MERCED, CA (July 31, 2025) — Having topped the state in awards for marketing and public relations two years in a row, the Merced College Office of External Relations has earned yet another major addition to its trophy case, this time at the international level.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a global nonprofit association dedicated to educational advancement—including alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing, and more—recognized Merced College with a 2025 Circle of Excellence Award in the category of “Design: Invitations.”
The award-winning entry was a unique invitation to the ribbon cutting for the Dreamscape Learn virtual reality lab, which included a custom ViewMaster sporting a Merced College logo and featuring immersive images of Dreamscape Learn. CASE judges called the invitation “a fantastic and unique idea that was well executed.”
“Dreamscape Learn is an exceptionally innovative project that is revolutionizing how our students learn biology,” said Jill Cunningham, Vice President of External Relations. “We knew we needed an equally innovative invitation to generate excitement for this special event, and our creative team came through in a big way.”
According to the CASE website, only seven two-year colleges earned Circle of Excellence Awards in 2025, and Merced College is the only community college to be honored in the Invitations category since at least 2017. Other winners in the category have included Harvard Business School, Stanford, Rice, University of Chicago, Auburn, Purdue, Columbia Law, University of Michigan, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and UC San Diego.
The award adds to another banner year for the External Relations team. In April, Merced College brought home more awards than any other community college in California at the statewide Community College Public Relations Organization (CCPRO) annual conference for the second consecutive year. The college has earned 25 CCPRO Awards in the past two years, including 9 gold.
This is the second time Merced College has been recognized by CASE’s top awards, having previously won a 2023 Circle of Excellence Award in the category of “Micro-sites (Fundraising)” for the holiday card and 3-D printed ornament created by Foundation staff.
According to CASE, the 2025 Circle of Excellence Awards received 4,460 entries from 33 countries, with 477 entries chosen to receive awards. The nonprofit’s annual awards honor inspiring and creative work by staff at colleges, universities and schools throughout the world that impacts their institutions and communities and helps transform lives and society.
“The Circle of Excellence Awards shine a spotlight on the extraordinary creativity, passion, and innovation demonstrated by advancement professionals at institutions around the world,” said Sue Cunningham, CASE President and CEO. “These awards not only celebrate outstanding achievements, but also underscore how essential this work is to strengthen educational communities and positively shape lives and society. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to this year’s recipients for their dedication and remarkable accomplishments.”
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