Michigan State University received a 2025 Circle of Excellence Silver Award and Best of District V Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for promotion of student voter engagement ahead of the 2024 election. After a new Michigan law passed allowing for multi-day early voting, joint campus and community efforts, facilitated in part by MSUvote, aimed to bolster student voter turnout on MSU’s campus.

"This award represents the robust and coordinated effort of all our on-campus partners, as well as our off-campus municipalities and organizations, who came together to promote student voting,” said Jack Harrison, award nominator, who serves as public relations coordinator for MSU’s University Communications and Marketing. “Civic and democratic engagement is a fundamental part of higher education, and that is why MSUvote plays such a pivotal role in educating and encouraging voting to the campus community.”

The award recognized MSUvote’s website and various stories from MSUToday, especially about the Early Voting Center hosted at WKAR Public Media. Additional efforts highlighted included email campaigns, social media and podcast content, and media coverage.

The city of East Lansing had record turnout in 2024. On MSU’s campus, 3,982 voters, almost all of whom were students, voted at either the Early Voting Center, which also operated on Election Day, or additional campus precincts. Among campus precincts, the voting rate for those ages 18 to 21 exceeded 80%. Nationally, The All In for Campus Democracy Challenge recognized MSU as a “Most Engaged Campus” with a “Highly Established Action Plan.”

"The results speak for themselves! This engagement campaign is timely, cost-effective, impactful, and able to be replicated at other schools,” said the judges of the 2025 Circle of Excellence Awards. “It captured the attention of its community, the student body, and the press. The program was practical, relying on internal resources, and it shows potential for longevity.”

CASE’s annual Circle of Excellence Awards showcase outstanding work in advancement. The awards recognize exceptional achievement in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising, and marketing. The 2024 student voter engagement campaign also received a PACE Award from the Central Michigan chapter of the National Public Relations Society of America. 

MSUvote thanks its campus and community collaborators for their promotion of voting to MSU students and is proud to be a part of the team receiving these awards.

Photo credit: Derrick L. Turner