For the third consecutive year, the College of Education's annual Keystone magazine has been honored for its public relations planning, content, creativity and design.

At a recent joint conference, both the Southern Public Relations Federation and Public Relations Council of Alabama bestowed awards of excellence on the 2007 edition of the magazine in each organizations "special purpose publication" category. The awards were judged by public relations professionals outside Alabama who reviewed a total of 262 SPRF entries and 151 PRCA entries.

The magazine is the cornerstone of the college's communications efforts with its more than the 31,000 alumni, donors, academic peers and other stakeholders who receive the publication each spring. It is produced by College of Education staff Colleen Trent Bourdeau, communications administrator; Amanda Earnest, art designer; and Michael Tullier, APR, director of external relations.

"The 2007 edition represented a 20-page increase in content, which allowed the college to focus more on student, research, outreach and departmental activities," Tullier said. "In addition, we were able to highlight more alumni accomplishments through additional features and a new alumni notes section-all pivotal in keeping alumni connected and enhancing our colleges reputation among our peer institutions."

SPRF, which includes members of PRCA and three other public relations organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, represents and advocates on behalf of more than 1,200 regional communications professionals.

The 2007 Keystone, as well as past editions of the magazine, is available online through the "Alumni" link of www.education.auburn.edu. More information about the awards programs is available at www.sprf.org and www.prcaonline.com.