CASE has named the recipients of its 2026 Circle of Excellence Award winners, honoring outstanding work in educational advancement from institutions around the world.
The Commons, UW–Madison’s quarterly environmental magazine produced by the Nelson Institute, received national accolades for its revamped, digital format. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognized the publication with a “bronze” award in the Online Magazines category.
Recognized as the premier accolades for educational advancement, the Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate colleges, universities, and schools whose advancement teams demonstrate exceptional ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness. Through inspiring projects and programs, these institutions strengthen educational communities and help transform lives around the world.
In 2026, teams from 628 institutions in 33 countries submitted 4,185 entries for consideration. The program’s 93 award categories span the full breadth of advancement, including magazines and publications, fundraising campaigns, alumni initiatives, special events, marketing, leadership, video, and more.
Launched in its redesigned form on September 15, 2025, The Commons transitioned from a monthly PDF flipbook to an immersive, engaging microsite to address usability and accessibility gaps and to better align with reader preferences. In their remarks, the CASE judges noted The Commons as “an easy-to-navigate magazine that makes good use of animated graphic elements and photography captions within its compelling and heartfelt narratives.”
This is the second CASE Circle of Excellence Award for the Nelson Institute. Last year, Earth Fest received the “gold” award for Special Events: Multi-Day (In-Person). UW–Madison earned four other awards this year: On Wisconsin magazine received two “silver” awards in writing categories; and both the Wisconsin School of Business and the central Office of Strategic Communication received “silver” and “bronze” awards (respectively) for Design: Environmental Graphics.