The University of Arkansas Honors College, in partnership with University Relations, has won four awards in the 37th Annual Telly Awards, a national contest that "honors the very best film and video productions, groundbreaking online video content, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs." These awards recognize a video initiative developed last year to highlight international study, research and service learning opportunities at the University of Arkansas. 

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is highly respected and received more than 13,000 entries from all 50 states and many foreign countries. There are two levels of recognition, the "Bronze Telly" for outstanding achievement, and the "Silver Telly," the competition's highest honor. 

The University of Arkansas team received a Bronze Telly in three categories – Education, Copywriting and Videography/Cinematography – for the video Mozambique: Making a Difference. The team received a Silver Telly in the Web Series category for all three videos in the "This is Your Classroom" series. Other videos in this series are Rome: A Classic Experience, and Panama: Researching Public Health.

Team members include Carol Gattis, associate dean of the Honors College; Kendall Curlee, director of communications for the Honors College; and Will Gisler, manager of executive productions at University Relations. Tony Steck, senior art director at DOXA, a local design firm, provided storyboard development for the introductory animation and music research. Darby Guinn, an honors junior majoring in English and journalism and a Bodenhamer fellow, provided voice talent for the Mozambique and Panama videos; Trey Smith, a sophomore psychology major, provided voice talent for the Rome video.

"We are delighted to see this talented team win recognition for their efforts, and very grateful for the opportunity to partner with University Relations to produce these materials," said Lynda Coon, dean of the Honors College. "These videos, along with the print materials we produced, have certainly been effective – applications for Honors College study abroad grants have jumped 87 percent in this past year."

"This University Relations partnership with the Honors College is really a win-win – everyone on campus is getting great material to use for their programs," said Roy Cordell, senior director for creative services at University Relations. "We're pleased to see the team win recognition for their efforts to promote the tremendous international education opportunities here at the U of A."

The videos have sparked interest in the programs documented. Lanier Nalley, who co-leads the Mozambique service learning program, wrote: "Thanks to the great publicity that the Honors College video drummed up we have record numbers and they are all quality students." Professor Amy Farmer, director of the Office of Global Engagement and co-leader of the program, also emphasized the high quality of this year's applicant pool, many of whom are using the program to further their research: "We are producing eight honors theses and one senior design project, as well as a grad student publishable research project. That is a big jump in the research mission of this program."

A prestigious judging panel of more than 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work. Entries do not compete against each other; rather, they are judged against a high standard of merit. Less than 10 percent of entries are chosen as Winners of the Silver Telly. Approximately 25 percent of entries are chosen as winners of the Bronze Telly. 

"The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video," said Linda Day, executive director of the Telly Awards. "The University of Arkansas' accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill, and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great video production."