A Student Life project designed to expand understanding of what it means to be Black in America has been recognized on the national and state levels.

The Black Lives Matter Campus Engagement Campaign recently won a gold award in the 2021 CASE Circle of Excellence competition, being recognized in the category of Diversity and Talent Management: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives.

CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) is the global nonprofit association dedicated to educational advancement — alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and advancement services.

The campaign also was named “Best in Category” in the Total Advertising Campaign category in the 2021 SUNYCUAD Awards for Excellence program, which recognizes the accomplishments of SUNY advancement professionals.

Both awards were presented to Student Life Marketing and Communications, which provided the creative direction and execution for the campaign working in partnership with Campus Living, the Intercultural and Diversity Center, and the Student Life Social Justice Advisory Group.

The Black Lives Matter Campus Engagement Campaign features framed posters of UB students and faculty, with the individuals’ thoughts on social justice, social equality and the BLM movement superimposed on their portraits. The posters were exhibited in highly visible areas on campus, including Silverman Library, the Student Union, the Intercultural and Diversity Center, and residential halls.

The statement submitted by Student Life nominating the campaign for the CASE award said it “created awareness and gave a voice to the issues facing those who are marginalized and those who suffer from systemic racism” using “real students and faculty who represented the entire campus community.”

The CASE judges called the campaign “thought-proving and engaging, encouraging conversations among all who saw it … We appreciated that those featured spoke for themselves, not as a collective university response. It was authentic and powerful.”