Best of CASE District VI Award
 

Institution: Washington University in St. Louis

Title of entry: Jane Goodall: Inspiring hope through action

About this entry: Under Washington University’s strategic plan — Here and Next — WashU’s Assembly Series has been reimagined to bring in high-profile speakers to discuss areas of focus outlined in the plan. Jane Goodall’s visit to WashU provides a good example. Her talk, “Inspiring Hope Through Action,” centered on creating a more sustainable world, which aligns with WashU’s work developing a new Center for the Environment to help mitigate the devastating effects of climate change.

Beverly Wendland, provost, welcomed Goodall, and Jonathan Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor and director of WashU’s Living Earth Collaborative, provided the introduction. Crickette Sanz, professor of biological anthropology, served as moderator during a Q&A session. Goodall has been a mentor and role model for Sanz for many years as both have focused their careers on the study of chimpanzees.

Using a variety of media — pre-event press release, calendar entry, magazine feature, video and multiple social media channels — the team was able to both share the essence of Goodall’s message as well as draw connections to WashU research and biodiversity collaborations.

Engagement:
• Social media: 79,178+
• Washington Magazine feature: 4,581 page views
(Article appeared in the October 2022 digital edition. An event photo appeared in the December print edition, mailed to more than 185,000 readers, referring back to the online story.)
• Video: 515 views (to date); 5,500 impressions
• Pre-event release: 2,518 page views
• Record email: 598 clicks
• Happenings calendar: 2,460 views; 408 clicks on “I’m interested”