do – that all UT advancement and communication professionals do, every day – is absolutely critical to their institutions, and ultimately, to the people of Texas.

Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents, Steve Hicks, participated in the presentation ceremony of the awards. The 2016 Chancellor’s Excellence Award winners are below:

Jan Richter Hopson Achievement Award – honors an individual who has served with distinction in the field of development and advancement services.
Winner: Amy Kell, Associate Director of Development at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, recognized for her ten years of outstanding service and expanded fund raising program.   

Excellence in Media Relations – recognizes overall excellence in strategic communications efforts that educate and inform the public about a specific program, initiative or situation.
Winner: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Office of Public Relations / strategic communications plan to encourage media interest in HPV vaccination, raise public awareness and establish MD Anderson specialists as national experts in the field. 

Outstanding Publications – recognizes outstanding work in the production of both print and online publications.
Winner: The University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Science, for The Texas Scientist, designed in the spirit of popular science magazines with a broad reach and multiple uses. 

Excellence in Digital Strategy – a new category recognizing the relevance and impact of digital communications in engaging with our communities and target audiences.
Winner: The University of Texas at San Antonio / extreme makeover of the UTSA home page. 

Excellence in Marketing Campaign – a new category recognizing outstanding work in a single theme, multiple channel marketing campaign resulting in an increase in enrollment, applications, student retention, or donor recruitment and/or retention.
Winner: The University of Texas of the Rio Grande Valley / “WE WILL” campaign that has become an anthem for students and a promise to the entire Rio Grande Valley community. 

Excellence in Special Events – recognizes an event with outstanding results
Winner: The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston for the Constellation Gala that surpassed the fundraising goal of $1.1 million by bringing in $1.9 million to directly benefit students and faculty. 

Excellence in Advancement Services – recognizes an exemplary program in advancement services that serves as a model for other institutions, reflects strategic use of resources and achieved significant results.
Winner: The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston / retooled the prospect research function and developed the first-ever prospect management program, turning the Office of Development into a forward-looking, data-driven operation. 

Excellence in Fundraising Improvement – recognizes improvement in fundraising over the past three years.
Winner: The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston / increased overall giving 116% and its individual donor count by 28% since FY2014 

Overall Fundraising Performance – recognizes an institution that shows solid program growth and breadth in the base of support and other marks of a mature program.
Winner: The University of Texas at Austin / 8th in the nation for cash received among public institutions, reported the most new testamentary commitments, and had one of the highest averages for alumni giving.

Scott Rabenold, VP for Development; Amanda Brown Irving, Executive Director, Gift and Estate Planning; Lee Bash, Executive Director of Operations, UT Austin with Steve Hicks, Vice Chairman of the UT System Board of Regents

The next University of Texas System Seminar will be held in December of 2018.

See more photos from System Seminar 2016 »