OXFORD, Miss. – The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors
College at the University of Mississippi recently received
a Bronze ADDY, a prestigious regional award in the world’s
most competitive advertising competition.
“We are absolutely delighted that our Web site received
such top accolades,” said Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez,
honors college dean. “We are grateful for the public
acknowledgment.”
The annual ADDY Awards attract some 60,000 entries
nationally each year. A panel in Memphis judged this year’s
Mississippi Delta Advertising Federation entries, which
included the honors college Web site.
Patrice Anderson, a creative director and Web developer for
Gibens Creative Group of Tupelo, built the site, which has
100 interactive pages with large expanding navigation.
Anderson worked with others at the honors college,
including John Samonds, associate dean, and Costa Osadov,
telecommunications analyst.
“I believe that the general aesthetics of the Web site
along with an easy-to-use, consistent navigation system
give the honors college site a clear advantage,” Anderson
said. “These attributes are key to any professional Web
site.”
This was the Gibens Creative Group’s first time to enter
the ADDY Awards.
Anderson said she had been tasked by the honors college to
create a site that would appeal to prospective students and
their parents while maintaining effective communication
with current students. “We depend upon the Web site to
communicate our essential message: We are looking for
creative, imaginative and high-performing students to join
us in an intellectual venture at the SMBHC,”
Sullivan-Gonzalez said. “This Web site creates a dynamic
and energetic feel to this message and makes that message
come alive through the lives of our extraordinary
students.”
The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Web site can
be viewed at