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Portland, Maine

Office of Communications wins four statewide public relations awards

Four members of the Office of Communications pose for a photo in Alumni Hall holding awards
The Maine Public Relations Council's annual Golden Arrow Awards recognize the best public relations and communications work in the state.

The University of New England’s Office of Communications took home several top awards at the 2024 Golden Arrow Awards ceremony, hosted by the Maine Public Relations Council.

The Golden Arrow Awards recognize the best public relations and communications work in the state, including all pieces of strategic communication from annual reports, media relations campaigns, video production, and everything in between. UNE’s Office of Communications took home four gold and silver awards during the ceremony, held Sept. 10 at UNE’s own Alumni Hall.

The Office of Communications was awarded the following:

  • Publications (Gold), awarded for the 2023 UNE Magazine, “Faces of Our Future.” The magazine follows UNE students and alumni as they work to make a different in the world, guided by UNE’s strategic priorities. Judges’ remarks: “This piece beautifully incorporates the elements you intended to showcase to your target audiences, and the immediate results are promising. Well done! … Exceptional work! Great job tying the visual element throughout.” 
  • Targeted Media Pitch (Silver), awarded for a story about a new psychiatric nurse practitioner degree program, established with a $2 million gift from the Glickman Lauder Foundation. Judges’ remarks: “Your situation analysis is one of the best I've read. Your results are really good with extensive media coverage! I really like your scoring of the media placements according to specific criteria. That's a great approach … really great work on the press release itself, the research, and the excellent results!” 
  • Targeted Media Pitch (Silver), awarded for placement in Scripps News stations nationwide about the University’s groundbreaking efforts to train nurses using virtual reality. Judges’ remarks: “Your results were really great! You got a ton of placements for the story, which is amazing. … I think that’s evidence of an excellent pitch.”
  • “Big Win” (Gold), awarded for coverage of Peaches, a 1-in-30 million orange lobster, who captured hearts everywhere when she arrived at UNE last summer. Judges’ remarks: “This project far exceeded its goal … you had originally wanted 10 national media placements and received 694! This was obviously a very successful project with a huge impact for all involved (especially the lobsters!)” 

The Office of Communications and Marketing provides strategic and creative leadership and support for the University of New England across all media and communications platforms. Our mission is to raise awareness for UNE, enhance the University’s reputation, facilitate operations, and foster community in alignment with institutional goals.

Media Contact

Alan Bennett
Office of Communications
abennett11@une.edu

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.