A harvest of gold

The verdict is in and we're feeling pretty good about ourselves.

We recently entered the McGill Reporter and the McGill Gateway (ww2.mcgill.ca) in a pair of competitions.

The results? We're the best at what we do in the country and among the best in North America.

The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) awarded the Reporter a gold medal for best university newspaper in Canada. The CCAE also handed the Gateway a gold medal as the country's best university web site.

The CCAE is a national body representing university advancement professionals -- people who work in areas such as alumni relations, student recruitment, public relations, fundraising, government relations and publications.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), a similar organization that spans the entire continent, awarded the Reporter a silver medal for best internal audience periodical (tabloid) and the Gateway a bronze medal for best web site.

CCAE judges described the Reporter as "well-presented, attractive and imaginative." They lauded our "great layout Ð clean, easy to read, good fonts" and said we published "very interesting stories told in a readable manner." Our coverage of research was singled out, as were our "At Issue" and "Slice of Life" sections and our photography.

CCAE judges praised the Gateway for being well organized and easy to navigate. Its focus on "current news and events," its "good use of links," its "excellent use of colour and images," and "easily identified logo" were praised. The site's French content also drew plaudits.

Reporter editor Daniel McCabe, designer Eric Smith, associate editor Bronwyn Chester and former editor Diana Grier Ayton share the CCAE gold medal, while McCabe, Chester and Smith earned the silver from CASE. The Gateway's award-winning duo is web editor Karl Jarosiewicz and web communications and media associate Eric Smith.

The University Relations Office has now won 14 awards in the last three years.

I've written before about Eric's drive and unique combination of talents -- the prizes keep piling up on his résumé. After being catapulted into the editor's job last year, I was very fortunate to be able to recruit Bronwyn to help me out. A nimble and thoughtful writer, she has quickly become a cornerstone of the paper. I'm delighted to share the CCAE award with Diana Grier Ayton. Now the editor of the McGill News alumni magazine, Diana is, simply put, a treasure -- on and off the job.

Our URO colleagues and intrepid band of freelancers play an important role in putting together the Reporter. I would like to single out photographer Owen Egan, proofreader Jane Jackel and writer Sylvain Comeau for their stellar contributions over the years.

I would also like to thank all of you out there. If you were a bunch of boring under-achievers and if this was a backwater university where nothing remarkable ever happened, we wouldn't have much to work with. We sure wouldn't win any awards. Thanks for being interesting.

On another front, I'm pleased to welcome the newest members of the Reporter's advisory board -- Global News reporter Stuart Greer, political science and North American studies student (and McGill Tribune "Network" editor) Stephanie Levitz, communications professor Will Straw and Legal Services director Line Thibault. They join Chancellor Gretta Chambers, Associate Vice-Principal (Academic) Nicholas de Takacsy, Jane Jackel from the Howard Ross Management Library and URO director Kate Williams. I look forward to their sage advice on a number of matters (can you say "tobacco ads"?).

This is our last edition until September. To keep abreast of McGill news, stay tuned to the McGill Gateway's "Dateline McGill," "Spotlight" and "Scanlines" sections.

See you in the fall,

Daniel McCabe