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Award-winning research completed at MU

May 27, 2009 @ 11:37 AM

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council for Advancement and Support of Education has named the winners of its 2009 Research Awards in Educational Advancement.

The annual awards recognize published books or articles and doctoral dissertations or master's theses in each of three categories: alumni relations, communications and marketing, and fundraising.

This year's winning entries feature compelling research on:

"The impact of transformational or notable mega gifts on higher education institutions.

"Successes and pitfalls of institutional rebranding strategies, specifically when changing the institutional name from "college" to "university."

"Philanthropy, volunteerism and fundraising in higher education, historically and currently. 

"Institutional strategies to enhance giving from young African-American alumni.

"Marketing colleges and universities with a services focus.

"The motivation for alumni giving: Is giving driven by altruism or self-interest? 

The honors are the H.S. Warwick Research Awards in Alumni Relations for Educational Advancement; the Alice L. Beeman Awards in Communications and Marketing; and the John Grenzebach Awards for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy for Educational Advancement.

The 2009 CASE Research Awards in Educational Advancement winners are:

James Owston, senior academic officer, Mountain State University. Owston is the recipient of the Alice L. Beeman Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation award for "Survival of the Fittest? The Rebranding of West Virginia Higher Education," completed at Marshall University. Owston's research examines the perception that institutional branding associated with a college-to-university name change results in increased enrollment, prestige or financial benefits. The research focused on the successes and pitfalls of institutional rebranding strategies at 11 institutions.