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January 18, 2002

Media Contact:  Pat Jacoby, (858) 534-7404 

UCSD PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL RECEIVES
MARK OF EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR OUTREACH CAMPAIGN

C. Michael Dabney, director of news media and public relations for Student Educational Advancement at the University of California, San Diego, is the recipient of the Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence Award from the San Diego Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

C. Michael Dabney, pictured with the Bernays Award, is joined (from left to right) by Joseph Watson, UCSD Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs; Linda Doughty, director of Cal-SOAP for San Diego and Imperial counties; outreach campaign graphic designer Jan Carpenter Tucker, and campaign copy writer Anita Paul.

The award recognizes Dabney’s role in planning and executing a comprehensive parental outreach campaign conducted recently by UCSD in partnership with the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) and the federally funded GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) initiative. 

The campaign provided low-income parents with information and motivational support intended to help keep their children on track for college and enhance students’ academic performance.

A prestigious award, the Bernays award is named for Edward L. Bernays, considered the founder of modern public relations.  Each year, the San Diego Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America recognizes local outstanding public relations achievements and professionals at its Silver and Bronze Bernays Awards presentation. 

Dabney received a Silver Bernays award in the Public Service category and was among more than 35 public relations professionals and public relations agencies honored by the local chapter with either a silver or bronze award.

Launched as a seven-month pilot project last February, the UCSD parental outreach campaign targeted parents whose seventh and eighth graders were already participating in GEAR UP programs sponsored jointly by UCSD and Cal-SOAP at three San Diego area schools: Gompers Secondary, Horace Mann Middle School, and National City Middle School.

The campaign provided parents in 1,400 households with informational and creatively designed mailings (printed in English and Spanish) on a wide variety of topics pertaining to college preparation and academic enhancement, including college financial aid tips, study and homework skills, how to find a tutor and mentor, and college entrance exam preparation.  Mailings were followed up with workshop sessions conducted at San Diego’s Malcolm X Library featuring motivational speakers and experts who gave parents and students additional advice on college preparation. When the campaign ended last summer, completed surveys from parents indicated that the vast majority of respondents found the outreach effort to be significantly effective in assisting them.

Also playing an important role in the campaign’s success were:  Linda Doughty, director of Cal-SOAP for San Diego and Imperial counties; Loren Thompson, UCSD assistant vice chancellor for Student Educational Advancement; the UCSD Office of the Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs; Jan Carpenter Tucker of J.L. Design, who served as the campaign’s graphic designer, and Anita Paul of the Write Image, who served as copy writer.