Best of CASE District VI Award
 

Institution: Colorado State University

Title of entry: STATE magazine

About this entry: STATE launched in 2018 as the magazine of the Colorado State University System and, until 2024, circulated to about 50,000 households – including Colorado policymakers, community leaders, leaders in higher education, and the most engaged alumni-donors of System campuses. In 2024, the magazine underwent a major change: It became the premier publication of both CSU and the CSU System, growing circulation to about 112,000 households while continuing to highlight high-impact academic programming at the System’s degree-granting campuses. The change occurred when leaders at CSU in Fort Collins, the flagship, decided to discontinue its alumni magazine and to instead funnel resources into the System magazine, allowing this standout example of magazine journalism to reach more than double the previous readership in print, while saving two salaries, those of a retiring editor and a retiring designer. This merger strategy delivered more than savings. Dramatically growing circulation of STATE magazine – chiefly by reaching far more alumni of the CSU flagship campus – demonstrates for these critical constituents the collective power of the CSU System in improving economic vitality and quality of life in Colorado and the region. The first two cover stories after the magazine merger represent the compelling, applied research of a major land-grant institution: a collaboration between CSU and Native American Tribes that leverages modern reproductive technologies to help restore bison to Tribal lands; and collaborative work between Colorado farmers and internationally respected soil scientists to improve soil health, thus improving food production for a globally booming population.