Ouachita yearbook named national finalist in CSPA Crown Awards
January 11, 2013 - Brooke Zimny
Ouachita Baptist University’s 2011-2012 yearbook, the Ouachitonian, has been named a finalist in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 2013 Crown Awards. The Crown Awards are the highest honor in yearbook design and editorial from the CSPA.
The CSPA judged 1,344 digital publications, newspapers, magazines and yearbooks last
month at Columbia University. Tanner Huffman, a 2012 mass communications and graphic
design graduate, served as editor of the yearbook, which celebrated Ouachita’s 125th anniversary.
“Being named a CSPA Crown finalist is something I have secretly dreamed of ever since
I started yearbook in the 10th grade,” Huffman said. “I am very proud of my talented staff for all their hard work
on the book, and this award goes to show that their efforts paid off.”
“I am extremely proud of the Ouachitonian staff for producing a Crown Award yearbook,” added Dr. Deborah Root, chair of OBU’s
Rogers Department of Communications and faculty advisor for the yearbook. “Ouachita
is by far the smallest school to be named a Crown book this year. It’s nice to know
that in head-to-head competition with yearbooks across the nation, the judges chose
to recognize and honor the Ouachitonian.”
Ouachita currently enrolls more than 1,530 students, and the next smallest yearbook
finalist is Northwest Missouri State with just fewer than 7,000 students. Indiana
University is the largest, enrolling more than 110,000. Other finalists include the
North Carolina State University, Michigan State University, University of Miami, the
University of Oklahoma, Virginia Tech University and Western Kentucky University.
“It is a great honor for both the yearbook program and for Ouachita to be ranked nationally
with such well-known universities,” Huffman noted. “It further proves what Ouachitonians
everywhere already know – that Ouachita enables its students to exceed expectations.”
Crown Award finalists will be presented with either a Gold or Silver Crown Award during
the College Media Convention held this March in New York. Ouachita’s yearbook has
received three Gold Crown Awards and four Silver Crown Awards since 1981.
“The Ouachitonian has a rich tradition, and the students worked hard to carry on that legacy,” said
Root, who was a Gold Crown editor as a student at Ouachita. “Tanner Huffman is a very
gifted designer, and I knew this would be a less traditional and more trend-setting
yearbook. The award is a reflection of the hard work and talent of our students, from
writing and design to photography and concept.”
“I hope this accomplishment will encourage future Ouachitonian editors and staffs
to rise to the challenge by keeping Ouachita and its yearbook at award-winning standards,”
Huffman agreed.
For more information about the Ouachitonian or Ouachita’s Rogers Department of Communications, contact Dr. Deborah Root at [email protected] or (870) 245-5510.
By Brooke Zimny
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