Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: University of California, Los Angeles

Title of entry: Alumni Connect Newsletter Feature: UCLA Then and Now

About this entry: The one constant at UCLA since its inception in 1919 is the ever-changing appearance of its campus and surroundings. Using striking archival photos juxtaposed with current imagery of the same location, the Alumni Affairs marketing team conceived and executed an ongoing feature spotlighted in its Alumni Connect newsletter: UCLA Then and Now (https://newsletter.alumni.ucla.edu/connect/general/then-and-now/default.htm).

The implementation features a “slider” that the user can employ to show more or less of either of the images, which are overlaid one on top of the other, to allow detailed comparison and analysis. Accompanying the images are descriptions of what is being shown and, often, what was taking place on campus or in the greater community at the time the historical photo was taken.

The series has featured:

The original campus in 1922; the under-construction Westwood campus in 1929; a look from high above Westwood and neighboring Bel Air in 1932; the northern part of the growing campus in 1938; the campus’ central pedestrian thoroughfare, Bruin Walk, in 1947; a 1928 view from the top of iconic Janss Steps of the undeveloped area that would become on-campus housing; the developing on-campus housing and surroundings in 1963; a look at campus-adjacent Westwood Village in 1936; the campus and its wider surroundings in 1930; and some more conceptual offerings, such as UCLA student protests in 1974 and 2020 as well as the view of the galactic center before and after UCLA Nobel laureate Andrea Ghez did her award-winning work.