A new digital magazine highlighting BU’s cutting-edge research in the sciences and the humanities. A website that tells you when, where, and how to exercise at BU. And an ad aimed at alumni that explains how important their participation is to their alma mater’s standing in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. These were among the 14 national Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) given recently to Boston University for communications and advancement projects that include magazines, websites, and outreach initiatives.

The CASE awards, among the highest honors a school can receive for work in education advancement and communications, are proof of the “extraordinarily talented people,” who work on BU’s marketing and communications efforts, in collaboration with colleagues in BU’s schools and colleges, says Stephen Burgay, BU senior vice president for external affairs. “Great research universities have important stories to tell, and the awards reflect BU’s place in that universe and its commitment to creating and sharing knowledge with the world,” Burgay says.

One of the world’s largest professional associations serving educational institutions, CASE numbers more than 3,600 universities, colleges, and schools in 80 countries among its members. The organization offers both professional development and information on topics such as alumni relations, communications, and education fundraising.

“The international Circle of Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising, and marketing as judged by peer professionals at schools, colleges, and universities as well as by professionals from outside education,” the CASE website notes. For this year’s competition, the association received more than 3,200 entries in nearly 100 categories from higher education institutions, independent schools, and nonprofits around the world. Judges awarded 307 grand gold, gold, silver, and bronze awards.

Winners were judged by peers at other schools and colleges, and were selected based on a number of factors, such as overall quality, innovation, use of resources, and the impact on the institution or its community: alumni, parents, students, and faculty and staff. Among the categories are advertising, fundraising, institutional marketing, new media, periodicals, and publications and design.

BU received 4 gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze awards, 12 for work by the Marketing & Communications (MarCom) department and 2 for work by Development & Alumni Relations (DAR).

The gold awards went to arts & sciences, the College of Arts & Sciences magazine, which took home top honors in the external audience newsletter category; Research, an online research magazine launched last October, which won for best digital magazine; Everett, the Questrom School of Business magazine, cited for best annual magazine; and the University’s Annual Report website, which explored the theme, “I went to BU and all I got was…”

The staff of BU Today was honored with a silver award for internal audience publication (digital), and BU’s alumni magazine, Bostonia, received a silver award in the digital magazine category.

DAR received two bronze awards. The first was in the individual ad category for its Terrier Rankings Grrraph Ad, which, the CASE judges wrote, “stood out” for its creativity by combining “third-party information (demonstrating the importance of alumni giving to U.S. News & World Report ranking) and tight copy with a call to action in the headline.” The second bronze was in the “best case statement” category for the College of Engineering’s case statement, with judges citing the “piece’s strengths in delivering targeted content and design.”

“Aside from the pride that comes with recognition from our peers around the globe,” says Steven Hall, vice president for alumni relations, “visibility for the good work being done at BU has impact on our ability to recruit strong team members.”