Kutztown’s community-engagement effort called “Paint the Town Gold” has been named as the 2009 winner of Division II’s Community Engagement Award of Excellence.

Division II established the award last year to build momentum for Division II’s community-engagement initiative and reward institutions for their creativity in advancing the effort. Division II schools were encouraged to submit their best community-engagement promotion from the “Ideas that Work” section on the Division II community-engagement Web site. Northern Michigan won the inaugural award last year.

In addition to Kutztown from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, winners were selected from the other Division II conferences that submitted nominations. Each winner receives a $500 grant that can be used for other community-engagement efforts.

Kutztown, which will be recognized at the Division II community-engagement workshop April 15-16 in Philadelphia, was selected for its initiative that supported the school’s Family Day activities at a home football game this past fall.

Activities included a window painting contest, a pep rally on Friday night and a community-based “Spirit Strut” to the stadium on game day. The school also conducted a canned-food drive for a local food bank for the entire week leading up to Family Day.The overall event engaged members of the university, the borough of Kutztown and Maxatawny Township. Three university offices – community relations and development services, athletics advancement, and athletics – oversaw the festivities.

The event involved the mayor of Kutztown, the Maxatawny Township supervisor, local business owners, the chamber of commerce, the Downtown Merchant Association, middle and high school art programs, the fire company, several athletics teams, campus police and the university’s student services department.

“We weren’t sure how the concept of painting windows would go over, but in the end, we had about 25 businesses, residents and campus buildings participating,” said Kutztown Athletics Director Greg Bamberger. “We tried to engage the community in not only the planning component of the event but also as active participants. The evaluations we received from the business community were very positive, and we’re already planning for next year and how the event can be even better.”

Bamberger cited a strong marketing effort that included signage and Web-based promotions, and a special mailing that asked businesses to support the effort. “We ran press releases, placed announcements on community television calendars, used e-mail blasts and articles via the Downtown Merchant Association and a specially designed street banner that was draped across Main Street,” he said. “We also used public address announcements on the local radio station and an hour-long on-campus radio talk show.”

Division II community-engagement consultant Rich Luker praised Kutztown for its winning effort, but also Kutztown’s conference, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, for hosting a community-engagement workshop for member schools.

“Quite clearly, Kutztown took that workshop very seriously and went home ready to work,” Luker said. “The role of the conference in this win should be noted.”

Also key, Luker said, was the planning Kutztown officials put into the event. “They didn’t just come up with an idea, they thought about the whole community, the impact on that community and schools, the kinds of leaders who needed to be involved, and they got them on board early,” Luker said.

Bamberger said the event exceeded expectations.

“The goal was to use this concept as a community-engagement tool that could strengthen the relationship between the university and the community,” he said. “It brought different groups together – for example, middle and high school art students working with university art students to design and paint windows. It really helped to strengthen town-gown relations.”

Luker called it “a textbook example” of thinking through and executing the intent of Division II’s community-engagement strategy.

“It included intentionally broad participation within the school and the community, and the event took place both on campus and throughout the community,” he said. “Funds were raised within the school and the community to pull it off. It was a sustained activity that required advanced planning and building anticipation to the event.”

Other conference winners:

California Collegiate Athletic Association – UC San Diego

Central Atlantic – Philadelphia Sciences

Conference Carolinas – Limestone

East Coast – Dowling

Great Lakes Intercollegiate – Michigan Tech

Great Lakes Valley – Lewis

Great Northwest – Montana State-Billings

Gulf South – Arkansas Tech

Heartland – Newman

Lone Star – Cameron

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association – Central Missouri

Northeast-10 – American International

Northern Sun – Southwest Minnesota State

Pacific West – Grand Canyon

Peach Belt – Peach Belt Conference Soccer

Pennsylvania State – Kutztown

Rocky Mountain – Metropolitan State

South Atlantic – Newberry

Southern Intercollegiate – Clark Atlanta

Sunshine State – Florida Southern

West Virginia Intercollegiate – West Liberty State