2022 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award

The beginnings of the Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year award trace back to 1918 and the founding of Alumni Magazines Associated—a group of editors from 40 colleges and universities who came together to cooperatively solicit advertisers to fund their then fledgling publications. In 1927, this group became part of the American Alumni Council—a predecessor to CASE—and its purpose expanded to sharing best practices and rewarding innovative ideas among alumni magazines. The first awards focusing on editorial excellence and achievement by alumni magazines were awarded by the American Alumni Council in 1929. More than 100 magazines competed for awards recognizing best editorial and best story on the achievement of an alumnus, among other topics. California Monthly—the predecessor publication to California, the alumni publication of the University of California, Berkley—took home top honors for articles about alumni. Robert Sibley was the editor of the winning publication. After many years and awards for his work at California Monthly, Sibley went on to serve as editor of the American Alumni Council's journal. In 1943, Sibley initiated the magazine of the year award, which now bears his name, and remains the highest award for excellence in the field.