Ibis, University of Miami’s yearbook, was named one of the 14 college yearbook Pacemaker Finalists by the Associated Collegiate Press for its issue from the 2014 – 2015 academic year. According to Randy Stano, the editorial adviser for Ibis, the yearbook has received 13 Pacemaker Finalists and has won eight Pacemaker Awards. This is the top honor that a publication can receive from ACP.
“This is outstanding news for the entire staff for all the hard work. The dedication and long hours have paid off,” Stano said.
The editor-in-chief for this issue of Ibis was recent graduate Holly Bensur.
Bensur joined Ibis her freshman year as a freelance photographer. As a sophomore, she became the assistant editor, and then managing editor her junior year. She finished off her yearbook career as editor-in-chief her senior year.
“It’s nice that as a publication we start building a reputation and setting the bar and the standards for other schools and really just trying to push ourselves every year to do better than the previous year,” Bensur said.
The Pacemaker winners will be announced in late October 2016 at the ACP Fall Convention in Washington, D.C.
Ibis 2015 also won 34 individual awards including 19 first places, five second places, eight third places, and two certificates of merit from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 33rd annual Gold Circle Awards program. The awards included CSPA recognition for outstanding achievement in both verbal and visual categories for newspapers, magazines, yearbooks, and recently, digital media.
Senior Emily Eidelman is the current editor-in-chief of Ibis. This is her first year as editor, but she has been contributing since her freshman year and was the organization’s co-editor last year.
“It’s just amazing,” Eidelman said. “Last year’s book was the first one that I really worked on and put a lot of work into, so to see those awards … I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever.’”
Two of the awards were for pieces that Eidelman had worked on, The Only Quarterback for U for the sports feature writing category and A Broader Education for the academic spread category.
“I was totally in shock,” Eidelman said. “I did not expect it at all.”
Several of Bensur’s pieces won awards including The Shalala Years, A Guide to Surviving FSU, and Sink or Swim.
“I’m just lucky that I went to a school that had so many amazing events that were going on because most of mine were lifestyle pieces,” Bensur said.
Eidelman has even higher hopes for the current academic year’s yearbook. Her confidence stems from the changes that they are making and risks that they are taking in terms of content and design.
“We’re just trying to include more infographics, listicles, Q&As, all those options can get more information and more students in the yearbook, all while holding people’s attention when they’re flipping through it in the fall,” Eidelman said.
Both editors attested the yearbook’s success to the entire staff.
“It couldn’t have been possible without the team and particularly the support of our adviser, Randy Stano,” Bensur said.
“It’s impossible for one person to make a 480-page book by him or herself, so having their help is really just amazing and it’s so necessary,” Eidelman said.
Ibis was also nominated for a Crown Award. They will know if they won gold or silver during spring break at the award ceremony in New York.
