The Council for Advancement and Support (CASE) has named Cal State San Bernardino’s Division of University Advancement as a winner of a Best of District VII Award for the university’s Homecoming 2021 “YotesComeHome.”

“This is terrific news and showcases the amazing collaborative efforts that led to one of Cal State San Bernardino’s most successful homecomings in the university’s history,” said Robert Nava, vice president of advancement services. “Our Alumni Relations, Office of Strategic Communication, and Special Events and Guest Services departments worked hard to ensure that our CSUSB family and members of our surrounding communities had a great time celebrating and learning about our university.”

The 2021 Homecoming was one of the university’s first major live events after being forced to shut down in-person operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The weeklong celebration commemorated “Coyote4Life spirit as #YotesComeHome after 15 months of virtual operations to increase awareness of CSUSB accomplishments and to engage current and future alumni, faculty, staff and the community,” as written in the university’s entry form.

“We wanted to celebrate the repopulation of CSUSB, feature CSUSB’s award-winning academic programs, highlight the Yotes National Championship Volleyball team from 2019, offer a wide variety of programming throughout the week to engage all our audiences and highlight campus expansions during the pandemic,” according to university’s entry form.

The 2021 CSUSB Homecoming Bash offered live entertainment, music, food, games, prizes, department tables, alumni chapter mixers, a kids and student zone, and more. Attendees were also able to participate in a campus tour and join the Homecoming College Resource Fair, where CSUSB’s colleges showcased their various departments.

In a notification letter of the award, CASE District VII Awards chairs Doug Hupke and Sean Briner wrote, “Your creative and innovative ideas will serve as inspiration for countless others in the months and years ahead. On behalf of everyone who will benefit, we thank you.

“We are proud to have you and your colleagues as CASE members, and even more proud to be able to celebrate your achievements. As the region’s leading resource for improving advancement practices, CASE District VII is laser focused on emerging trends and opportunities to enhance advancement initiatives. Your work ensures that our profession continues to innovate and improve our practices.”

Along with the CASE award, the Division of University Advancement’s Alumni Relations and Office of Strategic Communication will lead a session on the 2021 homecoming celebration at the CASE conference March 17-19 in San Francisco. The talk will focus on the university’s work that led to it winning the CASE award.

The session “Homecoming: Building Success Through Collaboration” will be led by Crystal Wymer-Lucero and Michael Arteaga, both of Alumni Relations,  Angela Gillespie from Strategic Communication and Ginny Stewart,  from Special Events & Guest Services .

According to Wymer-Lucero, early survey responses showed that overall, people were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the homecoming registration process, communication, layout, venue, food and activities, and 96% said they would attend in the future.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) supports alumni relations, communications, development, and marketing professionals at educational institutions worldwide. The association provides networking, recognition and continuing education for more than 64,000 advancement professionals at more than 3,400 colleges, universities and independent elementary and secondary schools in more than 70 countries.