Wilmington College’s The LINK Magazine again earns top national award

Wilmington College’s magazine, The LINK, repeated as a Gold Medal award recipient in a national competition of college and university publications.

The Fall ’22/Winter ’23 issue earned the highest Collegiate Advertising Award — the Gold Medal — among entries from competing colleges with enrollments between 1,001 and 2,000 students.

In previous submissions to the annual competition, The LINK series of three issues highlighting the College’s sesquicentennial (Fall ’19/Winter ’20, Spring/Summer ’20 and Fall ’20/Winter ’21) also garnered the Gold Medal in 2021. This year’s single-issue entry won the external publications category.

The winning issue features on the cover one of the striking photographs, titled “Cosmic Tarantula,” taken of the universe by the James Webb Space Telescope. Alumnus Stephen Holt, class of 1975, is featured in the cover story. The longtime systems engineer with NASA has worked on the Webb Telescope, International Space Station and the Artemis I lunar project.

Each year, higher education institutions submit hundreds of entries in multiple categories. Collegiate Advertising Awards are designed to highlight excellence in communication, marketing, promotion and advertising. Panels of industry experts judge such criteria as creativity, writing, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, art and photography, production quality and overall effectiveness.

Randy Sarvis, WC’s senior director of public relations, is The LINK’s managing editor and primary writer and photographer, while freelance artist and WC alumna Christina Murdock serves as the graphic designer. Mitch Blankespoor, director of athletic communication, writes about WC sports for the magazine.

Sarvis, The LINK’s editor since coming to Wilmington College in 1995, said the award provides affirmation that the philosophy and mission behind the publication resonate beyond the magazine’s subscriber base of alumni, parents and friends of the College.

“From the start, I’ve wanted The LINK to chronicle the dynamic life of the College and highlight alumni and student accomplishment — within the framework of the College’s brand hallmarks of offering students hands-on learning opportunities and life-transforming experiences,” he said.

The 64-page, Fall ’22/Winter ’23 issue was Sarvis’ 68th as editor.

He said The LINK attempts to accommodate all types of readers, from those who simply skim pages viewing photos and headlines to those seeking a deeper insight by reading feature-length stories.

“Each issue is laden with photography, and Tina does a great job in packaging the magazine as visually interesting with compelling layouts and design elements,” Sarvis added, noting the appealing presentation and an ample number of stories filling the pages ideally result in each issue having a longer life in various reading venues.

“The overriding goal is for The LINK to bring alumni, students, parents and friends closer to their College.”