AUP wins CASE award for Crisis Communications

Since 1974, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has helped educational institutions strengthen relationships between donors and alumni, while encouraging growth and diversity within the profession and promoting the importance of education worldwide. It is thus an especial honor for the American University of Paris to have been named the silver award winner in Strategic Communications: Issues & Crisis Management. Part of CASE’s 2016 Circle of Excellence awards program, this distinction recognizes AUP’s crisis outreach in the aftermath of the November 2015 attacks in Paris.

The judges deemed AUP’s response truly remarkable in the face of such horrible tragedy. They praised the University’s mass-contact system, which allowed for confirmation of student and faculty safety within 48 hours, as well as the swiftness with which it addressed its community’s concerns. The judges also highlighted AUP’s efforts to maintain open channels of communication and trust between all members of its far-flung community with the President’s monthly newsletter, which chronicles the collective journey to keep the AUP community united, safe, and informed.

The Circle of Excellence awards program acknowledges outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising, and marketing, as judged by education and non-education professionals. Winners are selected based on a number of factors, including overall quality, innovation, use of resources, and the impact on the institution or its external and internal communities. In 2016, CASE received more than 3,350 entries in nearly 100 categories, with AUP being the only institution outside the US, the UK and the British Commonwealth to receive an award.