UCO students win ad awards

The University of Central Oklahoma School of Design brought home 100 student awards—29 gold, 50 silver and 21 bronze—at the 2023 Oklahoma City American Advertising Awards (ADDYs).

Central Design student Youser Kassim won the Best of University category for her integrated brand identity campaign “Up Route.”

In the professional category, Cynthia Luong, graphic designer for the UCO College of Fine Arts and Design, earned a gold award for “T Minus X” and a silver award for “The Golden Ratio” as a part of the special event materials category.

UCO Design also received the BRAGGY Award for the 13th consecutive year, which is awarded to the university with the most winners. Gold ADDY winners move forward to compete in the district 10 competition, followed by the National American Advertising Federation (AAF) Awards.

“Once again, UCO graphic design students made an impressive showing at the local ADDYs this year,” said Valerie Settles, Ph.D., director of the UCO School of Design.

“The award-winning work they produce in the program translates into award-winning work they produce in the design community as they move into the profession. We are so proud of the confident, skilled designers they are becoming.”

The ADDYs is the largest competition in the U.S. for advertising design.

After considering more than 40 candidates from across the nation, the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board has voted unanimously to hire former Oklahoma State Representative Mike Sanders as executive director of the Oklahoma Broadband Office.

“I’m honored to be asked to serve in such an important role to benefit the state of Oklahoma,” Sanders said. “This effort builds on previous work to connect the entire state with the economy of the 21st Century. The benefit to families, farms, businesses, and communities is this generation’s equivalent to the impact of rural electrification of the 1930s and the interstate system of the 1950s.”

Governor Kevin Stitt praised the board’s decision to hire Sanders.

“Mike’s extensive work at the state House and his time serving in the George W. Bush administration give him the unique ability to understand this process and how to best navigate the complicated DC bureaucracy to make sure these federal dollars are distributed fairly and align with our vision to deliver high-speed internet access to 95% of the state by 2028,” Stitt said.

Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, who serves on the governing board, expressed his confidence in Sanders.

“Mike has the experience to lead the effort to bring high-speed internet to every corner of our state. From his time with the USDA to serving on utility and transportation committees in the State House, he has the relevant background for this job. Just as important, Mike has a passion for and knowledge of Oklahoma that’s needed in this role. I trust him to make sure these dollars are invested fairly across the state. I look forward to working with him,” Pinnell said.

The chair of the governing board, Mike Fina, said Oklahoma will be well served by Sanders.

“The board has great confidence in Mike’s ability to build out our highly qualified staff and oversee the most important infrastructure improvement project of our generation,” Fina said.