Top honors in university fund raising, alumni relations and magazine writing were among 15 national awards won by development and communications professionals at Cornell University from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) this year.

Cornell was among five private research institutions to win a 1999 Circle of Excellence in Educational Fund-Raising Award, which honors "superior fund-raising programs across the country," according to CASE, and is awarded to programs that show "solid program growth, breadth in the base of support and other indications of a mature program that is well maintained."

Laurie A. Robinson is Cornell's director of development in the Division of Alumni Affairs and Development headed by Vice President Inge Reichenbach. The other universities honored in this category we re Duke, Harvard, Princeton and Notre Dame.

The Cornell Alumni Association received a Seal of Excellence Award for its model alumni program in career assistance, "Life After Cornell: The Minority Career Perspective." Program planners/coordinators are Demetra Dentes, Malinda Smith and Alicia Torrey, with administrative support from Dolores Higareda, Michael Learn, Monica Ravas and Kim Withers.

Cornell Magazine, an alumni publication, won five awards, including the Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year and three gold medals.

Edited by David J. Gibson, the magazine received a grand gold medal in the "Best Articles of the Year" category for "The Quest for the 4.3, " written by Ithaca freelance writer Brad Herzog and a gold medal in that category for "Small World," written by Beth Saulnier, associate editor. It also received a gold medal in the category for general interest magazines and a bronze medal for periodical staff writing.

The Cornell Office of Publications Services, directed by Dorothy Pasternack, won three medals. A booklet produced for the dedication of Sage Hall as the new home of the Johnson Graduate School of Management won a gold medal for visual design and a silver medal in the

category for individual institutional relations publications. The Sage Hall booklet was written by Ed Hershey, director of communications strategies, designed by Clive Howard, edited by Patricia Leary, with photos by Robert Barker, director of University Photography.

The publications department also received a CASE silver medal in the category for individual in-house publications for its booklet, "Get Connected with ResNet," edited by Jo Ann Wimer and designed by Judith Burns.

Living Bird magazine, produced by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, won a silver medal in the category for special constituency publications. Tim Gallagher is director of publications at the lab and editor in chief of the magazine. Other staff include Kat Dalton, designer; Leslie Intemann, associate editor; and Patty Porupski, publications assistant.

Four bronze medals were awarded to several Cornell departments:

-- The Cornell Chronicle, the university's weekly campus newspaper, received a bronze medal in the category for internal audience periodicals. Simeon Moss is editor, with Karen Walters is editorial assistant.

-- Media and Technology Services won two bronze medals: for Cornell Plantations Magazine, in the general interest magazine category, edited by Trudie Calvert and designed by Dennis Kulis and Wendy Kenigsberg; and for the Computing at Cornell web site. designed by Laurie Ray. Mike Powers is director of publications, distribution and marketing.

-- Cornell's Shoals Marine Laboratory received a bronze medal for an informational video produced by Marc Tremblay and Media One of Portsmouth, N.H., and edited by the laboratory's James Morin, director, and Betsy Taber, director of external relations.

CASE is an international association of education professionals in alumni affairs, public relations, development, publications and government relations whose purpose is to advance the cause of education.