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Russell Sage earned a grand gold in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) 2025 Circle of Excellence contest this month for a marketing campaign that highlighted the college’s commitment to community engagement.
The Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate colleges, universities, and schools whose talented staff advance their institutions with ingenuity and resourcefulness.
In 2025, teams from 640 institutions in 33 countries entered the awards, submitting 4,460 entries. The 93 award categories span all advancement disciplines, including magazines and publications, fundraising campaigns, alumni initiatives, special events, marketing, leadership, video, and more.
Only 21 grand golds were awarded, and Sage earned its grand gold in the Marketing Initiatives category for the Student Sage Award marketing campaign, which included the inaugural Sage Engage event last fall, a conference that taught high school students how they can turn their ideas for improving their schools and communities into action.
The conference was a cross-campus effort to highlight the college’s distinct approach to learning and introduce prospective students to Sage. Faculty, administrators, students, and community partners worked together to host mini-workshops and lead discussion groups where attendees collaborated on their ideas. The project was supported by the Sparrell Fund, a generous gift from Sage alumnae and former trustee and board chair Patricia Sparrell ’78 and her husband, Duncan.
“We are very excited to see Sage recognized in this fashion. It’s often been described as a ‘hidden gem,’” the Sparrells said in a statement. “This event very visibly demonstrated the staff and faculty’s commitment to collaboratively developing today’s students while supporting the community as well as attracting future students. A ‘win-win’ for all.”
The campaign leveraged the longstanding Student Sage Award, annually given to high school students who are nominated by their school counselors at the end of their junior year because they exemplify the Sage motto of “Be. Know. Do.” through their engagement in their schools and communities. Student Sage Award recipients received special invites to the Sage Engage event. In addition to the event, the campaign included a new grant for Student Sage awardees who ultimately attend Russell Sage, an email stream, video, landing page, postcard, social media posts, and a post-event T-shirt mailing to Student Sage awardees who were unable to attend the conference.
Of the marketing initiative the CASE judges said: “Student Sage’s marketing campaign compellingly presents a holistic and proactive vision for student recruitment. It seamlessly integrates personalized digital and physical touchpoints, effectively building early engagement and showcasing the distinct appeal of their campus programs. This entry shines through its innovative outreach, resourceful execution achieving impressive return on investment, and overall strategic success, making it a standout example for others to follow.”