Camarillo, Calif., March 5, 2013 – CSU Channel Islands’ (CI) Alumni & Friends Dodger Day event has hit another home run. After packing the stands at Dodger Stadium with a record 600+ supporters for a special 10th anniversary game day event in September, CI won a 2013 Award of Excellence for Alumni Relations Programs from The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
CASE, the world’s largest association serving university advancement professionals, selected CI’s Dodger Day for the top “gold” award from a record number of entries. Awardees were recently honored at a CASE district conference in San Francisco.
“This award means a lot because it recognizes that Dodger Day is more than an alumni event – it is a celebration of CI involving our entire community,” said Tania Garcia, Director of Development, Alumni Relations. “In addition to students, employees and alumni, we had hundreds of people from our community join us in showing their CI spirit. That really says a lot about how successfully we’ve partnered with our community over the past decade. And the huge, enthusiastic turnout really showed L.A. that there’s an awesome university just one hour away in Camarillo.”
The 9th Annual Alumni & Friends Dodger Day took place on Sunday, Sept. 30, with more than 600 students, alumni and friends turning Dodger Stadium red with Dolphin pride. President Rush took the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, just before the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Colorado Rockies. CI and its supporters got a special salute on the stadium’s Jumbotron.
A tradition since 2004, Dodger Day has steadily grown into CI’s largest signature alumni event. For the cost of admission, participants enjoy special commemorative T-shirts; deluxe bus transportation – complete with movies, singing and networking – between the CI campus and Dodger Stadium; and a memorable day of baseball, bonding and fun.
“We brought the community together, increased our visibility, raised some money, and had a blast,” Garcia said. “Partnerships are what make our university special and, going forward, we want this event to continue to reflect that.”
Comprised of more than 1,400 members, CI’s Alumni & Friends Association offers invitations to special events, on- and off-campus discounts, baseball and hockey nights, wine tastings, mentorship and career networking opportunities, newsletters, and a variety of perks and programs throughout the year. Community members can join for $25 a year.
For more information, visit www.csuci.edu/alumni/ or contact Tania Garcia, Director of Development, Alumni Relations, at 805-437-8952 or tania.garcia@csuci.edu.
# # #
About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.