UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn Stater magazine has been chosen as the best university magazine in the country, winning the 2007 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year award. The Penn Stater will be recognized at a July 8 ceremony in Chicago.
The panel of expert judges assembled by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, including editors of Newsweek magazine, selected Penn State’s magazine to win the 2007 Sibley – the Grand Gold Medal – from among 129 magazine entries. The Penn Stater is the first public university to win the Sibley since 1967 and only the sixth in the 63-year history of the award. Recent award winners have included Harvard, Stanford and Brown.
The Penn Stater magazine has won its share of awards – 37 since the beginning of the calendar year alone — but the Sibley is the pinnacle. “We think this is just about the coolest news,” said Tina Hay, editor of The Penn Stater. “A lot of credit goes to the magazine staff — and to Roger Williams and Lew Gold for their editorial and financial support of the magazine.” Williams, executive director of the Alumni Association, and Alumni Association President Lewis H. Gold are the magazine’s publishers.
Published six times each year and mailed to more than 159,000 Penn State Alumni Association members, The Penn Stater features thought-provoking articles with characteristic depth, balance, integrity and humor as it covers Penn State news, recounts 150 years of Penn State history and traditions, profiles the University’s academic research and achievements, highlights the lives of Penn Staters and keeps alumni connected to the University and each other.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Williams. “As an Alumni Association, we can be said to be producing, as determined by peer review, the finest magazine of its kind in America. All credit goes to Tina Hay and an exceptional magazine staff, as well as a supportive Alumni Council and University administration, all of whom enable The Penn Stater to be The Penn Stater.”
In 2007, CASE received 3,163 entries in 40 award categories from 701 higher education institutions, independent schools, and nonprofits around the world. Judges gave 319 bronze, silver, and gold awards. Only 12 institutions received the top honor – the grand gold award. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CASE is the largest international association of educational institutions, serving more than 3,300 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 54 countries.